Double Trouble

[DianeC]

Hi all

The schedules are crazy hey! Bronte is three hourly feeds - very lttle breast feeding at this stage but I will try more now that she is stronger.

Harry is still in hospital and we don't expect him out until next week. He is feeding very poorly. The hospital will only try and bottle feed him every second feed bcause he is so tired. He is very sluggish with the breast feeding as well. I have put some more photos of the babies in photobucket.

No personals -sorry. Hi to all the new members

Di
xx

[DianeC]

Hi all

The schedules are crazy hey! Bronte is three hourly feeds - very lttle breast feeding at this stage but I will try more now that she is stronger.

Harry is still in hospital and we don't expect him out until next week. He is feeding very poorly. The hospital will only try and bottle feed him every second feed bcause he is so tired. He is very sluggish with the breast feeding as well. I have put some more photos of the babies in photobucket.

No personals -sorry. Hi to all the new members

Look forward to seeing more piccy's.

Di
xx

[DianeC]

Hi all

The schedules are crazy hey! Bronte is three hourly feeds - very lttle breast feeding at this stage but I will try more now that she is stronger.

Harry is still in hospital and we don't expect him out until next week. He is feeding very poorly. The hospital will only try and bottle feed him every second feed bcause he is so tired. He is very sluggish with the breast feeding as well. I have put some more photos of the babies in photobucket.

No personals -sorry. Hi to all the new members

Look forward to seeing more piccy's.

Di
xx

[buckeyegal]

Di--I got to see your little ones...too precious. I hope Harry continues to make progress so you get him home very soon!

Gals, I finally figured out the pics (with DH's help!) I was able to post some pics of Braeden and Ellie. I hope to post more soon!

[kholtan]

How do I look at the pics on photobucket? Clearly I need children to show me how to work a computer!

[LauraLou]

Kim and Diane- Your babies are so beautiful!!!

Kholtan- You can see the pictures at www.photobucket.com. The user name and password are both ivfgroup.

Nicholas and Jeremy are doing well. They have been somewhat fussy lately, but I just read in my baby book that six weeks is the peak time for fussiness, so I guess they are right on schedule!!!

[kholtan]

Thanks Laura!

What beautiful babies you all have!!! I ended up sifting through pages and pages of babies!!! It's so sweet to put faces to the new names.

Congrats everyone!

[buckeyegal]

Hi gals!

I hope you all are doing well. I'm going to the bucket to see if there are any new photos.

Laura--Are you still bfing? How are you handling the feeding schedule with your boys? We are doing the 3 hour schedule. Each baby gets bfed for about 20 minutes and then gets a formula chaser (about 2 oz.) afterwards. My pediatrician recommends doing an alternating schedule in the near future, where one baby bf's and the other takes a bottle of formula. Then the next feeding they switch places. Any advice now that your boys are about 6 weeks? Thanks!

How are the rest of you and your babies/bellies doing?

[DianeC]

Hi all

I just checked the photobucket and the pictures are sooooo cute.

How are you doing Em? We have not heard from you for a while - are your babies home?

Everyone else seems to be coping well and the babies are growing as they should, which is great!

Harry is still in hospital it seems he is lactose intolerant. He got over the intiial problems with breathing and the fluid in his lungs then started sicking up and pooing all too often - poor little man. He seemed to be very uncomfortable and squirming often along with sicking up, pooing nearly every napping, with some diahrea and finally some blood in his stools and in his vomit. They have done so many tests to rule out possible causes. However, he is now on his third formula and seems to be settling down. He is also on three medications to help him. We are so relieved that he seems to have turned a corner with this problem. I have also stopped the breast feeding with him as well. Fingers crossed that he continues to get better it has soon stressful to say the least!

On the other hand, Bronte has been going extremely well. She put on 8 oz in 4 days She is still on three hourly feeds. Seems like she is catching up on the nutrients she missed out on in the womb. She is still better feeding at night rather than the day and also seems more alert at night. She has had a few nights where she has been unsettled all night! My husband says he does not know how he will cope when he has to go back to work. We are really tired more often than not.

Cheers to all and let us know how you are doing

Di

[kholtan]

Hey mommies!!!!

Hope everyone is doing great out there with the exception of some sleepless nights! I won't be laughing in a few months!

