Double Trouble

[kholtan]

Welcome Baby2008 and congrats on twins!!! IT's the best thing ever and we are all thrilled for you!

I was in the same boat as you. . .We have never even had a single day of help and I am still b-feeding at over 5.5. months. My babies were born 6 weeks early so they were pretty sleepy the first few weeks but by the time they became more difficult we were sort of "Broken In" if you will. B-feeding has been so easy for us although we did have cracked and raw nipples here and there but remember it all passes and now it's so easy. I also purchased the tandem pillow and it made a world of difference for us. We don't use it as much anymore but every now and then we need it and it's still nice to have. I'd be happy to answer any and all questings regarding b-feeding!

Good luck to you and we are all here for you!
Kimberly

[kholtan]

Welcome Baby2008 and congrats on twins!!! IT's the best thing ever and we are all thrilled for you!

I was in the same boat as you. . .We have never even had a single day of help and I am still b-feeding at over 5.5. months. My babies were born 6 weeks early so they were pretty sleepy the first few weeks but by the time they became more difficult we were sort of "Broken In" if you will. B-feeding has been so easy for us although we did have cracked and raw nipples here and there but remember it all passes and now it's so easy. I also purchased the tandem pillow and it made a world of difference for us. We don't use it as much anymore but every now and then we need it and it's still nice to have. I'd be happy to answer any and all questings regarding b-feeding!

Good luck to you and we are all here for you!
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

Welcome baby2008....Kimberly is the gal to talk to. I was able to bf for the first 3 months, until I had major pain (I swear my daughter is a baracuda, and I had to go back to work....so I gave up.) I also had the tandem pillow, but I didn't find it as useful as Kimberly...I found tandem feeding very tricky with my two. It seemed like one of them was always "falling off", and then it was very hard for me to get one baby back on without "losing" the other... I had no problems with supply (although, I'd check with your doc about the vegan thing...not sure if that will affect things or not...) I found feeding one at a time to be more comfy, but it WAS time consuming.. Also, my kids had to be supplemented, which meant after they bfed, they had to get a bottle. So, I had to have help. THanks goodness I had family around.

Do you have a twins club in your area? They'd be a great resource for you. At least to lend a helping hand in the beginning.

Do you have any opportunities for lactation classes for multiples? I think Kimberly did. I didn't, and I wish I did. Cause two at a time is tricky.

But, by all means, give it a try....if it doesn't work, you can always go to bottles. But, if you never try, you'll never know....

BTW---Kimberly kudos to you...still going strong! Yeah!

[kholtan]

Baby2008~ I was just remembering a few more nursing tips for you. When I used the tandem pillow for the first 3.5 months my babies were so small I had to put a folded up blanket under their heads to raise them to the right spot. My babies are just now able to use it w/o any other supports at all. It may be because I'm a small person as well? Don't really know.
Like Kim, we were giving a bottle of breastmilk w/ added calories for the first 1-2 months but I didn't do that for long because pumps did not work for me at all. I tried 4 different ones and none of them seemed to work on me. My lactaion gal said that can happen to some people and it didn't mean the babies weren't getting enough I just wouldn't be able to pump and get much at all. So now we simply suppliment with one bottle a day right before bed. It's nice because they get that at about 7 pm and then I can have time to have a glass of wine and let the alcohol metabolize and my bb's are a bit fuller for the little guy(who still gets up) and he can eat quickly and go right back down.
Breast feeding was easier for me than the bottles, formula, pumping, propping, and clean up but I'm certainly not the norm. Most women had an easier time w/ bottles and the extra hands to help. We are all so different that you'll just have to find your own stride and go with it. I still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the time when the babies are feeding. Bodie always gives me his side ways smile and curls up close while Annelise carresses me like she's so grateful and couldn't be happier! Melts my heart to even think about it!
The most important thing to remember is that if you really truly want to do it for a long time you will just have to push thru the hard spots. Our goal is 18 months but I have baby goals along the way. I first said that I wouldn't be disappointed if I could do it for any length, then 3 months, then 6, and a year, and my ultimate is 18 months. More importantly is the goal to have healthy growing babies and so far so good!

Best wishes and I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Headed to the mountains later today, hopefully, if I don't wound dh. It's one of those days!
Take care~
Kimberly

[sugabeanzs]

I am sure this has been asked on here before but there are so many pages to go though! My husband and I are expecting our twins this fall and are looking at strollers...ones that are traveling systems. Do they make these for twins or no? Where is a good place to buy twins strollers that are somewhat cost effective and good? Any ideas help...thanks!

[buckeyegal]

sugabeanzs--Gracco makes a double travel system. Check out Babies R us to get an idea. I'm sure you can shop around on the internet to price compare. Congratulations!

[baby2008]

Thankyou so much Kimberly and buckeyegal. Your experiences has really helped me to decide that b'feeding might be difficult but not impossible . I have been going thro so many books and reading theories and philosophies behind b'fding but somebody telling you personally helps so much .
buckeyegal glad u had some help around. Lucky u ! . I am going to try hard to b'feed my babies . Since i dont work , i can totally devote my time initially to make it work atleast for 12 mnths . When i saw the tandem pillow , i felt the same that babies would fall from the sides....wish it had something to lock the babies close to the breasts. Sadly We dont have any multiples club nearby . Let me talk to my Ob/gyn abt lactation classes . It would be so nice if they could give me an practical lesson with all kinds of pillows and 2 live babies . I am really tired of the breastfeeding philosophies .Thanx so much for motivating me . Basically i have learnt that i shudnt give up bfore trying .

