Update on p. 5 - Twins are losing weight - help please

[Eos]

3 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

Alrighty so Peach has been taking in another 20mL of pumped milk after each nursing session. Nectarine is taking 35-50. I’m force feeding her a bit but I don’t care. She obviously doesn’t know what’s for her best 😂. She finally pooped!!!!!! This is so huge. She pooped twice last night. So I think we’re on the right path. 
last night was my first night staying overnight. I just needed to stay and help dd with bottles. DSIL was wiped and has a long commute.

 

ETA: I hope it’s clear that I mean the baby doesn’t know what’s best for her and it’s a joke and I don’t mean DD in anyway. Poor DD is trying her best in every area 

Great news, you guys are making it work!  I know it can be scary, but even term breastfed newborns can go many days without pooping.

[Ann.without.an.e]

8 minutes ago, KSera said:

Only with certain kind of ties, which are the types a LC should have noticed (did she say she was checking for them?). There can be a posterior tongue tie, which you're not going to be able to see in a picture. It makes it difficult to elevate the back of the tongue, which makes it hard to maintain a latch and to extract milk efficiently. Do you have a recollection of what it should feel like when a baby who is a good nurser sucks on your finger placed nail down on their tongue? If you do, you may be able to pick up on a disorganized suck pattern, but that's another thing the LC should have evaluated.

 

No one has mentioned checking for them and I never saw the LC look inside the mouth

[Ann.without.an.e]

I tell y'all what....our ped appt monday has been slotted with one of our favorite pediatricians. The last one was with our least favorite. I will try to remember to ask him about tongue ties and issues. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[BusyMom5]

Definitely look inside her mouth, but my DD6 had a posterior tie, which is one reason I forgive both my Dr and the LC.  They just didn't see it, she was gaining weight, so they assumed everything was fine.  As mom who had nursed so many before, I could tell it hurt too much to nurse.  She spent hours and hours nursing- 10-12 hours on the books a day- I made a record to show them!  She also always woke hungry and just never got full.  She woke every 2-3 hours all night long,  snd she took forever to nurse.  Like she would start nursing and get tired,  but was still hungry, so if you unlatched, she would go right back to wanting to nurse.  It was frustrating.   We need better LC and Drs who are well-versed in nursing.  My cousin who helped me is a pediatrician- maybe look online for a pediatrician who has extra rotations in nursing babies?  

And tell your daughter she's doing great!  We are all proud of her, and those of us who nursed twins know that this time is just really hard.  Once they get just a little bigger and stronger, it will be a lot easier!  They will be able to nurse more efficiently.  Its kind of like a 4th trimester- she just needs to power through and know that she can do this!  

[Lawyer&Mom]

My preemie was 34w5d and came out with basically no body fat.  In the beginning, in order to plump her up, I had to pump my breast milk and then add a scoop of formula to the breast milk.   It added a whopping 22 extra calories to each bottle.  You mention she is supplementing with pumped milk.  Maybe ask the doctor if adding formula to that pumped milk would make sense?  That way the formula doesn’t replace a breast milk feeding, but merely adds extra calories to the supplemental milk.

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

Re the tongue and lip tying. Can I just post pics 🤣

A symptom that I forgot to mention is that my son clicked when he nursed. That and the pattern of how he was creasing and damaging my nipple made the LC check. The description below is pretty accurate except that because my son wouldn't lessen suction (I had to stick my finger down his throat to get him off when he would start backing off the nipple), I eventually had pretty big cracks, not just a wedge and a stripe. He also had torticollis, so he would nurse a lot more on one side, making it worse on that side. The side he didn't like to nurse on was very sore, did the wedge/stripe thing, but didn't split.

https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/tongue-lip-ties/ 

Quote

Pain during feeds, with damaged nipples. Her nipple may be compressed or distorted into a wedge shape like that of a new lipstick immediately after feeding, often with a stripe at its tip.

