Hi guys! Hope you are all doing well! We’re doing great over here, but I have so much to catch you up on I don’t even know where to start!
Let’s see – so I last posted about a month ago letting you know how the delivery went and how we were feeling about things.
A lot has happened in the last month. First of all, I cannot believe we’ve been parents for a month! These baby girls are still just so small and so precious. We are abundantly blessed with two healthy, gorgeous babies, and not a moment goes by that I’m not overwhelmed with gratitude for this experience and opportunity to be their mommy. While we have been snuggling these baby girls for a month now, they haven’t even reached their due date of October 14th. As of yesterday, they are weighing 8 lb, 3 oz (baby A) and 8 lb, 5 oz (baby B), gaining 2 lb, 8 oz and 2 lb, 11 oz respectively since their discharge from the hospital 4 weeks ago. Proud momma here! I’ve worked so hard for that weight gain!
Here are a few things that I thought I’d share about our life and routine at the moment…
Feeding Babies:
- Breastfeeding – well, I thought breastfeeding was going really well for a while. We had a bit of difficulty in the hospital, but that’s to be expected somewhat with new babies. I chalked it up to having preemie babies with tiny mouths and swollen, sore nipples from pumping and feeding around the clock. The lactation consultants in the hospital seemed rushed, but they assured me on several occasions that I was doing everything right and the babies were latching properly. While I didn’t know what it was supposed to be like, I knew something was still a bit off. We pressed on and continued to practice, although not pushing direct breastfeeding to the point of extreme frustration or hunger. If I feel like they’re just not getting it and getting too frustrated, we move on to the bottle of expressed milk and I pump and store the milk if they don’t nurse. Again, because something is just not quite right and the girls are struggling too much with breastfeeding. I was just happy that they are getting breast milk almost exclusively, with the exception of one small bottle of NeoSure formula at their last feed of the day.
- Pumping – For the last month, I have pumped every 2-3 hours, more frequently lately as I’ve needed to increase my supply (increased to every 1-1.5 hours) and start stockpiling a bit of expressed milk. This started in the hospital when I was separated from my babies briefly, and then at the advice of the lactation consultants and NICU nurses. I’ve continued to pump with a hospital grade Medela Symphony pump that we rented from the hospital for $75 for the first month. Well, the thing is pretty huge compared to my Medela Freestyle pump. It’s also very quiet, but you’re practically tied to the bed or wherever you have it set up for 6 hours out of the day as it’s not very mobile. I was told that initiating lactation to support twins would require this hospital grade pump and the commercial pumps are really inferior and only good for returning to work after a few months. As the rental pump is due back in a few days, I recently started trying out my Medela Freestyle pump. OMG it’s loud and obnoxious sounding…but it works better: more efficient, greater output, and less painful. What I pumped in 30-40 minutes with the Symphony, I can get in 10 minutes with the Freestyle. I’m still pumping for 30 minutes and making more milk than ever, so I am able to stockpile a little extra for when my husband handles feedings alone and hopefully have a nice stock in the freezer for when I return to work. While I’m happy that my babies are getting the best and most natural and easiest to digest nutrition possible, pumping is nowhere near as rewarding as breastfeeding…when breastfeeding sessions go well. It makes me feel disconnected to my babies a bit, it’s almost impossible to hold babies when I’m pumping as they don’t like rubbing up against the machine. But the most annoying factor is that it takes an extra 30 minutes after each feeding to pump for the next one…10 times a day.
- Lansinoh TheraPearl Breast Therapy Pads – you can freeze these to place on your breasts after a pumping session or feeding session if you’re sore and swollen, or you can warm them in the microwave and place them in your nursing bra or around the pumping flange to assist with milk letdown. These have become my best friends lately!
