Who has ebf 2 babies with a relatively small age gap?

[louloutheshamed]

I am getting a bit disheartened reading the who bf first then ff a Subsequent child thread. I bf my ds until he was 18mo. Apart from
Some Soreness in the early weeks I didn't really have any problems and after a few months I absolutely loved it. I still think it is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I felt strongly before hand that I wanted to do it and was so glad it worked out for me.

Ds is now 20m and we are talking about ttc when he is about 2. This would mean we had a 2.9 yr gap if I conceived straight away like last time although I am aware I might not! But now all I am reading on the other thread is how it is much harder to bf a second child when you have a toddler so I am just looking for some success stories. I just assumed that I would bf like before and the thought of not doing so is upsetting. I am even thinking should I delay ttc? But the thing is having a almost 3yr gap seems huge compared to many of my friends and colleagues where a 15-18 mo gap is de riguer!

I did it with an 18 month gap and I know lots of other people who have managed it so it's definitely possible. Especially with a 3 year old where you can play with them without necessarily having to be 'hands on'. I did use the TV a bit in the early days but often I was feeding during a meal or when we were out at a friend's or a group so I didn't need to. The best thing we did was for DH to take a good period of leave (mine took 2 full weeks and 2 half weeks) so that by the time he was fully back breastfeeding was pretty well established. Good luck, I'm sure you will be fine!

Dd abd ds1 are 18 months apart, I fed dd til 12 months

Ds1 abd ds2 are 2.5 years apart and I fed them 2.5 years and 2y10m respectively

None of them ever had formula btw.

You learn to get very good at holding the baby to book one handed whilst running after the toddler

Another one here with 18 month age gap and I did it. (in fact, IMHO it was easier with the second as I knew what I was doing more and didn't worry about her not getting enough, was also much less worried about feeding in public.) I would imagine a baby and toddler is hard however you feed the baby!

Meant to say ebf till 6 months, mix fed till 12 months (same as DD1)

Don't have time to read whole thread but breastfeeding 10 week old DS2 and going well despite rampaging 23 month old DS1! It all seems a lot easier this time around!

22 months between mine, 2.2yo still feeding too
4.5 month old now gets distracted by his big sis but as long as you can find some peace & quiet to feed (if necessary) then I can't see why it would be problematic.
It was v easy to establish bf for DC2 since I never stopped with DC1

Currently have ds2 attached to me, there is an 18m gap between him and ds1. Yes it is hard to start with and a bit of a nightmare when ds2 is awake all night feeding falls asleep about 6 and ds1 is awake at 7 but we have now fallen into a bit of a routine at 9 weeks old.

I always feed ds2 in the morning before ds1 wakes up. Then through out the day he will get fed whilst ds1 is in his high chair or having a nap or watching tv (peppa pig is your friend!). It's easy to give him a cuddle whilst feeding or read a book, however having to run across the room with ds2 latched on whilst ds1 is diving off a table at a group isn't advisable!!!

It can be done!

I ebf ds until he self weaned at about 16 months despite returning to work full time when he was 7 months old. When he self weaned I was already 5 months pg with dd who I then ebf (she wouldn't even take expressed milk) until I was diagnosed with cancer when she was 17months and had to go cold turkey.
It was hard, but I'm stubborn and wouldn't entertain spending money on something I could provide for free. I am now 11 weeks with dc3 despite chemo & cancer and plan on bf this one for as long as possible & would like to hit he fabled 2 years

2.2 year age gap here.

DC1 fed for 19 months,I conceived the same weekend,when DS was born he latched on immediately.
of his own accord!

Found it much MUCH MUCH easier the 2nd time,he latched on easily,and I could rush it to toddler groups etc without worring about bottles and formula and all that faff!
Oh I had a sling too (a stretchy called a hug-a-bub),that was fantastic for hands free feeding!

I can't see why it'd be easier to formula feed,it's always seemed much more difficult to me!

I had dd1, ebf her till age 1

Had Ds when she was 3 days off 2 years.

Ebf him till 15 months when my milk mysteriously dried up

Turned out I was unexpectedly pg. Gave birth when he was 22months.