My son's stood out to me because I think I had a lip tie as a kid but also with those same fleshy lips that stretched well (my mother did not breastfeed, so I don't know if I had symptoms other than being gassy and fussy, but I also could.not.burp--still pretty much can't, so who knows). I remember my frenulum was very, very easily injured and sore when I was a kid until it suddenly wasn't anymore. I remember feeling like it would get irritated at the drop of a hat. My son's was the same way until he fell on his face. The first time, it ripped a little, and then one time he fell again, and it ripped pretty dramatically. No problems after it healed, and it's now attached much higher above his gums.

My son's didn't look like the pictures I can find. His wasn't wide webbing at all. It was very narrow and fragile, but it attached very low on the gumline. 

http://themilkmeg.com/when-unexplained-breastfeeding-pain-is-an-indicator-of-tongue-and-lip-ties/

My son's lip tie looked like the tongue tie in the first picture in this article, except it was located between his upper gum and his upper lip (and similar on the bottom with the bottom lip). The LC didn't think he had a tongue tie, but symptoms overlap between tongue and lip tie when I google them. 

I am glad you're seeing the pediatrician that makes everyone more comfortable.

[ktgrok]

On 3/9/2023 at 2:38 PM, Ann.without.an.e said:

They were a little sleepy but Nectarine only got about half an ounce in breast milk and Peach got an ounce. ETA: this is from weighing before and after feeding 

She thinks they simply don’t have the strength to nurse as well as they should and she wants us to feed them another ounce via bottle after each feeding.

She doesn’t recommend the SNS because she says it’s hard to set up and clean and will just be a pain for DD. Any experience with this?

The Lact-Aid is another brand that is supposed to be easier

On 3/9/2023 at 2:43 PM, Ann.without.an.e said:

Also she is having dd pump now to see how much she gets. She really doesn’t think it’s a supply issue. She thinks they just aren’t big enough to be as efficient as they need to be yet. She says once they get bigger they should be able to solely nurse. She’s grown on me some. She just came in with a set attitude that put me on guard. ETA: I think her attitude changed as she assessed the situation better. 

Google breast compression feeding. It helps basically pump the milk into baby while they feed

[ktgrok]

22 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

I don’t know what a tongue tie is but we need to find out. 
 

I want a scale so bad. I ordered one and it isn’t accurate. The LC said it needs to be in grams ? 

Often you can rent them from hospitals. Google baby scale rental and your area. That way you get the same kind they use at the hospitals. You can also see if any area maternity hospitals have a breastfeeding lunch or group session. Usually low cost and run by IBLCs. 

[ktgrok]

Also, I know a lot of people suggested mom sleeping at night and having someone bottle feed that night feeding- but- the mothers body is more stimulated to increase supply by night feeds than day feeds. Sleeping through that night feed can be a big hit to her supply for that reason. It has to do with the natural fluctuations of prolactin and such. Better to have her nap during the day if she is going to sleep through a feeding.

and as much skin to skin contact as possible if supply becomes an issue. Having baby in just a diaper and mom in a robe that opens in front, just snuggling, for a few days can be miraculous for supply. 

[Farrar]

She won't co-sleep in a bed, but will she get comfortable between them propped up in a chair or a lounger? I slept like that... more than I want to admit. But I could feed them both in the bed so I was pinned between mine like that a lot anyway.

[KSera]

32 minutes ago, Farrar said:

She won't co-sleep in a bed, but will she get comfortable between them propped up in a chair or a lounger? I slept like that... more than I want to admit. But I could feed them both in the bed so I was pinned between mine like that a lot anyway.

If she won't co-sleep in a bed, I don't imagine she would do this. A safe bed sleeping arrangement is a much safer arrangement, but clearly they've put the fear into her about that. I just can't imagine the exhaustion of not being able to doze while babies nursed at night 😢. I used to sit up in bed to nurse my first, and when I finally realized that wasn't necessary, it was an amazing improvement in nights (and then even better with the second when I realized I could keep diaper changing supplies next to the bed and do that without getting up and going to the nursery in the middle of the night--never struck me with my first!)

[ktgrok]

If she needs some extra sleep, could she doze while feeding, with another adult awake in the room with her? So maybe nap that way, with you there in the room watching TV or reading, but glancing over to be sure blankets/pillows/etc haven't shifted and babies are safe? If nothing else it was nice on my back/shoulders to nurse in a different position. 

