We started the babies on whole milk this past week and things are going well. They both didn't love it and the little guy especially did NOT like it initially so we had to change up the plan a bit. We had wanted to move them to sippy cups while moving to whole milk but it didn't work out. They didn't like it, and they aren't as coordinated as I had thought, spilling most of the milk (which could have been on purpose). Either way, I wasn't comfortable not knowing how much they were actually drinking, so we decided to first transition them to whole milk and then work on getting rid of the bottles.
The first day, for every bottle they got 5 ounces of breastmilk and 1 ounce of wholemilk. We increased their whole milk by one ounce every 2nd day, slowly decreasing the amount of breastmilk. They would drink it all, though not as enthusiastically as they did their breastmilk. As of yesterday they get a full 6 ounces of whole milk in each bottle. Since I still have to pump, they get all breastmilk in their last bottle...which secretly makes me happy.
As for pumping, its been easier than I thought to cut out some pumping sessions. I'm glad I did it while on vacation because it was a bit uncomfortable and I had some seriously ridiculous boobs. I felt like a hooker, no joke. I'm down to one pumping session per day, which is so so nice. I get more time to play with the babies, and sleep, and just do anything else other than PUMP.
I still nurse the big guy at night, and will continue doing so until he is ready to wean. Its not a big deal anymore as I barely even wake up to nurse him. The sleep issues were mostly related to having to get up every 4 hours to pump. Now that I only pump once, I do it in the morning before I get ready for work, so it doesn't interfere with my day and the boys are sleeping anyway.
Emotionally it is so much harder than I ever thought it would be. I don't think I'll miss the pumping but I am already missing being able to give them breastmilk. Part of me feels guilty for stopping since I had the supply. It also feels kind of wasteful, if that makes sense. I used to pump about 100 ounces, then went down to 50 and now I'm pumping about 15 ounces in one session. I'm probably producing enough for one baby if you count the night nursing. So strange. I've never had so little milk before. I know someday there isn't going to be any milk for the big guy to have at night and the thought of it makes me sad. I'm cherishing our nursing sessions so much more now.
My wife reminds me that this is all part of the process and their growing up, but I'm already missing it. I don't like this growing up part one bit.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
We Made It!
June 12th was the twins' original due date. As you all know they were born 9 weeks early on April 10th. My original goal was to exclusively breastfeed them until their first birthday, and IF I could, until their gestational birthday (June 12th). Today is June 15th and I'm sitting here at my desk pumping before I jump in the shower and get ready for work.
We were supposed to start giving the boys whole milk this weekend, but got busy and forgot! We want to start on a weekend in case they have any reactions to it, or spit it out! Hopefully we can remember to start this weekend.
Its an amazing feeling to say that I've exclusively breastfed/pumped for twins for over 14 months! I never thought I'd actually make it this far, and there were plenty times I almost didn't! I don't think many people realize how much you sacrifice to bfeed twins, and how much sleep I've given up just to do so. I know I've been really lucky to have had an ample milk supply without needing any drugs, and I don't take that forgranted for a second.
I'm now struggling with the idea of when to wean. If the boys like whole milk than the little guy will probably transition just fine. He has been getting Expressed Breast Milk (EBM) for months now and doesn't breastfeed directly. The big guy on the other hand, still nurses exclusively when we are together and only takes bottles of EBM when I'm at work. For the most part I can give him bottles of EBM if I need to during the day, but at night HE MUST NURSE! I don't want to force him to wean, but I also don't want to be nursing a four year old to sleep. I keep thinking one day he just won't want it anymore but I really don't see that happening.
At this point there is no rush as we are all getting much more sleep, but with the transition to whole milk comes the transition to sippy/straw cups and good riddance to Dr. Brown! We are going to keep their whole milk separate from their breastmilk so that they get used to the taste, and we are going to only give them whole milk in a cup. We'll start with 2-4 ounces a day and slowly increase from there. As they get more whole milk and less breastmilk, we will get rid of the bottles. My goal is to be done with bottles by the boys 18 month birthday.
The other factor that plays into this is my weird, never expected, sadness over the end of my nursing relationship with both boys. Even though the little guy doesn't nurse directly anymore, I still feel like I'm connecting with him by giving him breastmilk. I actually have to put more work in for him since pumping is such a task as compared to nursing. As for the big guy, I really am going to miss nursing him and laying with him and rubbing his chubby little feet while we nurse. I'm sure its normal, but it just seems like I've been counting down for so long, that now that I'm here I'm wishing I could just pause for a few months and enjoy them a little longer. I think its just another sign that our babies are getting older and soon they won't be babies anymore.
