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#11
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
Hi again,
Thank you for all the great info. Just to clarify, I was talking about breastmilk in the bottle. As for burping, she does burp well (finally) but burping her makes no difference in her fighting the bottle when she starts to do that. She had taken the bottle perfectly earlier on but maybe now it is just a preference to the breast. I don't think we're trying to overfeed her because she starts fighting the bottle sometimes after only taking 1 oz. Typically, we try to give both of them 4-5 oz per feed when we bottle them (they are each just under 12 lbs and feed 5-6 times per day). I do feed her sitting upright and have also tried feeding her by putting her in her bumbo chair but it doesn't seem to make a difference. The doctor says it is the reflux and that's where the Prevacid comes in. I'm going back to work soon and my wife was hoping that she might exclusively pump and bottle both girls with the breastmilk rather then nurse them one at a time as it would be far quicker. Unfortunately, Hannah doesn't take to the tandem nursing very well either and until they can self latch and hold my wife literally needs an extra hand to do it. Bottling one, nursing the other and then pumping doesn't really buy her any more time so I guess we'll have to make the decision on going to formula or not. She's just putting so much pressure on herself to keep them on breastmilk only... |
#12
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
I'm going back to work soon and my wife was hoping that she might
exclusively pump and bottle both girls with the breastmilk rather then nurse them one at a time as it would be far quicker. Unfortunately, Hannah doesn't take to the tandem nursing very well either and until they can self latch and hold my wife literally needs an extra hand to do it. Bottling one, nursing the other and then pumping doesn't really buy her any more time so I guess we'll have to make the decision on going to formula or not. She's just putting so much pressure on herself to keep them on breastmilk only... I really don't think the logic follows, a bottle shouldn't be consumed much faster if at all than a feed at the breast, if there is a significant difference in time taken, then either the bottle nipple is too fast (which could be yet another reason for the problems one of the is having), or there is time at the breast which is comfort sucking which it may be possible to reduce, maybe with the aid of a pacifier. Even if she bottle feeds them at the same time - which isn't all that easy and leaves you with no hands free, the time spent pumping, washing cleaning etc probably negates it. It sounds like it would really help her to learn to nurse the twins together, at least for some feeds, I know there are a lot of ways of doing it, but not being a mother of twins I don't know where to point for the best help or information. Cheers Anne |
#13
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
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#14
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 05:19:42 -0500, Donna Metler wrote:
It really bothers me to hear people make it sound like it's breastfeeding or nothing, and that pumping is a major obstacle. Maybe if I'd ever been able to breastfeed a baby and seen how easy it was, I might feel that way, but having EPd, I know it can work, even in a worst case scenerio where breastfeeding just isn't working at all. I was speaking for myself. I did pump for more than a year for DS and we combined EBM, formula, BF so I could work. I also pumped for DD until I finally gave up, since she just wouldn't take a bottle. I hated pumping with a passion, found it labor intensive and would give it up if I had to do it full-time. It takes double the work of BF'ing or FF'ing; since in addition to feeding, one must pump and clean the pump. My friend pumped exclusively and my hat was off to her (and to you). |
#15
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
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#16
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
It really bothers me to hear people make it sound like it's breastfeeding or nothing, and that pumping is a major obstacle. Maybe if I'd ever been able to breastfeed a baby and seen how easy it was, I might feel that way, but having EPd, I know it can work, even in a worst case scenerio where breastfeeding just isn't working at all. but this isn't a situation where breastfeeding isn't working at all, it's the opposite, breastfeeding seems to be fine and giving bottles is the issue, a lot of people offered multiple suggestions to solve the bottle feeding problems. Deciding to EP when breastfeeding is working is a totally different ball game to deciding to do it when it isn't, you pretty much had no option, it was give bottles of breastmilk or give bottles of formula, you committed to the smart choice of pumping for her - but unfortunately that means you haven't experienced a normal breastfeeding relationship. Mixed pumping and breastfeeding can work out great, most of us have done it and I imagine with twins that it could be a helpful tool. EPing can apparently go pretty well at first, I've seen it happen many many times, life revolves around baby anyway, you always have to take a bottle out etc, you just do it, but as time passes it can get harder and harder to keep the milk supply up, then once they are on solids they can get a bit more unpredictable, do you take a bottle out with you or not? will you need to pump on this trip or not? the convenience of breastfeeding really increases at this point. It all depends what your goals are - you really are very rare in providing some ebm through to 2 years, which is the WHO recommendation for breastfeeding, even 1 year is pretty unusual, so it depends what your goals are, it's going to look different if you're wanting to make it another month or another 6 months. The vast majority of the time fixing a breastfeeding problem is going to get better results than moving to EPing. Anne |
#17
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
On Sep 28, 1:28 pm, wrote:
