tandem feeders/advice re vomiting bug

[jumblies]

I am in need of advice from anyone who tandem feeds a toddler and baby. My toddler has a mild vomiting/diarrhoea bug (she has had diarrhoea and vomiting for past 48 hours but has only been sick 3/4 times and still wants to eat/drink)

She still feeds from me 2/3 times a day morning/naptime and bedtime. However I have a 3 month old and I am worried she will pass the bug to him so I have been washing my breast after she feeds.

My question is, should I allow her to feed more frequently than usual and if so will this harm my 3 month old who might get less milk than he is used to if she drinks too much At the moment I have been refusing but if the bug gets worse I am wondering if I should let her?

I've had an ill 3yo DS and an ill 6mo DD
Personally, I didn't, but then DS didn't have it too badly, and he drank plenty of water. Mainly becsause the only way I'd be able to feed him during the day is to feed both together and then if he was sick while feeding...well it doesn't bear thinking about.
Maybe that's selfish. I don't know.

Thanks stealth, I haven't upped her feeds as she seems to be able to drink water ok. She is quite perky too which is good as we've been cooped up inside too long when the weather is so glorious. I'm hoping we can get to the park tomorrow

I don't think it would even have occurred to me to wash my breast in between, although I mostly confined dd (older child) to a single breast whilst ds was little, so I could have kept them both to one each, which would have meant being able to feed the sick one as often as she needed, without it impacting on the well little one. Is that an option for you?

I upped the feeds for my eldest as she wanted to, and was always so grateful for breastmilk during these times. It did mean that the few days of illness were taken up almost solely with breastfeeding though as the supply also needed to be increased. The younger one never seemed to lose out. I would always feed the youngest first.

Be aware of increasing your milk though as when the eldest is well and not feeding so much you will need to 'manage ' your milk to avoid engorgement.

Hope you enjoy your trip to the park

You milk will be very well established as you are feeding two. So for you there is no reason why you can't feed both toddler and baby as and when they need.

When my DD was ill, I found my milk quickly increased (and decreased afterwards) and met my children's needs. I knew my oldest was feeling better when I started to feel a bit full between feeds.

You will not be depriving your youngest of milk. Your breasts are never empty and the quicker milk is removed the faster the milk production will be.

No need to restrict the sick child to one side nor to wash your breasts between feeds. The first time your ill toddler nursed, your milk will start making the right antibodies to help the child fight off the illness and you will pass this protection onto both children as you nurse.

So by nursing both your children you are likely to protect your youngest from getting sick or if he does get it it should be a milder shorter version.

HTH

only just seen this, so sorry for late response. I didn't really need to up the feeds in the end as DD wasn't asking for milk anymore frequently. However I have noticed that I appear quite engorged today which I think is a combination of the baby having a growth spurt and feeding every 2 hours through the night for the past 2 days {yawn) and DD feeding for a longer time on the breast (usually only feeds for 10 mins max) so she was probably getting more milk at each session

Cantsleep I did think about giving each a designated breast when beginning to tandem feed but I was worried about ending up lopsided as my eldest wasn't nursing as frequently.

yogini I was just so worried about having 3 month old with vomiting and diarrhoea. I don't normally wash them if the toddler has a cold or something minor.

babieseverywhere that is really interesting. How does my body pick up the signal that my toddler is sick and produce the specific antibodies to counter the illness? Thanks for the reassurance. I always feel little bad for the my youngest as I'm sure my strong letdown and abundant milk supply are due to having my dd nurse as well and he really doesn't like the strong letdown and gets overwhelmed at times and is a little refluxy as a result. I'm sure when he is older he will love the fast letdown though!

"How does my body pick up the signal that my toddler is sick and produce the specific antibodies to counter the illness?"

It is to do with the saliva on the nipple when they nurse, to pass the germs onto the mother and within a couple of hours the breastmilk has relevant antibodies in it...so clever.

How clever is that I am most impressed with my body...it is saggy and baggy from childbirth but I am so in awe of all it can do

Thanks for taking the time to answer babieseverywhere