Tandem nursing/colostrum question?

Question

If your milk is already in because you are nursing the first child and then your second baby is born do they miss out on colostrum? Your body doesn't re-produce colostrum because your milk is in already right?

If that is the case then how does the newborn baby handle your full milk - they can only take in so much at a time and would be getting all foremilk? Maybe I am just over-thinking this as I plan to self-wean Elyse and will eventually, nature willing, have another child within the next 1.5-2 years.

Answer 1

Of course your body makes colostrum.  Humans are meant to nurse for 3-4 years.  Normal child spacing is about 18-30 months (in prehistoric times).  Its obvious that humans can and are designed to nurse during pregnancy and nurse two different aged babies.  And we are not the only species to do so.

I had mine babies 20 months apart.  As is normal between 4-8 months I began producing colostrum (it was closer to 8 months, for whatever reason we are all so different and science knows so little).  My older nursling did fine with colostrum he just needed a bit more water as colostrum is lower in water than whatever you want to call normal breastmilk.  However as he was nursing past one year the milk would have been lower in water and higher in nutrients in any case.  I had colostrum for 72 hours after birth, as is normal.  Then transitional milk as is normal.  Then breastmilk of some description.  

Was it the normal milk I would have had with just a newborn?  Was it the milk I would have had if I was only nursing a two year old?  To this I have no answer as it has not been studied (at all as far as I know).  However I do know that both gained well and thrived.  My second didn't start ANY non-milk foods until 9 months.  

I have faith that my body, to the best of its ability, makes the right milk for the babies that I have.  When a woman has only a newborn she makes the right milk for that baby.  Should a woman have a preterm baby she makes a different colostrum and a different "mature milk" than that of the woman with a full term baby.  Her body makes the right milk for her baby.  I trust that with two babies of differing ages my body makes the right milk for both.  Not that it makes different milk for both but that it makes the best milk it can.  Obviously a newborn is more important so I make colostrum during late pregnancy and the days after birth.

Of course the nursling doesn't get only foremilk.

Think of your b*****s like a hot water tap in your house.  If you go a long time without using the hot water it takes a long time to get hot.  If you use the tap a lot then it starts out warmer and takes less time to get hot.  The more often your b*****s are used the less foremilk there is.  Your b*****s only make full fat milk, they do not make foremilk.  Foremilk is created by the milk sitting in your b*****s, the same as if you pumped it into a glass.  Eventually the fat would separate out.

http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/1...

Will I produce colostrum?

Yes. The changeover between mature milk and colostrum production begins, on average, between the 4th and 8th month of pregnancy, but some mothers start producing colostrum somewhat earlier than that. Many mothers who nurse through pregnancy have noted that their milk contains mostly colostrum during the last month before baby is born. You will continue to produce colostrum throughout the latter part of your pregnancy - your older nursling cannot "use it up."

Colostrum and stool changes in the older nursling

If your older nursling is getting a good quantity of colostrum (either before or after birth), the natural laxative effect of the colostrum may cause him/her to have looser and more frequent stools. The stools should return to normal once your colostrum is completely replaced with mature milk.



Milk changes after birth

At birth, the sudden decrease in progesterone and estrogen levels (and resulting surge in prolactin levels) that occurs with the birth of the placenta causes colostrum production to kick into high gear and signals your milk to "come in." Once your baby is born, the amount of time you produce colostrum is limited, since your mature milk will begin to come in within a few days.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/milkpr...

Once the let-down (or Milk Ejection Reflex/MER) is triggered (by baby's nursing, pumping, etc.), the milk is squeezed down the ducts until it becomes accessible to the baby. Milk production is not faster during letdown - the flow is simply faster. There are several let-downs per feed, although most mothers only sense the first one.

As the breast starts to empty, the fat globules begin to dislodge and move down the ducts (let-down facilitates this process). So the further into the feed, the higher the fat content of the milk, as more and more fat globules are forced out. The end result is that the milk gradually increases in fat as the feeding progresses.

! Your b*****s don't "flip a switch" at some arbitrary point and start producing hindmilk instead of foremilk. Instead, think of the beginning of a nursing session as being like turning on a hot water faucet.

The first water you get out of the tap isn't usually hot, but cold. As the water runs, it gradually gets warmer and warmer and warmer. This is what happens with the fat content in mom's milk - moms's milk gradually increases in fat content until the end of the feeding.

Since fat content is is directly related to the degree of emptiness of the breast, it is possible, depending upon nursing pattern, for fat content to be higher at the beginning of a particular feeding than it is at the end of some other feeding.