Unfortunately, Hannah doesn't take to the tandem nursing very well either Does this seem to be because the milk comes out too fast during tandem nursing? If so, one option might be to latch on the other baby first, wait until after the fastest part of the first letdown is done, then switch the first baby to the other side and latch Hannah on to the first side. Later in the nursing session switching sides again would be an option. Since this would change the foremilk/hind milk ratio each would receive, you would want to pay attention to how this affects their dispositions and growth. Another thing that might help would be to work on finding a tandem nursing postion that keeps Hannah more upright. As they grow in the next weeks, tandem nursing is likely to get a lot easier. and until they can self latch and hold my wife literally needs an extra hand to do it. It is really hard when they are still at the point where it takes her full concentration and effort just to keep one latched on. Very good propping can help but it can be difficult to even get the second one latched on without loosing the first one's latch. A good tandem nursing pillow can be especially helpful when they are so small. Bottling one, nursing the other and then pumping doesn't really buy her any more time so I guess we'll have to make the decision on going to formula or not. She's just putting so much pressure on herself to keep them on breastmilk only... Despite the fact that it has been a while since their births, they are still at a stage where nursing them together is a challenge. Does your wife have any local support from other women who have nursed twins and made it through the difficult early stages? If not, your local La Leche League leader might be able to put you in touch with some. --Betsy |
#18
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
betsy wrote:
On Sep 28, 1:28 pm, wrote: Unfortunately, Hannah doesn't take to the tandem nursing very well either I had two children (not twins but born at separate times) who would only nurse on the right breast. One of them was quite adamant about it, and would scream in anger any time I tried the left. (This was when she was 3 weeks.) I was told (after the fact) that the right side usually drew down easier if the mom was right handed. So it wasn't because the milk came out too fast, but the reverse. So maybe Hannah prefers one breast over the other, and you are trying to nurse her tandem on her non-preferred side. Does this seem to be because the milk comes out too fast during tandem nursing? If so, one option might be to latch on the other baby first, wait until after the fastest part of the first letdown is done, then switch the first baby to the other side and latch Hannah on to the first side. Later in the nursing session switching sides again would be an option. Since this would change the foremilk/hind milk ratio each would receive, you would want to pay attention to how this affects their dispositions and growth. Another thing that might help would be to work on finding a tandem nursing postion that keeps Hannah more upright. As they grow in the next weeks, tandem nursing is likely to get a lot easier. and until they can self latch and hold my wife literally needs an extra hand to do it. It is really hard when they are still at the point where it takes her full concentration and effort just to keep one latched on. Very good propping can help but it can be difficult to even get the second one latched on without loosing the first one's latch. A good tandem nursing pillow can be especially helpful when they are so small. Bottling one, nursing the other and then pumping doesn't really buy her any more time so I guess we'll have to make the decision on going to formula or not. She's just putting so much pressure on herself to keep them on breastmilk only... Despite the fact that it has been a while since their births, they are still at a stage where nursing them together is a challenge. Does your wife have any local support from other women who have nursed twins and made it through the difficult early stages? If not, your local La Leche League leader might be able to put you in touch with some. --Betsy |
#19
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
Rosalie B. schrieb:
betsy wrote: On Sep 28, 1:28 pm, wrote: Unfortunately, Hannah doesn't take to the tandem nursing very well either I had two children (not twins but born at separate times) who would only nurse on the right breast. One of them was quite adamant about it, and would scream in anger any time I tried the left. (This was when she was 3 weeks.) I was told (after the fact) that the right side usually drew down easier if the mom was right handed. So it wasn't because the milk came out too fast, but the reverse. Sara prefers the left, as did Sam. However (!) I went to the doc with Sara last week to get her neck checked and sure enough she did have one "blocked" disc (?) in her spine, I think it was the first or second one. The doc fixed that by basically giving it a push from both sides at once, and she's a lot better, she turns her head to both sides now and when she's laying on her back her head's not turned to the side all the time anymore. She's still no good at nursing on the right breast though :-/ I think let down is too fast for her there, she latches on fine but pulls away frequently. So, if your twin also has some neck issues (doesn't turn her head to one side, or does so very reluctantly; lays like a banana when her head's turned to the non preferred side,...) see your doc about it and get a referral to a "specialist". It's very common for newborn babies to have this, I'm sure Sam did, too but we didn't find a doc prepared to check/treat him because they weren't experienced with babies... cu nicole (nak, yay!) |
#20
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Problem bottle feeding one of the twins
On Sep 29, 8:29 am, NL wrote:
when she's laying on her back her head's not turned to the side all the time anymore. She's still no good at nursing on the right breast though :-/ I think let down is too fast for her there, she latches on fine but pulls away frequently. When mine were newborns, they preferred my less productive side. As they got bigger and more able to handle the more forceful letdown, they switched to liking the more productive side better. --Betsy |
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