Tandem Nursing

Yes, Elijah is still nursing, and Beatrice is exclusively breastfeeding. She is little, but it is not from any shortage of milk supply. Nursing the two of them has almost created a problem with oversupply of milk, since milk is produced according to supply and demand. I have more milk now than when I only nursed one; in fact Tress often chokes and sputters when she first latches on and the milk lets down so forcefully. I do have to make sure she gets the high fat hindmilk as well as the more abundant foremilk. This is generally not a problem, because I sometimes let Elijah nurse first so that he gets the watery stuff and leaves the richer milk for her.
I used to think tandem nursing sounded very hard core, but now that I am doing it, it doesnt seem like a big deal at all. In fact, it seems so natural that I dont think I really even notice I am doing it. Elijah mainly nurses after naps and when he wakes up, though I do usually nurse him for five minutes or so while I tell him a story when he lays down for his nap. That is our routine. I did have some trouble when I first brought Tress home with Elijah wanting to nurse indefinately. Brandon came up with the idea of doing a countdown before unlatching him, to let him know it was time to finish up. I made up the "mamma minute." I say, "time for a mamma minute" and then count to ten very slowly, then unlatch him. He usually giggles and goes right along with it. Other times when he wants to nurse but I dont really have time, I tell him he can have a "mamma minute" and that seems to satisfy him. It is really helpful.
When I first brought Tress home there were lots of times when I would nurse one on each side at the same time. Sometimes I still do this. Once when Tress was about three weeks old Elijah got a very high fever with a virus and we took him to urgent care. He was miserable and cried nonstop except for when I nursed him. Tress was still at an age of wanting to nurse most of the time too, so I sat in the waiting room with a little one latched on each side. I bet it was a sight to see, but they were peaceful that way.
I had also wondered if they would pass germs to each other by tandem nursing. As far as I can tell this hasnt been a problem, at least in that it seems Elijah gets lots of colds and Tress almost never gets sick. I read that usually in tandem nursing the toddler gets a cold, and in nursing he then passes bacteria to the mother's system, which responds by making the appropriate antibodies for that sickness. Those antibodies are passed to the toddler and infant in the breastmilk, and so the toddler has the advantage of recieving the antibodies before they develop the sickness. I assume this must have something to do with Tress' good health.
I really couldnt imagine doing it any other way. It works for us. Every family is different -- I am a big believer that each family will have their own unique way of doing things. But if everyone is happy and thriving, then in my book that is good, whatever form that takes.