Kimberly u r so sweet ! . With all your positive thoughts inside you which you also give others , u r an amazing twin mommy. Tears came into my eyes , reading how ur twins express their love when you breastfeed.My mother always said more than half of your problems are solved if there are no lactation problems .I will find out the sex of the babies nxt mnth. My due date is Aug19th.But the babies might come in July. Plz stay on the board till then to support me n give me a shoulder to cry n vent , if things dont go right initially. As u know i have nobody . My DH's shoulder is enough for me , he such a darling ...but i need a female shoulder n tht too a twin mommy shoulder would be great.

I am definately going to try..... thanku alll .

[kholtan]

Baby2008~ We are all here to stay. . .for a while at least! We need each other as much as you feel you need us! It's a learning experience for sure at any age of your twins. If you give me your address, I will send you my tandem pillow when we are done with it. I'm sure it won'gt be long. Just pm me with your info. It's the style that tilts in and it helps SOOOOO much to keep the babies where they need to be. They are able to swallow better if they aren't flat and the tilt puts them at the position they would be if they were feeding solo. It's very doable for sure! I got it at a used store where it was brand new for a few bucks but it retails for $50 or more! What a great deal! Love saving money!

sugabeanzs~ Good luck on the stroller hunt! Seems to be a topic that comes up a lot on here. You may want to sift through this page and find stroller conversations. I think every stoller on the planet has been gone over by us at least ten times! I did the snap-n-go and a side-by-side MacClaren AND a dreamerdesign jogger stroller. I am glad I didn't buy the jogger new because it wasn't that great on the sand but I love, love, love the other two!

Goodnight everyone!
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

kimberly--did DH survive? I seem to threaten mine every other day.

Baby2008--definitely be sure to try...you're lucky you don't have to deal with going back to work. THat was definitely a looming presence in my decision to stop. And your right about dh's...even if they are the nicest, most well-meaning men, they just "don't get it" about bfing. They see bb's as a toy, not a feeding mechanism. We'll be here for you.

[kholtan]

Kim~ DH is currently going to go up for aution on E-Bay. No reasonable offer will be refused Ladies!!!! No offer at all for that matter! There are just days when I could hang him from the rafters. Maybe we can send our Dh's on vacation somewhere. . . far. . . .far. . . .far away!

Goodnight everyone!
Kimberly

[kholtan]

Kim~ the pictures of Mr. Trump and Ellie are the stinkin' cutest thingsI have ever seen! Sleep with one eye open or you may find them missing one day!!!!! XOXOXOXO LOVE IT!!!!!! Just can't get enough pictures of twin babies!

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!! At 5:32 p.m. today Bodie finally had had enough of tummy time and. . . . drum roll please. . . . . .he ROLLED OVER!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!! We are still cheering. Maybe today will Anna's lucky day as well!

[buckeyegal]

Yeah Bodie!!!!!! Maybe his sister will get jealous and try it now too. See, we knew he would do it!

I'm glad you liked the pics....we need to see some new ones of yours! I bet they are getting so big.

I like the idea of sending DH's away. I keep teasing my DH by saying, "That's it...I'm getting myself a wife!" He thinks it's funny, but I swear all I do is take care of THREE children, all by myself! Might as well get myself a wife to take some of the load off my back. ha ha! Hope your DH is out of "time out" by now...

[buckeyegal]

I stand corrected....I just checked out the bucket. What cute pics Kimberly! I love the food all over their faces! Annelise has such pretty eyes, and Bodie is a cute smiler! Is she bigger than him? (Just curious...as I'm a bit paranoid that my Ellie is going to outweigh her brother her whole life.... ) How's the solid food going with the bfing? They seem to like the food...are they getting any in?

[kellym]

Hello Wonderful Twin Mommies!

I just found out today that we are pregnant with twins so of course I now have a million questions. I haven't had a chance to read all the posts but I am sure there is a wealth of information that I'll be needing over the next 7 months and beyond. Were you told what the typical length of a twin pregnancy is?

I have been through many IVF cycles and feel like I could be granted a degree in it, but now that I have reached the pregnancy stage I am back to being a complete newbie! Any information you guys can provide would be fantastic!!!

I am so thrilled to join this group of wonderful women - what an exciting time this is going to be!!

Kelly

[kholtan]

Kellym~ CONGRAtS!!!!!!! You are going to LOVE it!!!!! Twins are the best thing ever as all the mommies here will agree I'm sure! We were all so very different as well but my babies delivered emergency c-section at 36 weeks after 2 weeks of hospital bedrest. Before that I think I had the easiest pregnancy of anyone I know having one or two babies. I think your main thing right now is just staying healthy and concentrating on slowly but surely outfitting your nursery before they get here. Believe me that time will fly by and it will all be such a blur! Congrats again!

Kim~ Anna is a bigger now than her brother! Hopefully not forever! I'll write more later on this!