[Forget-Me-Not]

On 3/9/2023 at 4:27 AM, Ann.without.an.e said:

They drilled it so hard and even had to sign papers. It’s just wild to me that they made such an issue of it that dd isn’t sleeping at night even though she’s not cosleeping 

Wow. I fell asleep nursing my first in the hospital bed and when the nurse came in, I expected a lecture, but she just tucked a pillow in between him and the rail and went on her way. That was almost twenty years ago though. 
 

With my second, the OB ward was overflowing, so they sent me and baby to the peds floor. That was the best ever because they mainly just left us alone and I didn’t have anyone harassing me about when and how much she fed. We co-slept after we got home with her out of sheer desperation. She was not a good sleeper. 
 

I’m glad to hear your little twins are doing better! Yay for poop! 

[Carol in Cal.]

OH, BTW, hope she is still taking prenatal vitamins with iron.  BFing is helped by that.  

[Paige]

7 hours ago, Lawyer&Mom said:

My preemie was 34w5d and came out with basically no body fat.  In the beginning, in order to plump her up, I had to pump my breast milk and then add a scoop of formula to the breast milk.   It added a whopping 22 extra calories to each bottle.  You mention she is supplementing with pumped milk.  Maybe ask the doctor if adding formula to that pumped milk would make sense?  That way the formula doesn’t replace a breast milk feeding, but merely adds extra calories to the supplemental milk.

This reminds me that they gave me packets of breast milk fortifier in the hospital for when I came home. I believe they were also adding it to my milk in the NICU. Her pediatrician should be able to prescribe it if needed- maybe she can ask about it? I have no idea what it costs or if insurance covers it, but the nurses really wanted me to use it and we did until we quit using bottles. 

 

 

[Lawyer&Mom]

1 hour ago, Paige said:

This reminds me that they gave me packets of breast milk fortifier in the hospital for when I came home. I believe they were also adding it to my milk in the NICU. Her pediatrician should be able to prescribe it if needed- maybe she can ask about it? I have no idea what it costs or if insurance covers it, but the nurses really wanted me to use it and we did until we quit using bottles. 

 

 

I was told to use regular formula. The doctor can tell you exactly how much to add, based on the size of the bottle and the target calories. 

[Ellie]

On 3/10/2023 at 7:42 AM, Ann.without.an.e said:

 She finally pooped!!!!!! This is so huge. She pooped twice last night. So I think we’re on the right path. .

You know that it's common for breastfed babies to go for looong periods of time without bowel movements. Not that they won't have blowouts or anything, but still, they utilize their mothers' milk so completely that there's nothing left for bowel movements. IOW, lack of a bowel movement doesn't mean that baby is in some kind of distress.

Edited March 13, 2023 by Ellie

[Matryoshka]

27 minutes ago, Ellie said:

You know that it's common for breastfed babies to go for looong periods of time without bowel movements. Not that they won't have blowouts or anything, but still, the utilize their mothers' milk so completely that there's nothing left for bowel movements. IOW, lack of a bowel movement doesn't mean that baby is in some kind of distress.

This is true.  This is another problem with supposed "LCs" that are actually only used to formula-fed babies that gain weight immediately after birth instead of losing a bit before gaining it back, or not having many bowel movements early on -  both are completely normal for breastfed babies.

[Bnogo24]

How is it going? Is she able to nurse in sidelying? Can she tandem feed yet? Does she have a twin nursing pillow?

How old are the babies now?

It is awesome you are there with her!!

Those early weeks were so challenging! I remember feeling so exhausted & mired in an endless cycle of feed, burb, change, sleep 12 minutes - repeat 😵 One of my twins wouldn’t latch for the first 10 days. Once he finally latched, I was thrilled.

They get so much stronger & more coordinated with feeding & body control around due date. My oldest (singleton) was born at 41w, my twins:  38w2d - so all full term but the difference in breastfeeding was dramatic.  

Tell her great job!!! It gets easier!!