Di~ Sounds like the babies are doing pretty good. Bronte sounds like she is going in full stride and I'm sure Harry will catch up very soon. Sounds like they are getting his sensitive tummy figured out. Will you go back to bfeeding him when he gets home? Did you stick to the cloth diapers as well at home with Bronte? Mine are cleaned and ready and anxious for the trail run! How are you doing? Feeling alright? Keep us posted on everything and keep up the good work!

Kim~ Sounds like you are running like a finely tuned machine now! A sleepless machine but it seems you know what is working for your little ones. Good job! That does seem like the hard part. We have no idea who we are dealing with until they get here. How are you feeling as well?

I ran into a woman at a baby store the other day and she gave me the best info! Did anyone get suplimentary insurance? It pays you directly, tax free, for any days your baby has to be in special care. This one I found pays $1000.00 a day for each baby. The mom I ran into had her babies in the NICU for a total of 28 days and got a check after getting home for $28,000.00!!!!! Mine starts on Wednesday and it's only $22.50 a month!!!! It is worth it even if it is never used! WE pray to not need it but if we did we want to be prepared. If anyone is interested I will post the number. It's nation wide anywhere pregnancy isn't concidered a pre-exhisting condition.

Other than my insurance find, we have just been busy out on the lake and then we went fishing yesterday with DH's family on their farm. It has been great weather here so we are just enjoying our days and nights.

Hope all is well!
Take care,
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

Hey gals,

A little sleepy here, as it's mid-afternoon, and my speed is slowing down a bit! Can't nap now as the babies have to eat in 30 minutes, so I will try later. It's funny though....I'm getting around 6-7 hours TOTAL of sleep each night (thank God for my helpers!), but it's interrupted sleep, of course. So, I"m tired, but not EXHAUSTED, yet! I have a feeling once my help is gone, my life will take a considerable turn!

Di, so sorry to hear about Harry's troubles. It's frustrating when your little one isn't feeling well, and you don't know what to do. My kiddos tend to get gassy from their formula (probably from sucking air in the bottles), and I can tell their uncomfortable, but other than cuddling and burping--there's not much a mommy can do, huh? I hope things get better for Harry soon. I'm glad to hear Bronte is doing well! If we lived on the same continent, we could call each other during the overnight feedings to keep each other awake! ha ha! My little ones sleep so well during the day, but inevitably one is fussy during the night. At least it's only one, right?

We're also working with our labradoodle on training him how to give the babies space. He's a loveable dog, and very calm. However, he wants to lick the babies all the time. So, my MIL and i have been trying to train him to be more cautious and careful. He's so cute, though....he's always peeking in their bassinett to make sure they are both okay!

kimberly--Wow, that's great info on the insurance. Luckily, I didn't need it, but I think it's smart of you to be prepared, just in case! Take care of yourself, and enjoy the nice weather! I'm stuck inside most days as it's just too warm for the babies right now. almost 90 degrees here. ugh.

Em, how are you?

Laura, I hope you and your boys are well?

Belly/baby rubs to all you gals!

[kholtan]

Hey Kim!
You sound great for being sleep deprived! Glad to hear things are going so well. I'm sure that you will surprise even yourself after your help leaves. Although I doubt you'll still be getting so many hours of sleep I bet you'll actually appreciate the alone time with your babies.
Your puppy sounds so sweet!! I just love those dogs. We had my one year old niece this weekend and our dog Lucy was just in love with her. MaeZee fed her dog food one piece at a time for an hour. Her first word when she awoke was "Puppy". Children and dogs just seem to understand one another and they have the most genuine love for one another. How lucky your babies will have your sweet dog.

Hope everyone is doing great! Take care~
Kimberly

[Xrayem]

Hi Guys,

I am so sorry that i have been MIA but we got the boys home last friday and ever since then there has been a steady stream of visitors. I have jumped online several times but have only ever managed to read all your posts...not a chance to reply.

Di- Congratulations!!!! I love your names! I had Bronte on my list but we already had agreed on Charlotte and if they were 2 girls thought that was too much of a "theme". I'm sorry to hear that little Harry has been unwell. I hope that they get his feeds sorted soon and he starts to feel better. Its incrediably hard having them in hospital isn't it?

Kim- Darcy-dog seems mesmerised by the boys too! We are wary with him as he is so big and clumsy but he whines when they cry and gets all upset like he thinks we are bad parents! My parents don't like dogs and so we are finding it hard to get time to really introduce the boys and Darcy as my folks think the dog should be nowhere near them.