- Lactation Cookies/Brownies & Supplements – Fenugreek tablets smell really gross and I’m not convinced they’ve been working for me. I was a bit concerned they were giving the babies and I a bit of tummy troubles, too. My husband has taken to baking me some oatmeal chocolate chip lactation cookies that are SO YUMMY! They taste just like regular oatmeal cookies, and oatmeal is supposed to be great for helping with milk supply. They also contain brewer’s yeast and flax meal in the recipe. He’s also since made me some lactation brownies by just baking up some Ghirardelli Supreme Brownie mix and adding the brewer’s yeast and flax meal. They may help, but they definitely don’t hurt things.
- Lactation Support Group – I’m not completely happy with the way our breastfeeding journey is going, and would like to not have to pump when I’m with my babies. Instead, I want to hold them and nurse them until they are content. The challenge becomes…what do you do when both babies need to breastfeed at the same time!? Well, it’s not easy for a first time mom who has never nursed before with babies that are both struggling to stay latched on throughout an entire feeding. Also, they’re so small and it’s very difficult to get them properly positioned on the Twin Z pillow I have. I find a big plump and slightly firm pillow that I can ball up under either arm tends to be more comfortable for us. But I’ve not really found something that works for me to feed both at the same time. I decided to get connected with my local La Leche League support group and attend a session to get some pointers. This was a very overwhelming experience. We were 30 minutes late, because…well…turns out, it’s rather difficult to get out of the house on time with two babies who always seem to be hungry right when it’s time to leave. Then I get there and there’s hardly anywhere to sit in this loud room full of like 15 mommas and 20 babies/toddlers, with a few moms breastfeeding their 4 and 5 year olds. My first instinct was to bolt for the door, but I hesitantly took a seat smooshed (is that a word?) in between a couple…ahem, “crunchy” mommas. I did get to talk about my situation and got some really great direction from the lactation consultants and fellow moms. I was the only twin mom, but I did get connected with another twin mom on their facebook page who said she’d be calling to talk me through some tips. Overall, I’m glad I went! The crunchy mommas were very very supportive and helpful! :)
- Lip/Tongue Tie – when I was in the hospital, several different lactation consultants evaluated the babies’ latching, and looked inside their mouths to check for a tongue tie. Nothing was stated to indicate they had any issues. There was an advanced lactation consultant at the meeting with quite a bit of experience in this – she works for a local pediatric ENT who corrects lip and tongue ties. She examined both babies and stated quite confidently that they definitely have an upper lip tie and a very high palate, which she said indicates a posterior tongue tie. I made an appointment with a pediatric ENT on Tuesday of next week. The doctor will examine both babies, and if he agrees that they do in fact have these issues, he will go ahead and clip the ties in the office and we’ll let them breastfeed immediately afterwards to soothe the babies and allow them to adjust to feeding at the breast without the ties. Basically, there’s a piece of skin that’s got the tongue and lip tacked down too tight, preventing proper movement. This makes latching and transferring milk exhausting for the babies, which makes it very emotionally draining for me as well. I’m told it can also cause issues with speech impediments and various other implications that I cannot remember right now.
Products We Used Most During the First Month:
- Huggies Little Swaddlers Diapers in Newborn -These are our favorites and they happen to also be incredibly cheap compared to many other brands. We buy them in bulk at Sam’s Club – and will start buying them at Costco once the girls outgrow the NB size (Costco starts at size 1). Turns out Pampers work alright for us, but we haven’t bought any ourselves. We absolutely HATE those freaking adorable Honest Company diapers. They have the cutest prints and are actually incredibly absorbent. However, we’ve found they run very small and do not have a wet indicator. For first time moms-to-be, this is the little yellow line down the diaper that turns blue when the diaper is wet or soiled. Yes, once a diaper is dirty/wet enough you can just feel that the diaper is too “smooshy” or even smell urine while the baby is still fully dressed and all…but so many times the indicators save us from having to wake up a baby to check inside the diaper when you can just see at first glance. As far as wipes go, we are using any unscented wipe we can find cheapest. So far, I prefer the store brand wipes from Sam’s Club over those from Costco.
- Baby Gap Onesies – Newborn for first two weeks, then 0-3 mo size. Newborn still fit, but the 0-3 are much easier to get on and off! We also have some really cute Carter’s onesies that we love, but we like the way the Baby Gap onesies fit looser (read: easier to get their squirmy arms into) and are made of super soft material and adorable prints.