[Terabith]

10 hours ago, Ellie said:

You know that it's common for breastfed babies to go for looong periods of time without bowel movements. Not that they won't have blowouts or anything, but still, the utilize their mothers' milk so completely that there's nothing left for bowel movements. IOW, lack of a bowel movement doesn't mean that baby is in some kind of distress.

My experience is that this is true but not really in the immediate newborn period?  

[Ann.without.an.e]

22 hours ago, Lawyer&Mom said:

My preemie was 34w5d and came out with basically no body fat.  In the beginning, in order to plump her up, I had to pump my breast milk and then add a scoop of formula to the breast milk.   It added a whopping 22 extra calories to each bottle.  You mention she is supplementing with pumped milk.  Maybe ask the doctor if adding formula to that pumped milk would make sense?  That way the formula doesn’t replace a breast milk feeding, but merely adds extra calories to the supplemental milk.

15 hours ago, Paige said:

This reminds me that they gave me packets of breast milk fortifier in the hospital for when I came home. I believe they were also adding it to my milk in the NICU. Her pediatrician should be able to prescribe it if needed- maybe she can ask about it? I have no idea what it costs or if insurance covers it, but the nurses really wanted me to use it and we did until we quit using bottles. 

 

 

 

 

 

When they first came home from the NICU they were adding NeoSure but I don't think they were tolerating it well. Which makes sense - we are all severely allergic to dairy or severely lactose intolerant. They would spit up so much of it that it seemed counterproductive. So she's just been using breast milk. They can just take it quicker from a bottle since their little bodies are not quite strong enough yet. 

 

 

 

20 hours ago, ktgrok said:

If she needs some extra sleep, could she doze while feeding, with another adult awake in the room with her? So maybe nap that way, with you there in the room watching TV or reading, but glancing over to be sure blankets/pillows/etc haven't shifted and babies are safe? If nothing else it was nice on my back/shoulders to nurse in a different position. 

20 hours ago, Farrar said:

She won't co-sleep in a bed, but will she get comfortable between them propped up in a chair or a lounger? I slept like that... more than I want to admit. But I could feed them both in the bed so I was pinned between mine like that a lot anyway.

 

 

I don't think she would be propped up. She is still scared of that. 

I can ask her about her feelings on it if she's not alone and someone else is awake 

Thanks 

 

 

19 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

OH, BTW, hope she is still taking prenatal vitamins with iron.  BFing is helped by that.  

 

She is and she is taking a high dose of iron since she is anemic right now. 

 

 

 

11 hours ago, Ellie said:

You know that it's common for breastfed babies to go for looong periods of time without bowel movements. Not that they won't have blowouts or anything, but still, the utilize their mothers' milk so completely that there's nothing left for bowel movements. IOW, lack of a bowel movement doesn't mean that baby is in some kind of distress.

11 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

This is true.  This is another problem with supposed "LCs" that are actually only used to formula-fed babies that gain weight immediately after birth instead of losing a bit before gaining it back, or not having many bowel movements early on -  both are completely normal for breastfed babies.

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

My experience is that this is true but not really in the immediate newborn period?  

 

I'm with Terabith here. It is true and that is why we didn't panic when Nectarine wasn't pooping at first and we thought there was just a transition that needed to take place from the supplementing to fully nursing. But when a baby is at two weeks and was gaining but now is dropping weight rapidly, is having a problem keeping their temp up, and on day 6 of Nectarine not pooping by the time we saw LC. That is more than just "wait it out" in my opinion. We were trying to wait it out and we were trying not to supplement, but that was headed south fast. Nectarine was born 5 pounds 3 ounces and she lost some initially but was back up to 5 pounds 2 ounces at her first weight check but at her two week check she was down to 4 pounds 14 ounces. We couldn't keep on that track. This isn't an uncommon thing for preemies to face. The LC said that until they reach 6 pounds they probably will not have the jaw strength to nurse efficiently enough. They can get it easier from the bottle and supplementing after breast with breastmilk is working (as far as we can tell). They love to nurse and still prefer the breast and I have a feeling in 2-3 weeks they will be fully breastfed again. When they are stronger ❤️❤️ 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Bnogo24 said:

How is it going? Is she able to nurse in sidelying? Can she tandem feed yet? Does she have a twin nursing pillow?

