If you breastfed

volgirl123 · July 2010

I really hope to be able to breastfeed my boys, but I was told by a NICU nurse when I did the tour, that since they are wimpy white boys they may not be able to latch on when they are born (likley in the next couple of weeks). If you breastfed did your babies have problems latching? How far along were you when you delivered? TIA

TalulaSue · July 2010

We had a hard couple of days in the beginning, but they had it down by the time we left the hospital. I had a c/s at 37 weeks. I was in the hospital for 5 days, and I give so much credit to the lactation consultants and nurses for being able to nurse today. Be sure to let them know you really want to breastfeed and ask for help! I had a hard time by the second night, (sobbing to the nurse Embarrassed

) but on the third night/fourth day the weight stopped dropping and they starting sucking/swallowing... it was an amazing feeling! good luck!

Temp6313048411121614 · July 2010

My boys were born at 38w exactly. One baby could latch ok, the other had a bit of trouble but still could do it.

jec2006 · July 2010

I delivered at 36w5d via c/s. My girls are almost a year and are still nursing twice a day. They latched on immediately, which amazed us all, since they were a bit on the small side, and they never had any issues with latching. My older daughter gave me some trouble at first, but I had amazing lactation staff at my hospital who really helped the process along. Try not to worry too much, and best of luck!

GSwans · July 2010

I am BFing and delivered at 37w3d. ?My DD had some latching issues, but by the 3rd/4th day, she was getting the hang of it. ?Like PP said, work with the LCs at the hospital, they will give you great advice and assistance! ?You can do it! ?I've been going strong for 6 weeks now!

PS-Make sure you get yourself a good twin nursing pillow!?

gumiberg · July 2010

I had my babies at 35 weeks and they were unable to latch. And if they did latch, they would just fall asleep.

So for the first 6 weeks I would: pump, try to breastfeed, cry...repeat. And I dont know what changed at 6 weeks but they just started latching.

We're still nursing and I thought nothing could be harder than breastfeeding but I am learning ironically that weaning is.

redshoegirl · July 2010

Breastfeeding didn't end up working out for us (low supply that I couldn't increase no matter what I tried), but my dudes were awesome latchers from day one - they were born at 38w2d.

atc282 · July 2010

38w5d. One DD latched on just fine; the other wasn't as keen on the idea (and she was fed formula in a bottle at the hospital to keep weight up). I kept nursing one DD and pumped, ultimately, for both (stopped nursing latch-friendly DD after awhile) so that I could do both for the same.

As gumiberg pointed out, there is something about the 6 week point--so even if you have latch problems in the first few weeks, give it a go around at 6 wks and hopefully they will be able to both latch.

GL

themathgirl · July 2010

I delivered at 36 weeks 4 days and was told from day 1 how amazing my little guys were at feeding

We did end up supplementing for a while but only because my supply wasn't increasing fast enough. They never even had any nipple confusion because of pacifiers/bottles/etc. My little white boys were amazing - yours may be too! GL

sunnybrook. · July 2010

My girls were born at 36w6d. One had a little problem latching on the first couple tries, but she quickly got the hang of it. We all left the hospital together being able to tandem feed. I did have to supplement since it took my supply 5 days to come in. I insisted we use tubing and syringe to feed and no bottles or pacifiers. The girls have been exclusively BF and are still going strong!

hellomynameisfabulous · July 2010

I delivered at 38 weeks and had good latchers, for the most part. The LCs at the hospital were awesome and I tandem fed A&V for the four days that I was there. I breastfed them for the next three weeks while DH was home to help me get them latched using the EZ2Nurse pillow. Then one of my girls went through a phase where she would unlatch herself and start screaming, refusing to relatch or calm down. After DH went back to work, trying to tandem nurse was too much and the girls weren't gaining enough weight, so I went to EP with occasional nursing.

amcam24 · July 2010

I'm only 3 weeks into it, but it's definitely do able! My twins were born at 38 weeks 3 days. We had a lot of set backs, my milk took forever to come in, babies were losing weight even tube feeding, so we HAD to use a bottle for a few days to save their energy. My son is a rockstart nurser, he latched right away and went back and forth like a champ. My daughter didn't latch for 2 days after the bottles, but we got her on with a nipple shield. I only needed it for 5 days, she latches great without it now.

So, even if they don't latch right away, you will get there.

AliciaMomof4 · July 2010

I gave birth at 36 wks. 0 days and my boys latched and have exclusively bf'd from hour 1! It's totally doable and we had no issues. That being said I have also nursed 2 other babies for a yr. each so I had some practice. But the boys are doing awesome on their own and weighed 6.6 and 6.10 at 36 wks. GL:)

sfshawna · July 2010

38 weeks exactly here, and my babies latched just fine from the beginning. You may be lucky and have no latching issues, or you may need to pump and work a little at the latching for a few weeks. I know, easier said than done, right? Best of luck to you!! The first few weeks are hard, but it gets much easier!! I'm still nursing my 16 month olds. Now I need to figure out how I'm going to wean these girls. Sigh.

kaitley44 · July 2010

My babies were born at 38 weeks 5 days and had a lot of trouble latching. We didn't have that much help either. there were many unsupportive staff who kept telling me that they have never seen a twin mom be able to EBF, and that I will have to suppliment. I did suppliment in the hospital, but once my milk came in on day 6 I stopped supplimenting.

The babies did finally get a good latch and have been breast feeding champs ever since. I am proud to say that I EBF my babies.

The best advice I can give is to get good support ASAP.

carissasmom · July 2010

My girls were born at 36 weeks and a day (or 2 depending on who was counting) and wouldn't latch in the beginning. They just wanted to sleep. all.the.time. But we kept at it and they woke up and got the hang of it and we're still going strong. So it's totally doable.

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