How I coped with being a human food bank 24/7 while breastfeeding two babies.
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I have two kids that are 19 months apart. When my son was born (a day before my daughter turned 19 months), I heard a lot of people saying I wouldn’t be able to continue breastfeeding two babies, and I should probably start limiting her nursing time so I would have more milk left for him. Other people told me I had to wean her altogether. And other people, well, actually one person, just smiled at me and said “you will be fine. You’ll get the hang of things and everything will work out”.
Disclaimer: This post is not intended to give medical advice. Contact your doctor or breastfeeding consultant to learn more about what would work for you and your family. Thank you for allowing me to share what has worked for me in my personal breastfeeding journey!
In case you were wondering, yes, I took the third advice (thank you, Erica!).
In my personal parenting journey, I go back and forth between many different methods, styles, and approaches. I can be very strict with some things, and very lenient with others. It all depends on what makes sense for me and my family at the moment.
Check out this comprehensive post about different parenting methods and styles!
But one thing I have always been passionate about is nurturing children so they feel loved and cared for in any situation. And that imprinted on my breastfeeding pathway as well.
A little bit about my nursing journey with my first born, and how it changed (or not) when my second was born.
My firstborn has always been an avid nurser. She would nurse anytime, anywhere, whether she was bored or playing, surrounded by family and friends, in quiet or noisy places… it didn’t matter to her. She would nurse whenever she wanted and any outside interference didn’t seem to bother her.
When my son was born, I was very anxious about how breastfeeding two babies was going to go, especially because I didn’t want to limit my daughter too much and make the transition from being an only child that much more difficult. To me, it would already be an adjustment having to share her room, her toys, and most importantly, mommy and daddy’s time and affection with her little brother.
So, instead of following a recipe or a step-by-step that other people did, I came up with my own guideline to help me through the days. It’s all about survival mode, right?!
How I managed breastfeeding two babies at the same time
There were a few things that I paid special attention to when breastfeeding my toddler and my newborn, to make sure they were getting what they needed (and so was I!):
- Always started with my newborn. He got “dibs”, and once he was done, his older sister could have as much as she wanted.
- Watched my calorie intake and made sure I was getting enough nutrients in my body.
- Drank TONS of water. Over a gallon per day.
- Increased my daughter’s calories during meals and snacks.
- Had more of the foods she liked available for her (whatever it was: fruit, rice, chocolate…), especially during my son’s cluster feeding times (when he would want to nurse every hour).
Doing these steps helped a lot, because not only I was breastfeeding my newborn as much as he needed/wanted, I was also showing my daughter that she still had some milk available, she just needed to be a little more patient. And while she waited, she was welcome to whatever other foods she felt like having.
Looking back, I’m glad I did things the way I did, even if it was exhausting at times.
When I look back on that time, I’m so glad that things worked out the way they did, but I am aware it isn’t like that for everybody. I was blessed enough to have enough milk supply and fortunate enough that both my kids are healthy and learned to nurse early on.
It is important to remember that everyone’s journey is different and your experience might be very different from mine. The only thing that will remain the same is that for any of us, researching and studying will always give you a bigger shot at succeeding with breastfeeding (and everything else for that matter).
You can have a better shot at breastfeeding successfully by:
- Keeping up with your doctor’s appointments to ensure you are in good health.
- Drinking lots of water (and I mean LOTS).
- Not dieting until your doctor says it’s safe to do so. We spend a lot more calories than normal while breastfeeding and it’s important to keep those calories coming to ensure a good milk supply.
- Researching about milk supply teas such as “Mother’s Milk”. I know they don’t work for everybody, but I can say they definitely helped me in increasing my milk supply. You can find Mother’s Milk tea here.
- Don’t stress too much! It has been proven that stress can not only be harmful to our brains, but it can also affect our bodies negatively.
- Learning your baby’s cues.
- Remembering that every child is different and unique. Some kids can nurse for an hour, while others are done within 5-10 minutes. Both are getting what they need, and that’s what matters!
- Finding a doula and/or a breastfeeding professional that can help you understand the process and teach you techniques that you don’t know of. It makes all the difference!
- Learning different positions and ways you can hold your baby while breastfeeding: again, a doula or breastfeeding consultant can help with that (and much more!).
- Asking questions! Ask your doctor about any doubts you have, the same with your baby’s pediatrician. Don’t be ashamed to ask about anything you want to know, even if it sounds stupid to you (it’s cliché but it’s true: there’s no such thing as a stupid question!).
If you are trying to breastfeed, you are already a superhero!
Breastfeeding is not always instinctive. Having a support group, such as friends and family, a doula, or other moms in your community, is extremely important to master breastfeeding and motherhood in general.
If you don’t have a support network, please reach out! I am happy to talk to you and try to give you some research and tips on how to find your tribe. It’s just so important to have people around that care! Send me a message below, let’s connect!
Remember: whatever you are doing, if you are doing it in love, you are already succeeding! Breastfeeding is extremely challenging and you are already AMAZING by even doing it, or attempting to do it. Keep on the good work, keep up with your check-in appointments at the doctor, and I promise one way or another, things will work out. The important thing is that your child is healthy, fed, and loved on. Everything else falls into place!
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