! Now think about the hot water faucet again. If there is a long period of time before the faucet is used again, then you go through the "cold to hot" process once more, but if you turn the water on fairly soon after it was used then the water is either pretty warm or still hot, depending upon how long it's been since the faucet was last on.

This is how it works with mother's milk too - the longer the time between feedings, the lower the fat content at the beginning of the next feeding. If feedings are closer together, you're starting off with a higher fat content.

As a particular feeding progresses, fat content increases, milk volume and flow decrease, and milk synthesis speeds up. Because every baby varies in the amount of time it takes him to receive his fill of the higher-fat milk at the end of the feeding, it is important not to switch b*****s while baby is actively nursing.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/c...

The degree of emptiness of the breast is what research has shown to drive breastmilk fat content, and thus calorie content. The fuller the breast, the lower the fat content of the milk; The emptier the breast, the higher the fat content of the milk (Daly 1993). For more information see I'm confused about foremilk and hindmilk - how does this work? and How does milk production work?

Does the amount of fat in mom's milk make a difference when it comes to baby's growth?

The research tells us that baby's milk intake (the volume of milk - not the amount of fat in that milk) is the only thing that has been correlated with infant growth in exclusively breastfed babies. As noted earlier, average fat content of human milk is highly variable, but has not proven to be significant when calculating baby's total energy intake or weight gain. (Aksit 2002, Butte 1984, Cregan 1999, Mitoulas 2003, Mitoulas 2002.)

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/eb...

Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY

    * Although there has been little research done on children who breastfeed beyond the age of two, the available information indicates that breastfeeding continues to be a valuable source of nutrition and disease protection for as long as breastfeeding continues.

    * "Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."

      -- Mandel 2005

    * "Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins."

      -- Dewey 2001

    * In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:

          o 29% of energy requirements

          o 43% of protein requirements

          o 36% of calcium requirements

          o 75% of vitamin A requirements

          o 76% of folate requirements

          o 94% of vitamin B12 requirements

          o 60% of vitamin C requirements

      -- Dewey 2001

    * Studies done in rural Bangladesh have shown that breastmilk continues to be an important source of vitamin A in the second and third year of life.

      -- Persson 1998

    * It's not uncommon for weaning to be recommended for toddlers who are eating few solids. However, this recommendation is not supported by research. According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):

      Some doctors may feel that nursing will interfere with a child's appetite for other foods. Yet there has been no documentation that nursing children are more likely than weaned children to refuse supplementary foods. In fact, most researchers in Third World countries, where a malnourished toddler's appetite may be of critical importance, recommend continued nursing for even the severely malnourished (Briend et al, 1988; Rhode, 1988; Shattock and Stephens, 1975; Whitehead, 1985). Most suggest helping the malnourished older nursing child not by weaning but by supplementing the mother's diet to improve the nutritional quality of her milk (Ahn and MacLean. 1980; Jelliffe and Jelliffe, 1978) and by offering the child more varied and more palatable foods to improve his or her appetite (Rohde, 1988; Tangermann, 1988; Underwood, 1985).

http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/1...

Changes in milk composition

One study compared changes in

Answer 2

I had the same question right before my last child was born - I am nursing him and my toddler.

Yes, you will still have colostrum. Your milk will start to change at the end of your pregnancy. I was concerned that my toddler would "suck it all up," but was advised to just make sure to nurse the newborn first during those first days after birth. After that, you don't have to worry about it.

Answer 3

You will make colostrum again.  (And sometimes an older baby won't want to nurse for a while because the milk tastes funny.)

Isn't it amazing how wonderfully our bodies work???!!!!

Answer 4

Your body will produce colostrum after baby is born.  Your first child will get colostum until your milk comes in again.

Answer 5

thats not the case each time u get pregnant ur breast has colostrum b4 milk

Answer 6

"Your body doesn't re-produce colostrum because your milk is in already right?"

No.

You may start to produce colostrum as early as two weeks before the second baby's birth, and will continue to produce it for the normal amount of time after the birth, then your milk will come back in.

A process designed perfectly to work for both babies.

Answer 7

What actually happens is during pregnancy while nursing an older child, your milk will gradually begin to subside and colostrum will take it's place.  Some older nurslings will back off on nursing when this happens as the taste will be different, but others don't mind.  Every child is different.  Immediately after birth, your newborn will have full access to the colostrum he/she needs and then your milk will "come in" again just like it did with your previous pregnancy.  Some older nurslings will continue back to their nursing with gusto as soon as you come home from the hospital while others will just take their time and possibly gradually cut back.  It's really hard to say, but you can be confident that your body will produce the milk that is needed for the newborn and will have plenty for an older child if needed as well.