In a message dated 6/15/2007 9:13:29 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
If a woman in tandem nursing, one child on each breast consistently,
will the two breasts produce different milk? I know that this is true
in some cases in the animal kingdom (marsupials, for example).
A related question, are there any cultures in which women in fact
nurse different children on different breasts? I know of the women in
Taiwan (I think it's Taiwan) who nurse exclusively on one side, but
is there anyone who nurses different children on different sides?
Curious minds want to know...
Thanks,
Naomi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
hi naomi!
i have tandem nursed 4 children over the last 7 yrs non stop... and triandem
nursed for 2 yrs of that time, as well. (and will be nursing 3 again in
october). i also assign breasts to my nurslings. newborn always gets the left,
toddler gets the right. so i can tell you that each breast definitely makes
different milk -at least visibly in the beginning and i'm assuming for some
time.
whenever i have a new baby, i notice the colostrum lasts longer on the
newborn side - i have pure colostrum turning into yellow colostum-y milk for 2-3
wks on that side whereas the toddler side converts to white milk w/in a wk or
less. i also notice after a few mos that the toddler milk is heavy and
sticky and stays like a drop of pudding on their cheek whereas the new baby's milk
is still watery and runny. seeing this is what made me think assigning
breasts initially is best to ensure the newborn gets every bit of colostrum w/out
the toddler rushing it into mature milk by his/her stronger and more
frequent sucking.
i started assigning breasts the 1st time i tandem nursed b/c i noticed when
my 1st son was born premie, his milk looked like lemonade for almost 6 mos.
i often wondered if there was something 'wrong' w/ it, but he seemed fine so
i let it be. when my 2nd son was born, my milk was heavy w/ lots of cream
separating on top when i pumped and stored. ( i thought i needed to in case of
emergency separation and to keep my supply up since they slept through the
night - i ended up never using it, but it was interesting to compare how
different it was from my 1st baby's milk!) seeing this made me assume our bodies
make diff milk for diff babies and i had also read and learned that the breasts
can work independently of each other so it seemed like the next logical step
to assume if i assigned a breast to diff aged babies, each breast would make
milk that was most appropriate for 'their' baby.
i tend to keep them on their own breast until i begin to feel lopsided and
the new baby has started solids - making me think the younger baby's
nutritional needs and demands are now pretty similar to the older one's.
interestingly, this current particular set of tandem nursers are only 15 mos apart and
they are now almost 2 1/2 and 18 mos and i've never had to switch and have
never become lopsided, they seem to have kept apace w/ each other's milk demands.
i'm not sure if there are actual cultures who do this as a rule... when i've
tried to research the issue myself to see if my theories/observations have
any validity, there doesn't seem to be a lot of info out there. i have learned
there may be some concern/need to switch from the beginning so the babies
develop optimum hand/eye coordination. i've weighed the small concern that the
baby won't learn/develop this w/ lots of belly time, sibling interaction and
constantly being worn and slinged against my certain observation that s/he
will get colostrum longer if i don't switch and have opted to continue to
assign breasts as being in their best interest overall.
in my work w/ bfing moms, if i do ever get one facing tandem nursing who
gets to the point of wondering about this issue (should i assign or make them
switch at every nursing?) i do tell them of my own experiences and
observations - not the least of which is that it also makes the toddler feel less
rivalrous/insecure when a baby isn't taking his/her cherished breast - but
emphasize that each mom should do what works best for her family. i do find that the
few moms who end up tandeming and subsequently assigning report many of the
things i've observed myself and this bolsters my opinion on the subject.
i did post not too long ago that one mom was told that babies should switch
at every feed b/c the foremilk contains more antibodies and it will keep a new
baby healthier to get a chance at antibodies from both breasts. but as a
long-term tandem nursing mother, i don't see how it would be very practical to
make a toddler sit and wait until the baby had a chance to take the foremilk
from both breasts... i still would love to know if it's an issue in the mind
of anyone that knows for sure...is there really that much of a demarcation b/c
antibody rich foremilk and presumably less protective hindmilk? is getting
it from one breast alone really not enough for a newborn? were we biologically
intended to use 2 breasts for one baby, primarily?
so there you have the ramblings from the distracted mind of an assigning
tandem nurser, i hope they answer your son's very good questions!!
~jacqui gruttadauria, bsw
near detroit, michigan
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