- Nose Frieda Snot Sucker & Saline Solution to help with stuffy noses.
- Aveeno Calming Baby Lotion & Wash – I have several different products from Burts Bees & Honest Company. But I first started using the Aveeno brand products and absolutely love them. They have this amazing lavender & vanilla scent and are very gentle on baby.
- Swaddling Blankets – Yes, yes, the Aden & Anais brand muslin swaddlers are pretty awesome – rather large and really cute prints. However, I actually like the Hudson Baby brand better (Target carries these). They’re much cheaper, come in really cute prints, and I’ve found they’re slightly thicker and slightly stretchy, which is a bit easier for me to get a tight swaddle.
- Aden & Anais burp cloths/bibs – these really are the best burp cloths, and they have a snap that turns it into a bib as well. Very handy! But the cloths themselves are very thick, absorbent, really don’t seem to get dirty too fast, and are larger than any other cloth I’ve found. Target has an Aden & Anais line that’s a bit more affordable, but I’d say these are worth it. We also really like the Bazzle Babies bibs for giving medicines/vitamins and I’m sure they’d also be great for bottle feeding.
- Fisher Price Kick ‘N Play Piano – the girls love this, it’s incredibly cute and entertaining, and a great place to lay baby down to play and admire, or even do tummy time.
- Miscellaneous items: nail clippers/file, Vick’s humidifier a couple nights that they were a bit congested, and the tons of thick flannel blankets, basic white t-shirts, and plain burp cloths that the hospital gave us. The hospital also gave us a TON of Neosure formula, extra bottles for milk storage, diapers, wipes, and nursing/pumping supplies.
I was going to make a list of things that we don’t really use or need, but I really couldn’t think of anything we’ve wasted money on that we’re not using..yet. I think we were really practical in our planning and very thoughtful consideration for our registry. There really are very few things you actually need during the first month – and what they tell you is true – the hospital really does provide you with everything you need. We packed so much for the babies and used, literally, (almost) NOTHING that we’d packed in the babies’ bag – except for the camera, going home outfits, a couple hair bows, and two nice swaddle blankets that we used to do a mini photo shoot after we were discharged from the hospital. I layed the swaddle blankets out over a white hospital sheet on the bed, opened up the windows so lots of sunlight came through, and took lots of cute pictures because I knew we wouldn’t have the energy to do anything like that for a while at home. My husband was a tad bit (a lot) annoyed with me because he just wanted to get us all home safely and make sure we got my prescriptions picked up from the pharmacy before they closed (Sunday), and he was so exhausted that he didn’t even realize I was photographing him as he carried the babies’ in their carseats down the hospital hallway and got on the elevator. But the resulting photos are something he loves.
And can I just brag on my husband for a second? He is the most patient, loving, nurturing, most awesome daddy and husband I could possibly have by my side right now. I am so lucky he’s able to be with me and the girls full-time these next couple of months. Around the clock, he’s providing a ton of support and assistance for the three of us and just overall keeping me sane and properly nourished and hydrated. (<–Not an easy task – did you know that you burn 1000 extra calories breastfeeding/pumping for twins?!) I am incredibly aware of how lucky I am to have such a supportive and involved partner in this twin parenting business. I feel like becoming a parent with him has allowed me to see him, love him, and respect him in a whole new light and on a completely different level.
This has taken me 3 days to draft up, around 2 times the pumping sessions, nursing, burping, bathing, diaper changes, baby snuggles, and trying to squeeze in an hour or two of sleep here and there. Lol, I promise I’m going to try to at least keep up with monthly blog updates. And the offer to send pictures or connect in a more private forum still stands – just let me know, but I haven’t decided to share baby photos on the blog just yet.
I am reading a lot of your blogs, I promise! I have lots of time while pumping to browse WordPress, but sometimes I forget to comment or get interrupted mid-comment and then I don’t have time to come back to it. Wishing you all the best!
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
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