its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

And I'm not sure if they're getting enough. I'm pumping about 3-4 oz per session and giving each one half of that about every 3 hours (less than that actually )plus nursing them in between. I met with a wonderful LC who helped me set up this plan but they have a few times/day where they just cry and cry. I keep thinking about supplemening with formula and I know there's nothing wrong with that but I can't seem to bring myself to do it. Any words of wisdom, advice to increase my supply, or experience with those who supplemented with formula? Ive never been so tired in my life!
Tia

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

are they gaining appropriately? maintaining their curves? if you need formula, do it! taking the stress off yourself may help increase your supply and the formula may be short lived

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

hi!! i say do what is best for you at this point. some may argue but if you never ever get any sleep plus they are crying alot...i really dont think it can hurt.

from the beginning i bf'd and gave formula. i did15-30 min on the breast then offered a 2 oz bottle in the hospital. by the time we left even while bf'ing my ds would take easily 3 oz of formula.

umm yea he is a big boy.

when i came home i pumped and pumped and no matter what i did i would only make a couple oz. of bm. so after a few weeks of bottle and bm i just gave up. i felt awful and tired and sick and between feeding and changing him and then pumping there was no time even for 2 hours of sleep. btw there was no nipple confusion at all during this time. i just made sure to bf first then offer formula.

you have done an amazing amazing job!! what ever you decide the babies have gotten alot of nutrients from you already.
they just may need even more bc i think they are tiny right?

hopefully someone can give you some more insight and that you feel comfy whatever you choose to do xoxoxo

Message edited 12/26/2012 1:43:30 PM.

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

As long as they are gaining weight appropriately, I would not supplement. You are in a crucial time period right now as far as establishing your supply goes. If your babies are crying, I would feed them on demand. This will help to get your supply up. Also, don't let the pump be an indicator of how much you are producing.

Also, I know the first thought that comes to mind when a baby cries is that they are hungry. They could also be crying for other reasons ie. Gassy, tired or just need to be soothed.

its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

You are amazing!!

BF is a leap of faith and you really don't know how much your baby is getting. How are their counts of wet/dirty diapers?? Your Ped should allow you to bring them in for weight checks. Maybe you can go weekly on a day your DH is home??

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

They both are wetting and dirtying tons of diapers, no issues there. Their weights are a bit more of a concern.
DS was born 5lbs 2oz went down to 4, 11 in the hospital but was up to 5, 4 at a week old. Since then hes only gained an ounce. The doctor knows but wanted to wait till my appt monday to see if hes gained with my new plan.
DD weighed 5, 10 at birth and has been gaining better, shes now at 6, 2.

its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

You sound like just about any mom of a 3 week old who's nursing. DD had weight checks every few days in the beginning, then finally gained well at 2 weeks and they didn't want to see her until a month. It was the LONGEST 2 weeks ever just wondering if she was getting enough. I was sooo stressed. If your doctors and LC are okay with what you're doing, I would continue with it. Until someone tells you otherwise, you're okay. There's a reason they do lots of weight checks in the beginning, so that if there's a problem you'll know it. If there okay with giving you more time, then I'd use it.

DD cluster fed in the evenings until she was about 6 weeks old. She cried and was fussy and I probably fed her every hour from 6pm until she finally was out for the night around 11. Once she grew out of that life got much easier. They are so young and I'm sure being little at the beginning doesn't make it any easier. Keep using the support you have and taking each feeding/hour at a time. Lots of hugs! You're really doing an incredible job!

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

My dd just turned 1 and i remember feeling exactly the same way when she was so young. Well, i chose to supplment 1 bottle a day and at 12 months I am still nursing. Go with what works for you. I found lots of people offer advice but i found doing what worked best for us was most important.

Message edited 12/26/2012 4:06:44 PM.

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

As long as they are gaining and staying on their growth curves they are getting enough. I had to supplement one of my twins when he was around 3 months old because he wasn't gaining enough weight. I did it for a few weeks and then went back to EBF. I never did it with my DD though, she was always a BFing champ.

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

First, congrats on the twins! My b/g twins will be 10 months tomorrow. It's exhausting but amazing.

My story is a bit different because my twins were in NICU so I was exclusively pumping until my DD came home after 18 days. My DS stayed for 35 days, so it was difficult because I still needed to pump for him. I ended up with mastitis because I was trying to nurse her and then pump and I was making too much milk. Eventually, I decided to pump until he came home.

