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Did anyone else do this for feeding? Advice please (long)
I'm currently BF, pumping, bottle feeding breast milk and bottle feeding formula. Did anyone else do this?
DD is able to take to the breast, but I'm still working with DS to try and get on it. He's only latched three times so far, but I do work with him every day on it.For the feedings I put hom to teh breast I usually give her a bottle. In addition, when I put her to the breast, I don't believ eshe's getting a full feeding. She'll stay on one breast for about 7 minutes and 3 on the other, then won't take the bottle I've made for her to supplement. I want them to get bm as much as possible, so I pump after every feeding, but I don't get enough bm to feed both of the bm exclusively. They were also preemies and spent time a few weeks in the NICU so we needed to supplement with formula.
I get stressed out trying to feed them (have tried feeding at the same time as well as one after the other) and obviously can't put them both to the breast at the same time as DS needs more time and attention. So all the things I'm doing to feed them make the most sense for us at this point.
Does anyone have a recommendation to make feeding them easier. If I do it one after the other, it takes me about an hour and a half (with pumping and playtime) to an hour and 45 minutes. Then it's time to feed again 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes later. I guessing many of you have gone through this and I'd appreciate any advice you can give.
TIA
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Re: Did anyone else do this for feeding? Advice please (long)
I wish I could give you advice but all I can tell you is that I know how you feel and I felt the same way. My babies were good at BFing but I didn't make enough for both of them so I was BFing, FFing, and Pumping every feeding. (plus extra pumping to increas supply - every 2 hours) It wore my out and I was so stressed out that I made the decision at 4 weeks to EPing. That helped a little but at 9 weeks I switched to FFing. I have to say that quitting was the best decision for myself and the babies, but I don't regret at all trying. I do wish I would have quit a little sooner so I could have enjoyed my maternity leave more (I quit the week I returned to school).
If you want to keep at it I give you a ton of credit! and you CAN do it if you really want to, Make sure you get as much help as possible with feedings (ie: giving bottles) because that will save your sanity. If you do decide switch to formula don't feel bad - just do what is best for you.
do you have the EZ2BNurse pillow? I also had early babies, with latching problems, and this pillow saved our breastfeeding. It's very comfortable, easy to get babies in a good position and allows you to be hands free to help the struggling baby.
I'd probably stop pumping though (except for before bed if they are already asleep, and maybe after the AM feeding since you have the most milk. Even if they get more formula/less milk that way, at least they will have a happier momma.
Hmm. How big are they? I used that pillow right from the start when my babies were both right around 6 lbs (they had each lost 7 oz in the hospital) and it was doable; I just had to put pillows under it to raise it to the right height, and also add some rolled-up receiving blankets for extra support. I would experiment with making it work because it really would help you. (And yeah I did BF, pump and formula feed for a while, though I didn't last as long as you; I had to go back on my meds for MS after 1m.)
i experienced similar. it can be so hard, i know. there is so little time for anything other than feedings/pumping.
can you have a LC come to your home? i wish i'd done that. also if you can go to a bf clinic (call your nicu) they can weigh the baby before and after a feeding to see just how much they are getting from you. the amount of time they are on the breast is not really a great indicator of how much milk they get. you can't compare to what the pump gets, as baby is usually much more efficient. and your body kind of knows the difference... and will give more to baby.
we started with preemies and the nicu and their ped wanted us to supplement bm with neosure for most of their feedings to start, so i wasn't encouraged to ebf. i think this was a big mistake, as my girls quickly were in the 95%tile and still they wanted us to supplement.
my "good" nurser eventually developed a strong preference for the bottle. my difficult nurser eventually got MUCH better, but by that time i would bf with her about 3 times a day and bottles the rest.
pumping instead of bfing, and even pumping after bfing, can lead to less success bfing. with twins, bfing and bottle feeding and pumping leads to utter exhaustion....not good for morale or milk supply. pumping on it's own just doesn't help milk supply. i hated when people would suggest pumping MORE often... 8 or 9 times a day, plus trying to feed and care for 2 babies is enough... there is no way i could have done 12 pumpings in a day and kept any kind of sanity!
now for some women this is NOT the case. some can pump a lot of bm.
one tip that my lc from the bf clinic i went to gave me: she told me to just bf babies for a 6 hr period... no pumping, no bottle for babies. it kind of freaked me out... but she said, baby will not starve! if baby is hungry again in 1.5 hrs, or 2hrs, bf again. it was a real confidence booster but for me it only worked with one baby. the other baby was so OVER the boob.
for me, i came to grips with the fact that it did not have to be all or nothing. i weaned part way, and for a few months only pumped 4/day, and bfed twice overnight with one baby, so that they got some bm until i weaned completely by 7mos.
best of luck!
Yep, I did some of everything for about 9 months. Luckily, when my DDs were about 39 weeks (born at 35w6d), they both "got" BFing after using a nipple shield with them for about a week. Have you tried one with your DS?
I had a lousy supply, and will admit I didn't do everything I could have to increase it, but it worked for us. During the day, I would BF them first and then supplement with a bottle (formula or breast milk, depending on what was around). I wouldn't pump afterwards though. At night, DDs would just get bottles and I would pump before I went to bed, once in the middle of the night, and then when I got up in the morning. So for a feeding, I either BF or pumped, but not both.
I doubt this helped much, but just wanted you to know that you're not alone. :-)
***Twin fraternal girls born at 35w6d in 12/2008***
You are definitely not alone! My babies lost 13% of their birth weight in the hospital, so we had to supplement with formula. I quit giving them formula when my milk came in. Until they reached their birth weight, I was BFing every 3 hours and then pumping afterwards. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do - I was so tired, frustrated and overwhelmed.
I eventually dropped some pumping. I always pump early in the morning and before bed. I pump during the day after feedings if I can (i.e. girls are quiet or sleeping). Right now I have a yeast infection on my nipples. I can no longer tandem feed b/c its too painful. I feed one, then the other, and then pump if possible for overnight bottles. The whole process including changing diapers, feeding, burping, cleaning spit up, etc. takes 1&1/2 hours. Fortunately, both my girls are good nursers and are getting more efficient. I really have no advice for you, as I'm also struggling to figure out how to make it more doable. I just want you to know you are not alone.
If its any reassurance, your DD is probably getting what she needs from the 12 minutes she BFs. If she's refusing the supplement, she's probably full and doesn't need more. i took my LOs to the LC and they weighed them before and after being BFd. I was shocked at how much they drank in such a short time. Hang in there! Please keep me updated if you figure out how to make it easier. I'm at a loss too.
Great job trying to get them both to BF; probably further than most of us got!!
For me, my DS latched on but DD wouldn't. So, I decided to exclusively pump as it took too much time, and I also had a 3 year old. However, without the help of family around, I wouldn't have been able to pump at all.