Customer Reviews

Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding During Pregnancy and Beyond

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember the first time I saw an eleven month old baby who could walk nurse. "disgusting!" I thought. A few years later, I saw a toddler walk up to her mother and say "mommy, can I nurse?" I was appalled.

Well, fast forward to the present. I am now nursing a 26 month old toddler who can walk and talk in complete sentences and I am ALSO nursing her four month old sister! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be a LaLecheLeague type. I thought they were so extreme. Hahaha! Life is funny sometimes. Now I wouldn't have it any other way, and I can hardly believe that I was so ignorant and judgemental in the past.

I just wanted to give my background so you could understand that this review is sincere. This book is fantastic. It goes into every possible thing you ever wanted to know about nursing during pregnancy and then nursing (and caring for) two very young children at once. She *really* understands and she has some great advice. I find myself turning to it again and again as a resource. It goes into the real nitty gritty... will nursing while pregnant cause problems for the baby in utero... how do you really entertain an active toddler while you are caring for a newborn, all by yourself? The author doesn't judge anyone for choosing to wean, if appropriate, and she lets you know that this is not as simple as it may sound.

It is a great book. I am planning on buying it as a gift for a dear friend who is now trying to decide whether or not to wean during her pregnancy. I think the book will cover that for her better than I ever could.

When I went in for my first prenatal appointment with my third child, my doctor thought it was my six-month checkup after having my second. Once we cleared up the confusion about why my chart said I was pregnant, (because I was!), her first statement/question was "Well, you'll wean the other one now, right?" My negative answer elicited a roll of the eyes and small sigh, but really she knew me too well to be surprised, and well enough to know she couldn't change my mind. After listening to my spiel about the research I'd been doing, her only requests were that I see a nutritionist and that if I experienced pre-term labor I would consider weaning.
Not every mother is fortunate enough to have a supportive doctor or the resources to find out the truth about nursing while pregnant, or tandem nursing. But thanks to Hilary Flower, the topic is out of the proverbial closet and right out there on the shelf at Borders Books. ADVENTURES IN TANDEM NURSING is a fabulously comprehensive guide to tandem nursing and everything surrounding the experience. The first book of its kind, it is being celebrated as a well-researched, authoritative resource for mothers and health care practitioners alike.
One of the things that makes this book great is the easy-to-use format. The book can be read straight through, but it really shines as a quick reference. The chapters address everything from making the decision to wean or continue nursing while pregnant to finding positions to adoptive nursing of a second baby. Common fears and myths are also addressed, such as the real facts about miscarriage and who gets what nutrients first. Frequent anecdotes and stories from real moms add an enjoyable element as well.
Hilary Flower should be commended for her sensitive, pragmatic approach to this topic. She looks at tandem nursing honestly, not through a fuzzy filter. Not every writer can acknowledge that some choices are not for everyone, while at the same time supporting and informing mothers on every side of the issue at hand. In the end, she lets the world know that "real, beautiful mothers are actually doing this!" And with the help of this book, they can now do it even better.

When I became pregnant I was nursing my daughter, who was 10 months old. I did not anticipate how much being pregnant would affect the nursing. Unfortunately, I have essentially stopped nursing since the time I purchased the book. On the "pro" side, the book validates the needs of the nursing and pregnant mother to continue nursing. It was very important to me to continue nursing, and I wanted a book to help me through this process. The book assumes that you have a toddler, however, and that your toddler is able to drink whole milk and that you are not nursing exclusively. While my daughter was 10 months and did eat many other things, she was not yet having whole milk and I was still giving her the equivalent of at 20-25 oz of breast milk daily. I was hoping that this book would help me with the challenges of being pregnant and dealing with a decreasing milk supply and it did not offer much help with this issue. I think that it would be a great book for the mom who has a toddler who does not need the amount of breast milk that a baby under 1 year old needs.

I cannot say enough good about this book! Though there is a great deal of accurate info on nursing, the field narrows considerably regarding nursing while pregnant or tandem nursing, and this well-written book fills that void!

I first read the book while my nursling daughter was 12 months old, right after we discovered I was pregnant again. I did not want to take this source of nutrition and comfort away from my daughter but didn't want to jeopardize the health of my new baby, and this book gave me the information I needed to make a well-informed decision to continue nursing her. Today, we're happily tandem nursing with her 10 month old brother!

I especially appreciated the chapters on nutrition (for Mom, new baby, and older baby), the scientific research provided, and most of all the stories by real Moms who had nursed while pregnant and tandem or triandem-nursed!

I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the subject of nursing!

I'm a new 2nd time mom of a 3week old daughter and a 26.5month old son.

Throughout pregnancy, I had many people telling me to wean my son as to continue nursing would harm both him and me. Hilary's book was a blessing as it listed the pros and cons in continuing our nursing relationsip all in one place.

It serves as an encouragement for me as I read about other moms who had faced the same problems during pregnancy. And now, as I face issues with tandem nursing, I'm able to refer to the book and gain valuable insights and tips on how to handle two at the breast. It has really helped ease the stress and anxiety I face as I deal with two nurslings.

I have absolutely no qualms about recommending this book to anyone considering nursing through pregnancy and then continuing to tandem nurse. Its chockablock full of good and relavant information written in an easy to read format. The cute illustrations are fun too! I wish there were more like it on the market.

I love that this book provides great support and motivation on a topic that most of us do not get much support on from families, friends and medical professionals. If you find yourself nursing while pregnant and have a lot of nay-sayers around you, pick this book up and read, read, read!

On the other hand, the book made me feel a little guilty/bad (although I am sure the author had no such intention). I felt that most of the stories were for moms who had older nursing toddlers (who are able to have a more complex conversation) rather than someone like me with a younger child (I became pregnant - intentionally - when my son was only 16 months old). I also lost my milk entirely at 6 weeks pregnant and finally gave up the fight at 8 weeks. Weaning was not my choice, my body made the choice for me. I am sure I am minority in that regard, but I felt the book was not very supportive to someone dealing with sadness and guilt of sudden, unplanned interruption of breastfeeding due to pregnancy so early on (it mostly addresses it for moms in the 2nd trimester when it is more common for the milk to gradually dry up). I would probably recommend waiting to get this book until after you are a little further along and know that you are able to nurse beyond the first few weeks of pregnancy.

I am pregnant and nursing my 18 month old and there are many ideas in this book that are hard to find elsewhere.

I LOVED this book. Not only was the information wonderful, helpful and supportive of nursing with two or more children, the pictures of families who chose to Tandem nurse were touching. It has great information on not only tandem nursing but on, also, how to decide if it is right for you and your family in an informative and non-judgmental way.

Not only does this terrific book offer all the factual info mothers need when considering nursing while pregnant or nursing more than one child at a time, it's wonderfully warm, readable and supportive. I wish every OB, midiwfe and lactation consultant in the country had a copy. I do my part by making it my standard baby gift when a friend becomes pregnant with a second or third baby. Everyone I've given it to has raved about it.

Highly recommended.

I look forward to reading Hilary Flower's forthcoming book on gentle discipline.

Katie Allison Granju
Author: "Attachment Parenting"
www.katieallisongranju.com

This book is a fun-to-read combination of mother wisdom and hard scientific evidence on nursing during pregnancy and tandem nursing. It's wonderful to have a resource available that both supports and informs nursing mothers, while providing the research-based information on safety issues that they need. Mothers, lactation professionals and health care professionals will find this to be a valuable addition to their bookshelf.

Kelly, kellymom.com