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In Tandem
The How-to of Nursing Two By Gwen Morrison
LaGrave was somewhat relieved when her oldest child weaned himself at almost 4 years old. "My second child nursed the longest he weaned when he was 4," she says. "He was 2 1/2 when his sister was born. Then I had to wean my third child when the next was only 6 months old, because the older child was drinking milk at a much faster rate, and I didn't have enough for the baby."
Now pregnant with her fourth child, LaGrave looks forward to the challenges and joys of another tandem nursing relationship. "I have worked outside the home with all of them, but with the middle two I was able to keep them with me until they were 2 years old," she says. "It is so nice to come home and sit down to nurse my children, so relaxing. I think it has helped the older child not to feel so displaced by the new baby, and it kept me close to both of them."
The decision to nurse two children at one time is a personal one. Keep in mind that tandem nursing will be less stressful if you are flexible with which child nurses first, on which breast and for how long. In time, tandem nursing will become as comfortable as breastfeeding just one baby.
"The main benefits are the psychological benefits to mother and child due to the comfort and closeness breastfeeding brings," says Calandro. "Breastfeeding has always been more than just food."
