Breastfeeding

I’ve mentioned in some of my other post that the girls are latching without nipple shields! They’ve been doing so for about 3 weeks now and life is so much simpler because of it!

I haven’t had mastitis or a significant plugged duct since Thanksgiving. I’ll credit careful attention and a Soy Lecithin supplement (not to mention vegan chocolate chips also have Soy Lecithin).

The girls still have strong reactions to milk products.  I tried to sneak 2 spoonfuls of ice cream last week.  My ears hurt from the amount of screaming Bronwyn put me through and Aeralind was not happy with me either. I’ll be posting more about the dairy free breastfeeding life in the weeks to come: recipes, resources, and milk substitution reviews are on the agenda.

I’ll be honest, I cried at least once a week up until three weeks ago when they started latching and sleeping through the night. These first three months have been hard. Pumping, dealing with plugged ducts due to oversupply & pumping, mastitis, and  teaching two babies to latch, all while terribly sleep deprived definitely makes for an overly emotional journey

For those of you just starting such a journey: keep at it!  Surround yourself with supportive people: My husband would come home from work, tired himself, and when he saw me shed a tear he would gently send me to bed.  The lactation consultants at St. Francis were incredible.  I can’t express to you how supportive they have been and how proud they are that I’ve made it this far.  Supportive people make all the difference.

Set yourself a goal; my first goal was 6 weeks.  Once you reach that goal reevaluate; at six weeks the girls were taking just about every feeding from me with the aid of a nipple shield and I still had more than enough milk. I decided I’d try to make it to 3 months.  At 3 months, a year seems like it’ll be a piece of cake; it can only get easier from here!

For Moms of Multiples just beginning this journey, please feel free to contact me.  I’ll do everything I can to encourage and support you.

My girls may be 3 months old, but in a way we’re still breastfeeding newborns. I’ve been bf them at the breast with a nipple shield for every feeding about 3 weeks now.  During that time I’ve been trying both girls without the shield one or two feedings a day.  To my surprise Aeralind is latching rather well.  My tiny girl who could barely manage to suck a feeding from a bottle on her 4th day of life is latching! She is patient and opens wide and can even deal rather well with the overactive letdown I have on the right side (I wonder if it’s common to have overactive letdown on just one side, but with all the plugged ducts/mastitis on the other side I guess it makes sense for me).

Bronwyn, the one who actually managed a feeding on that first night, is a latching mess. She has no patience and wants to clamp right down on the nipple.  Sometimes it’s all I can do not to scream before detaching her and re-latching her about five times each feeding.  But I’m being persistent and have managed to do two days worth of daytime feedings sans the nipple shields. The nighttime feedings I don’t even try yet… I’m too brainless and tired to help them latch.

After doing this for two days, I have a huge amount of respect for ladies who have taught/helped both twins to latch in those first few day postpartum. This is hard business, but I can already see the rewards.  Twice now I’ve been able to feed both girls separately in public with nothing but bibs and burp cloths. I find the latching much easier separately and in cradle or cross cradle holds, but I’m slowly figuring out both girls in the football hold on the pillow at home.

Oh and just for a good laugh, at the Breastfeeding Support Group feed and weigh, Bronwyn took 2.8 ounces which is about what she needs for her weight doing 8 feedings a day.  Aeralind on the other hand took an impressive 5.5 ounces. I’m still trying to figure out where she’s hiding it since both girls weighed in at 10lbs 5oz!

We tried the breast milk that I had pumped that was full of cow’s milk products on the girls on Sunday.  The results? Instant fussiness that only a warm bath soothed for Aeralind and projectile vomiting from Bronwyn. Based on further research I would say that the girls definitely don’t have a milk allergy but rather a milk sensitivity, so this thing should disappear before they are one.  The plan for the moment is to go another month milk free and try some high fat milk product like cheddar cheese (drool) to see what happens.  For me that means milk-free holidays.

Have you every thought about all the dairy products in a holiday meal? Butter and milk in your mashed potatoes. Butter in your stuffing.  Cheese and milk in the broccoli casserole. Ice cream.  Butter in pie crusts and milk in my personal favorite pumpkin pie. Sigh. 

Having just come from thanksgiving at the farm with our beloved Nana, I’m here to say, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I had a delightful plate of turkey, sweet potato casserole, salad, a roll, and some jello salad. And to top it all off, Nana made me a dairy-free pumpkin pie.  I love that woman! Nana is such a blessing to us!

In other news, the girls have started to smile socially! They loved being passed around all afternoon and making faces at each new person.

It seams that for every minor step forward on the breastfeeding front, I’m bound to have a major setback.  Well, folks, lets just say I have a cabbage leaf in my bra.

My major concern with doing the 3 am feeding by breast has always had to do with the amount of milk I pump at that hour.  Seriously, I’ve regularly pumped 16 + ounces at that feeding, a whole pint!  That is at least two whole feedings for the girls! So this weekend when I decided to give it a whirl, I was pleasantly surprised that I neither woke up in a puddle each morning nor felt particularly engorged.  Sweet!

Monday morning I had the hardest time falling asleep after the girls at the middle of the night feed. I was freezing and my heater husband was somehow either evading me or not nearly warm enough. I noticed a tender spot on the left breast and assumed I had another plugged duct.  I worked it out while Aeralind ate her next meal. When I got up, all my joints were achy like I had the flu.  I was so scared that I’d already given a nasty bug to the girls.  But then I noticed a red splotch all across my poor breast: Mastitis.

So here I am on a regiment of ibuprofen, heating pad before nursing, pumping after nursing to make sure they got it all, and a cabbage leaf in my bra (feels so good!). I’ve pumped the night feeding again the last few nights and while my body has adjusted to their demands rather well… it still has to make a little less.

Forgive me for all the breastfeeding posts. But honestly I spend 20+ minutes every 3 hours on this task (not including burping or dealing with reflux issues), and it seems to be my life at the moment.  I’m still hoping that my posts will give new mom’s of multiples an idea of what to expect.  Please let me know if these posts are helpful.

Yesterday was a super big day for Aeralind: she took two meals without a nipple shield! This is a super accomplishment for the child who could barely manage to suck a meal out of a bottle her first week of life! We’re finally getting there. She’ll only do it though if she’s super hungry and screaming. And I can only manage it on my right side because somehow latching her and balancing her sister on the tandem pillow is just beyond my capabilities at this moment. I’ll keep trying.

Oh and yesterday was the first day where I nursed them for every single feeding in the 24 hour period! Derek and I had been bottle feeding them their 3 am feeding while I pumped simultaneously. Well, the tandem feed in the middle of the night actually took less time and was especially fun because Derek changed both the diapers while I got set up 😉

On the milk allergy/sensitivity front, today was a varied and yummy diet!

• Breakfast: Raisin Bran and Almond Milk. Almond milk is actually yummier than soy in my opinion.
• Lunch: Papa John’s The Meats Pizza with no cheese. Neither their crust nor their sauce has any milk product in it. I was super excited to read this as Papa John’s is my favorite pizza place (even though we hardly ever order out).
• Dinner: Salmon, sweet potato, and braised brussel sprouts.
• Dessert: Pumpkin and vegan chocolate chip cookies. Without butter, these cookies are very much like cake. I’m affectionately dubbing them “Cakies”. Mmm…

So eating dairy-free isn’t shaping up to be as bad as I feared, but the snacking in between meals is super hard. I made a bunch of muffins, but I really don’t know what else to eat for snacks besides trail mixes, granola bars, and fruit. Please leave a comment with some suggestions if you can think of some!