How old are the babies now?

It is awesome you are there with her!!

Those early weeks were so challenging! I remember feeling so exhausted & mired in an endless cycle of feed, burb, change, sleep 12 minutes - repeat 😵 One of my twins wouldn’t latch for the first 10 days. Once he finally latched, I was thrilled.

They get so much stronger & more coordinated with feeding & body control around due date. My oldest (singleton) was born at 41w, my twins:  38w2d - so all full term but the difference in breastfeeding was dramatic.  

Tell her great job!!! It gets easier!!

 

They were born at 36 weeks (induced) and they are 38.5 now. The have gained a lot of strength and I think they'll get to nursing stronger soon 🙂 We have already seen a huge increase in their ability and Peach almost gets everything she needs. We are really only giving her 15-20 mL extra each feeding. Nectarine is smaller and needs more like 30-50 mL. 

She has a twin nursing pillow but hasn't tandem fed yet. She tried it early on but their latch wasn't good enough. She thinks she could try it now and hopes to soon. They tend to snuggle in and fall asleep faster in that football hold though. 

Yes, yes to the difference. Everyone keeps saying that anytime before 40 weeks can be a little more of a struggle with feeding. Once they get to term they will be better I'm sure. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[KSera]

Your dd is working so hard and doing so well! I hope things just keep going better and better as they grow. 
 

I spent ages yesterday trying to find a picture to send you of how to provide jaw and cheek support to help them while they are eating, but the one picture I found was in a paywalled article and then I could never find it again. I might need to get out a doll and take my own! There’s also a thing you can do as an exercise every time they do take a bottle, which can help organize their suck. Are they using premie nipples? Do you have the little skinny premie bottles? Those are the easiest ones to use when providing extra cheek and/or jaw support. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

8 minutes ago, KSera said:

Your dd is working so hard and doing so well! I hope things just keep going better and better as they grow. 
 

I spent ages yesterday trying to find a picture to send you of how to provide jaw and cheek support to help them while they are eating, but the one picture I found was in a paywalled article and then I could never find it again. I might need to get out a doll and take my own! There’s also a thing you can do as an exercise every time they do take a bottle, which can help organize their suck. Are they using premie nipples? Do you have the little skinny premie bottles? Those are the easiest ones to use when providing extra cheek and/or jaw support. 

 

They are not using preemie nipples. We are using slow flow bottles that are supposed to be better for breastfed babies. They seem to be handling them fine? They did have the little bottles in NICU though. 

[Terabith]

I do highly recommend breast compression.  It really worked well for me.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

2 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I do highly recommend breast compression.  It really worked well for me.  

I don’t know what that is and I know it was mentioned. I need to look into it. 

[Terabith]

Just now, Ann.without.an.e said:

I don’t know what that is and I know it was mentioned. I need to look into it. 

Basically just massaging the books as you nurse.  It is rather like milking a cow.  For me, it just made the milk let down faster and come out with a bit more force, which can be handy if the baby has limited nursing stamina.  I EPed with my first, and I could literally pump almost a gallon at a time by using it.  (I usually only pumped twice a day.  Most of the advice on frequent nursing/ pumping simply didn't apply to me.  I think it's spot on for the vast majority of people, but I had.....vast storage capacity.)

 

[Drama Llama]

11 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

This is true.  This is another problem with supposed "LCs" that are actually only used to formula-fed babies that gain weight immediately after birth instead of losing a bit before gaining it back, or not having many bowel movements early on -  both are completely normal for breastfed babies.

Formula fed babies lose weight after birth too, just not as much and on average they regain faster.  But this isn't a situation of being concerned about losing weight after birth.  It's concern about regaining their birth weight and then losing again, which would be a sign of needing support in either a breastfed or a formula fed baby.  

I am having trouble imagining that there are LC's who aren't used to breastfed babies.  People who start formula immediately after birthday don't go to LC's.  I know that there are LC's who are better or worse at problem solving and who have lower and higher risk tolerances for things like weight loss, including those whose tolerance is both too low and too high.  