Once he was home, I struggled because my DD had a terrible latch. I tried nipple shields and saw two different LCs. My daughter wanted to nurse every hour because she wasn't getting enough at each session or because she just liked to snack. It would have been okay but with two babies that is an impossible schedule to keep. It was also difficult for me to tandem feed when I was alone so I literally had a baby attached all the time and sometimes one that was screaming while he/she waited for his/her turn. There were times that I thought I was doing more harm than good because I didn't want to give them formula. The LC basically told me I needed to nurse my daughter, then pump, and then supplement. It might have been possible if I had full-time help. It was so hard. Nursing/pumping/breast feeding was the most difficult part of being a mom to me. We were going for weight checks in the beginning and my son gained 6 ounces one week and she had gained two when she had gained 6 the week before when she was drinking pumped milk. I bought a scale to weigh her before and after sessions because the stress of her not getting enough was too much for me.

I feel like I literally tried everything in my power to nurse. I even did the nurse, pump, supplement and got mastitis again. I had mastitis 5 times in the first 6 months.

Long story short, I ended up exclusively pumping. It sucked and still does. I think back and I have no idea how I did it. I don't know how I pumped for 25 minutes every 3 hours while taking care of infant twins. They didn't get any formula until they were 6 1/2 months old and I was back to work. When I cut back, I was making about 65-70 ounces a day. I am down to two pumps a day and they get about 1/2 formula now. It was so hard for me to give them that first formula even though I knew it was perfectly fine.

I didn't really have supply issues, but I truly understand what you are going through. It was so hard. I think in the end you need to figure out what's going to help you function/be happy/and be the best mom to your babies.

Have you tried More Milk Plus? I used it any time my supply dipped and it worked like a charm.

I think breastfeeding is amazing, but so much more difficult than people think. Breastfeeding twins deserves a medal. I'm always in total awe when I read about women who were successful. I wanted it so bad, but it wasn't in the cards for me. I hope it is for you. It sounds like you're doing a great job!

Let me know if you have any questions about anything at all.

I promise it gets better.

its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

i only have one but she was a preemie and was in the NICU for almost the whole first month. i didnt have a choice - she was started on formula because i was too sick to pump or even see her in the NICU at first. i started pumping at 4 days post partum and nursing when she was a week old. i tried to get to a point of exclusive breast milk and it never happened. my supply was too low due to the circumstances surrounding her birth and the first few days of her life. so i BF, pumped, and supplemented. i hated suppelementing and the older she got the more formula she got because I never ever made close to enough breast milk. but she gained weight and did great. i came to terms with my supply issues and did what i could. i was able to BF/Pump/supplement until 6m at which point i dropped pumping cause I was getting so little. i still nursed and continued to nurse and supplement until 9m when she literally had no interest in the boob anymore once she started table foods and started to understand what really made her tummy full. she def comfort nursed for a while before she gave it up altogether.

anyway there is nothing wrong with supplementing. if/when i have another i will try to EBF but i am not against supplementing as much as I was the first time. you do what you have to do to keep mom and baby happy. if that means a bit of formula, its not the worst thing in the world. the point is to grow baby and be happy - i think when BF gets in the way of that instead of promotes that, then its time to rethink what you are trying to accomplish and why.

that being said i cant imagine trying to BF twins. one is hard enough. congrats on doing as much as you have and dont beat yourself up over a bottle of formula here or there, you are doing the best that you can

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

You are doing a great job!!!! There are so many thing you can do to make more milk, but I think that is better done once your supply is fully established. Twins are rough!!! What kind of pump are you using when you do pump? Using a hospital grade makes all the difference.

In the end I used everything that i could to make more milk. messagee if you have any questions. in the end i didnt have to suppliment.

I hope your plan works. Fingers crossed for your next apt.

Re: its been 3 weeks ebf the twins

i've given them similac for two nights in a row (one feeding each) and I hated it. not sure if what I hate more, being stressed about whether i can make enough milk (which I have been able to do the past few days) or giving them formula. I know intellecutally, there's nothing wrong with it, but I just hated giving it to them. In the end, if I don't make enough, I have to suppplement, but I hope my production increases really soon.

For those who took more milk plus, did you ask your ob about it first? did it work for you? does anyone know if there are any side affects?.

thanks so much for all your support and encouragement.. you guys are awesome!