Laura - How are the boys?

Mummies-in-waiting - how are you all feeling? Sleep as much as you can now...my best advise!

So far the boys seem really good. They are waking every 4 hour for feeds at the moment and we have them timed at 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm, 2am and 6am. So through the night we are only being woken once really. I take a cooler box with the pre-made bottles, a flask with hot water and enough nappies, wipes etc to bed with us so when they wake I can heat their bottles and change them with out even getting out of bed. We have the routine down pat and usually have them fed, changed, burped and asleep within 30 mins! I know that we have it good at the moment and that as they get older things will change dramatically, but as someone who loves their sleep, I am pretty happy at the moment.

Ok. Will pop over to the photobucket and check out the bubs now.

Good to hear everyone is well!

Em

[LauraLou]

Kim- I hate to say it, but I gave up bfeeding. It was just too much for me. But while I was still doing it, yes I alternated bfeeding one and bottle feeding the other and then switched at the next feeding.

Em- You are so lucky! I wish my boys would eat every 4 hrs. They are six weeks and still usually only go 3 hrs between feedings.

Diane- We are having a similar problem with Nicholas. He is on a special hypoallergenic formula and is on medicine for acid reflux. It seems to be helping with the crying, spitting up and diarrhea. It is very frustrating when your baby is unhappy and nothing you do seems to help.

Kholtan- I wish I had known about that insurance! I could certainly have used the money for diapers!

I have had a really hard week. The boys have been so so fussy. Nicholas has acid reflux which has caused him to scream every time you feed him and for an hour or so afterwards. Just about the time he stops, it's time to eat again! Jeremy has also been very fussy. They baby book says that six weeks is the peak time for fussiness, so I keep telling myself it will get better from here.

I really really wish they could go 4 hrs between feedings as I am getting so exhausted feeding them every 3 hrs. DH travels out of town every Monday-Thursday, so it is just me having to do everything for both of them. I try to make them go longer between feeding but they wake up screaming and nothing makes them happy but a bottle.

It was so much easier when they first came home and they just ate and slept. I know it will get better, but it is really hard right now.

I gave my resignation at work. My maternity leave is up in two weeks and there is no way I can go back to work. I am a nurse and would probably kill someone if I tried to give narcotics when so sleep deprieved! I am hoping that they will be doing better by the fall and I can find a new job then. I think in other countries women get longer maternity leaves, which would have been nice. Here it depends on what company you work for. My hospital gives you 6 weeks for a vaginal delivery and 8 weeks for a c-section. Not a lot of time, especially with twins.

Laura

[buckeyegal]

laura--I'm so sorry to hear about the boys' fussiness right now. I hope it is temporary for you....remind me in a month that 6 weeks is a fussy time! I can't even IMAGINE my DH being gone M-TH and doing the feedings by myself. I am very lucky as I have lots of relatives in town, so they've been taking turns coming over to help us with feedings. That allows DH to sleep a little and go to work. I know my help will run out eventually....I'm just hoping by then that our feeding schedule will spread out by then. I don't blame you at all for giving up on bfing....especially when you're doing it by yourself. Kudos to you for resigning. It's good that you know your limitations. Things will get better. They have to, right?

Em--Wow! 4 hours!!! You go girl! Should I assume that's with formula? If not, how the HECK are you getting it done in 30 minutes????? IT takes us at least an hour each feeding by the time I BF Braeden, pass him off to DH for supplement and start things up with Ellie for her round. IT's exhausting! BUT, sometimes, just sometimes, they will go about 4 hours overnight. During the day, I keep them on 3 hour feeds....that seems to help us get a 4 hour jaunt at night from time to time. Is DH able to function at work the next day? Mine's having a lot of trouble...so that's why we're having family members help out. Not sure how I'll handle things once our help runs out....


We went for our 2 week check up today, and both babies are doing well! Braeden is up 14 oz since last week (so he's 5 pounds, 14 oz.) and Ellie gained a pound. So, she's 6 pounds, 2 oz. YEah!!!! We go back in 2 weeks for another checkup and possible ultrasound to make sure that both babies hips are okay....especially Braeden since he was breech.

I'm praying and thinking of you gals all the time. I hope that all babies are home safe and sound very soon with their mommies. I"ll keep checking in on you!