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

Just now, Terabith said:

Basically just massaging the books as you nurse.  It is rather like milking a cow.  For me, it just made the milk let down faster and come out with a bit more force, which can be handy if the baby has limited nursing stamina.  I EPed with my first, and I could literally pump almost a gallon at a time by using it.  (I usually only pumped twice a day.  Most of the advice on frequent nursing/ pumping simply didn't apply to me.  I think it's spot on for the vast majority of people, but I had.....vast storage capacity.)

 

https://thebreastfeedingcompanion.com/project/breast-compressions/
 

 

is this a good article to send her? 

[Terabith]

Just now, Ann.without.an.e said:

https://thebreastfeedingcompanion.com/project/breast-compressions/
 

 

is this a good article to send her? 

Yeah, that looks great!

[Scarlett]

Just now, BandH said:

Formula fed babies lose weight after birth too, just not as much and on average they regain faster.  But this isn't a situation of being concerned about losing weight after birth.  It's concern about regaining their birth weight and then losing again, which would be a sign of needing support in either a breastfed or a formula fed baby.  

I am having trouble imagining that there are LC's who aren't used to breastfed babies.  People who start formula immediately after birthday don't go to LC's.  I know that there are LC's who are better or worse at problem solving and who have lower and higher risk tolerances for things like weight loss, including those whose tolerance is both too low and too high.  

 

I think she said the LC did come around. 

[ktgrok]

Oh! Another idea to help milk flow out better/easier when nursing is to pump on one side while nursing the baby on the other. Of course, with twins, that may not work since she needs to feed the other baby, lol. 

[Terabith]

Oatmeal and Mother's Milk tea also work surprisingly well for boosting supply.

[Drama Llama]

1 minute ago, ktgrok said:

Oh! Another idea to help milk flow out better/easier when nursing is to pump on one side while nursing the baby on the other. Of course, with twins, that may not work since she needs to feed the other baby, lol. 

I wonder if she could feed one twin, and then pump that side (maybe getting more hindmilk?) while she nurses the other twin and Ann burps the first, and then feed both babies that milk while it's still fresh.  

I don't really have experience, our only real issues nursing were asthma interfering with the suck-breathe pattern and causing exhaustion, and the solution to that was a nebulizer.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 minute ago, Scarlett said:

I think she said the LC did come around. 

Also @BandH

Yes she did. We didn’t like her at first but she came around and was good. I think she came in with some preconceived ideas and she talked at first like they just needed a bottle and formula but after assessing the situation more she changed tunes. Both the doctor and LC made the assumption that DD didn’t have enough supply. That wasn’t the case though. 

[KSera]

18 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I EPed with my first, and I could literally pump almost a gallon at a time by using it.  (I usually only pumped twice a day.  Most of the advice on frequent nursing/ pumping simply didn't apply to me.  I think it's spot on for the vast majority of people, but I had.....vast storage capacity.)

 

Wow!! I’ll say!

[Drama Llama]

3 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

Also @BandH

Yes she did. We didn’t like her at first but she came around and was good. I think she came in with some preconceived ideas and she talked at first like they just needed a bottle and formula but after assessing the situation more she changed tunes. Both the doctor and LC made the assumption that DD didn’t have enough supply. That wasn’t the case though. 

I was just reacting to the idea that it's probably because she isn't used to breastfed infants.  I find that idea kind of far fetched.  It sounds like she made her initial suggestion based on the wrong hypothesis, and maybe a lower tolerance for risk, and that once she evaluated and really listened she offered another strategy.  I'm glad that happened!

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

24 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Oh! Another idea to help milk flow out better/easier when nursing is to pump on one side while nursing the baby on the other. Of course, with twins, that may not work since she needs to feed the other baby, lol. 

 

20 minutes ago, BandH said:

I wonder if she could feed one twin, and then pump that side (maybe getting more hindmilk?) while she nurses the other twin and Ann burps the first, and then feed both babies that milk while it's still fresh.  

I don't really have experience, our only real issues nursing were asthma interfering with the suck-breathe pattern and causing exhaustion, and the solution to that was a nebulizer.  