Fed dd2 until she was 2.

So spent 4.5 years out of 6 breastfeeding. I still miss it, and dd2 will be 9 soon!!

Oh,DS is still feeding,aged 2

I ebf all my babies (3) until at least 7 months , and mixed to 10 months, thought it was easier than bottle feeding as I didn't have to be so organised and that suited me!

19 months between my two dcs, and I ebf both of them until they turned two (yes, there was an overlap for a few months!). Personally I had a far easier time feeding my second- I was more relaxed, she fed very efficiently, I didnt suffer with cracked nipples etc etc.

Another 18 month gap here, I ebf both for 12 months, also ebf dc3 when ds was 3 yrs. I found it all much easier the second and third times than with my first.

I had 3 under 3 and exbf all of them. Ds1 and ds2 were approx 1 1/2 when they stopped bf. I tandem fed the boys (15m age gap). Then ds2 self weaned when i was about 26 weeks pregnant with dd.

DD still bf aged 20m. I honestly don't see how ff could be easier with a toddler, I would have thought it move more of a hassle.

Good luck!

My two are 18 months apart. I fed DS1 til he was 11.5 months, he self-weaned at that point. I assume because I was pregnant.

Feeding DS2 has been a doddle compared to feeding DS1.

With a small age gap FF seems like a nightmare to me, all the sterilising and mixing whilst toddler wrangling. BF is the lazy way imo

We'd like a 3rd with a small gap, I plan to EBF that one too. And hopefully DS2 won't wean during the pregnancy.

2.4 gap between dd2 & 3 ebf for 12 months each. Confidence is everything! Found it much harder with dd1 who is 4.5 years older than dd2.

ebf DS (3) until he was 2.11 or so. ebf DD who is 16 weeks tomorrow - there were 2+ months of overlap too, as I tandem fed for a while. he was 2.8, nearly 2.9 when she arrived.

I had 4 babies in 6 years all (all singletons) and EBF all of them for the first 9 months then slowly weaned them till dropping feeds one at a time till they were fully weaned by 11 months. Weaning DC4 at the moment, been making her bottles for a week and agree it is loads more faff.

Apart from the initial couple of weeks of sore nipples I never found it a problem. I have always had around a 2 year gap and have just always had baby gates on the door to our playroom such that the toddler was always stuck in there with me when I was feeding. They had their toys, books and TV as backup and I was always there able to talk to them whilst feeding. It never proved to be a problem.

Not time to read whole thread, but I am bf dc3 who has 2 older siblings (age gap 2.8 years both times). He has silent reflux and food allergies (via my bm) so is not an easy feed-every-three-hours baby (I wish!) Just want to let you know it very much is possible - I bf dc1 and dc2 to 14 months.

22 month gap between my DC. BFed DD until she was 18 months (self weaned when milk dried up during pregnancy).
Now pregnant with DC3. 22 month gap. BFed DS until he was 18 months too (same again). Neither had any formula, went straight to cows' milk.
Hoping to feed DC3 the same way - even with two under 4s running around! :)

20 month gap here, fed DD1 until 18 months (so was quite pregnant when she self-weaned). DD2 still going strong at 15 months. I, like other posters, have always assumed that bf is easier than bottle feeding a second as you need both hands to bottle feed. I just had DD2 in a Moby wrap most of the time with a top hoicked up and her on the boob and carried on as per with DD1. I had none of the early problems I'd had the first time, no engorgement etc and felt way less tired as I was more relaxed and confident and just co-slept for night feeds etc.

Neither of mine have ever had formula or taken milk (mine or any other) from a bottle (their choice, not always mine!)

I have four, all EBF & it was fine :) I can't imagine that FF would've been easier & it would never have crossed my mind to FF. I don't think I know anybody irl who has chosen not to breast feed subsequent children (most of my friends have larger than average families).

Big-ish age gap between 1 & 2 but 2.5 years between 2 & 3 (I tandem fed for ages - #2 weaned at 4 & #3 at 2ish), and exactly two years between 3 & 4. I'm still feeding 4 (he's almost 16 months now). It really wasn't difficult with any of them :)