Sunday, February 3, 2013

Nursing Chronicles

A lot has happened in regards to Sweet Pea and Little Man's eating this last month. So here are the details to catch you all up:

When we realized last month that Little Man had been losing weight, we started supplementing him with formula after every nursing session. So he'll nurse for about 4-5 minutes, and then start screaming, so we'll give him a bottle of formula. He'll usually drink at least 8 ounces, which means that assuming he gets at least an ounce from me, he's drinking 9 ounces every four hours. That's a lot for a baby who isn't even six months old yet!

The only exception to this is first thing in the morning, when he nurses great. No complaining, no screaming, just calm eating. Same thing if he wakes to eat in the middle of the night.

Sweet Pea also lost some weight between 3-4 months of age, but only a few ounces.  Still, I wanted to make sure she was eating more, too.  But now that Little Man is mostly eating from bottles, there's plenty for her.  Sometimes I offer her a bottle afterwards, but at most she'll drink two ounces, so I'm satisfied that she's getting enough from me.

I'm happy to report that Little Man has gained 1 pound 9 ounces in just three weeks!  Clearly supplementing him with formula is what he needed.  It's not necessarily making him any happier or more comfortable, but if he's gaining weight and staying healthy, at least that's one less thing for me to worry about.  And Sweet Pea has gained exactly one pound in the last two weeks.  Both of them are gaining weight at a very good rate, and for that I am  thankful.

To be honest, I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't able to nurse them alone.  I know plenty of twin moms who successfully nursed their twins until age 1 or longer, so it's definitely possible.  I was so proud that I'd been able to handle breastfeeding twins without any supplementation.  I know that formula won't hurt them, and that their health is the most important thing.  But still, there's a little twinge of disappointment when I think that I wasn't able to handle it on my own.

There -- I'm done moaning and groaning.  Life is good. 

1 comment:

sonya said...

you should be so proud of yourself. even with supplementing you are still nursing so they are getting the best of both. reading this post is inspiring because I think some people may think its impossible, and you have shown nursing twins if very possible!
Sonya
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