A mum who gave birth to her two daughters just one year and two days apart has explained why she was initially fearful of tandem breastfeeding.
The mum, who posted her story on the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook page, said her daughter was only three months old when she fell pregnant for the second time.
“I was so fearful,” the mum shared on Thursday 17 August. “Fearful of missing out on moments with just me and my daughter, fearful she would feel resentful of having to share me.”
The mum explained that her first daughter was born with a knot in her cord and had it wrapped around her. She got stuck and “came out violet, like her name”.
“The second they put her on my chest she was attached to my boob,” the mum wrote. “And since that moment, my boobs have been hers. When she was six months, my supply began to dwindle. And my worst fear came true, I had to supplement.
“I felt like a failure, I felt like I was failing her, breastfeeding was her comfort, her favourite thing. But despite supplementing, we pushed through and she never weened. When my milk came back in she was more than happy to ditch the bottle and be back on the boob full-time.”
When her second daughter - Tallulah - was born, the mum said she immediately attached to her breast just like Violet did. And that’s where the fear set in.
But the reality was a lot easier than she had imagined.
“When Violet came to the hospital to meet her new sister and saw me feeding her, she was instantly interested,” the mum explained. “But instead of the jealousy I thought I was in for, she made herself comfy on my other boob and held her sister’s tiny hand.
“Three months strong of tandem feeding and this photo depicts what my purpose in life is right now. To nourish and feed these beautiful humans. My boobs may sag, my nipples may be larger, but this is what my body was made for.“
The mum shared a touching black and white photo of her two daughters breastfeeding, taken by photographer Jenna Walsh.
Commenting on the photo, a mum wrote: “You all have no idea how much I needed to hear someone experience this. I felt so scared and probably sad when I found out I was pregnant, thinking my baby is still a baby.
“Thank you for your help.”
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