Here is our current pattern

DD nurses baby A on one side only 

while she’s feeding that baby, I (or DSIL) start warming the pumped milk from the last feeding 

Half way through we wake up Baby B, change her, and get ready to switch off

we exchange babies 

I bottle feed baby A while she nurses baby B on the other breast 

I burp baby A and hold her up right for a bit and then snuggle her into bed so that I can be ready to bottle feed B

while I’m feeding B she’s pumping both sides 

She rotates who has which breast every 4 feedings 

ETA: Oh and we do this like a bazillion times a day and we are very tired lol

 

Clear as mud? Lol 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[Ann.without.an.e]

20 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Oatmeal and Mother's Milk tea also work surprisingly well for boosting supply.

I’ve been making her lots of vegan protein smoothies with the extra creamy oatmilk 😊

I don’t think the herbs in mothers milk tea are ok for Hashimoto’s? I think it’s the fenugreek but can’t remember?

[Terabith]

12 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

I’ve been making her lots of vegan protein smoothies with the extra creamy oatmilk 😊

I don’t think the herbs in mothers milk tea are ok for Hashimoto’s? I think it’s the fenugreek but can’t remember?

That's possible.  I don't know much about Hashimoto's. 

Oatmilk is good, but I'd also try to get her to eat a bowl of oatmeal a day.  

[Paige]

2 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Oh! Another idea to help milk flow out better/easier when nursing is to pump on one side while nursing the baby on the other. Of course, with twins, that may not work since she needs to feed the other baby, lol. 

I wouldn't recommend that with twins, but she could hold a bottle to the other breast to catch the letdown if it's significant. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

3 minutes ago, Paige said:

I wouldn't recommend that with twins, but she could hold a bottle to the other breast to catch the letdown if it's significant. 

It is and she leaks. I just got her a Haakka? Not sure about spelling. Idk if she’s tried it yet 

[KSera]

5 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

It is and she leaks. I just got her a Haakka? Not sure about spelling. Idk if she’s tried it yet 

How do the babies handle letdown? Are they able to keep up or is it overwhelming for them?

[Ann.without.an.e]

8 minutes ago, KSera said:

How do the babies handle letdown? Are they able to keep up or is it overwhelming for them?

I don't think they are overwhelmed by it? I can ask next time though

[Ann.without.an.e]

16 minutes ago, KSera said:

How do the babies handle letdown? Are they able to keep up or is it overwhelming for them?

 

actually I texted DD and asked and she said sometimes they do seem overwhelmed by it 

[KSera]

7 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

I don't think they are overwhelmed by it? I can ask next time though

That's great. She probably would have mentioned if they were--they would either cough and splutter and/or pull away at letdown (causing her to spray them all over their faces).

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 minute ago, KSera said:

That's great. She probably would have mentioned if they were--they would either cough and splutter and/or pull away at letdown (causing her to spray them all over their faces).

I responded again after talking to dd and I will ask specifically those things too haha. I don't think she was thinking that overwhelmed haha

[KSera]

We were posting at the same time. I expect that will get better as they grow, but the haaka would be a good way to collect that in the meantime if they need a break during let down. Some babies seem to get overwhelmed enough that it makes them hesitant at the breast--as if they're worried they're suddenly going to be overwhelmed with milk. It does sound like her supply is robust.

[Paige]

Mine were overwhelmed with letdown too. I quickly learned to always spray off the letdown before putting them to the breast. Especially when they were small, it was: manually induce letdown, spray off into a rag or bottle until it stops, bring baby to breast, squeeze a little into mouth to get her interested and starting to root, then try to latch. Sometimes you might get multiple letdowns and she may want to pull off each time. You don't really want a whole bottle of "letdown milk" so if it was a lot, I'd save it and mix it with other pumped milk to increase fat content. Whoever said to use breast compression is right on too- she may need to do that to compensate for weaker mouth muscles and an inefficient latch for a while. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Paige

[Lecka]

It sounds like good progress!

 

 

[Brittany1116]

Often one side is faster and/or produces more than the other. That might need to be taken into consideration if one baby is harder to feed.