We were supposed to start giving the boys whole milk this weekend, but got busy and forgot! We want to start on a weekend in case they have any reactions to it, or spit it out! Hopefully we can remember to start this weekend.
Its an amazing feeling to say that I've exclusively breastfed/pumped for twins for over 14 months! I never thought I'd actually make it this far, and there were plenty times I almost didn't! I don't think many people realize how much you sacrifice to bfeed twins, and how much sleep I've given up just to do so. I know I've been really lucky to have had an ample milk supply without needing any drugs, and I don't take that forgranted for a second.
I'm now struggling with the idea of when to wean. If the boys like whole milk than the little guy will probably transition just fine. He has been getting Expressed Breast Milk (EBM) for months now and doesn't breastfeed directly. The big guy on the other hand, still nurses exclusively when we are together and only takes bottles of EBM when I'm at work. For the most part I can give him bottles of EBM if I need to during the day, but at night HE MUST NURSE! I don't want to force him to wean, but I also don't want to be nursing a four year old to sleep. I keep thinking one day he just won't want it anymore but I really don't see that happening.
At this point there is no rush as we are all getting much more sleep, but with the transition to whole milk comes the transition to sippy/straw cups and good riddance to Dr. Brown! We are going to keep their whole milk separate from their breastmilk so that they get used to the taste, and we are going to only give them whole milk in a cup. We'll start with 2-4 ounces a day and slowly increase from there. As they get more whole milk and less breastmilk, we will get rid of the bottles. My goal is to be done with bottles by the boys 18 month birthday.
The other factor that plays into this is my weird, never expected, sadness over the end of my nursing relationship with both boys. Even though the little guy doesn't nurse directly anymore, I still feel like I'm connecting with him by giving him breastmilk. I actually have to put more work in for him since pumping is such a task as compared to nursing. As for the big guy, I really am going to miss nursing him and laying with him and rubbing his chubby little feet while we nurse. I'm sure its normal, but it just seems like I've been counting down for so long, that now that I'm here I'm wishing I could just pause for a few months and enjoy them a little longer. I think its just another sign that our babies are getting older and soon they won't be babies anymore.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Happy Memorial Day!
This weekend we introduced the boys to the summer by spending every day in the pool and they LOVED it! The weather has been great and last year we didn't get out at all, so we are making up for lost time and getting some color back on our skin!
We were invited over to our friends' place for swimming and some BBQ to celebrate Memorial Day. As part of my initiative to start taking the boys out more, I said yes. We weren't sure how they would be, since they hadn't ever been in a pool, so Saturday and Sunday we made it our mission to "practice" with them. We took them to our own pool first to see if they would like it and, as expected they loved every minute.
Once we lathered them up with sunscreen (their least favorite part) and got their suits on, into their floaties they went. We got them these floaties with canopies over them which worked wonderfully and kept them out of the direct sun. We were also working on keeping their hats on as practice for our mini vacation later this month. With their light skin, and the big guy's light hair (and lack thereof), we really want them to start wearing hats when they go out. They usually leave them on for all of 5 seconds and them throw them off, but we learned that if we distract them quickly after putting it on, they'll leave it alone.
I loved being able to relax in the pool watching the boys enjoy the water. My wife and I have such a good system going that we were both able to swim, eat, and enjoy being out with the babies and our friends. The boys are so much easier now and were really good babies. They ate, played, swam and went down for their mid-afternoon naps on a blanket on the grass. Ah the life of a baby... I wish I remember what it was like!
We were invited over to our friends' place for swimming and some BBQ to celebrate Memorial Day. As part of my initiative to start taking the boys out more, I said yes. We weren't sure how they would be, since they hadn't ever been in a pool, so Saturday and Sunday we made it our mission to "practice" with them. We took them to our own pool first to see if they would like it and, as expected they loved every minute.
Once we lathered them up with sunscreen (their least favorite part) and got their suits on, into their floaties they went. We got them these floaties with canopies over them which worked wonderfully and kept them out of the direct sun. We were also working on keeping their hats on as practice for our mini vacation later this month. With their light skin, and the big guy's light hair (and lack thereof), we really want them to start wearing hats when they go out. They usually leave them on for all of 5 seconds and them throw them off, but we learned that if we distract them quickly after putting it on, they'll leave it alone.
I loved being able to relax in the pool watching the boys enjoy the water. My wife and I have such a good system going that we were both able to swim, eat, and enjoy being out with the babies and our friends. The boys are so much easier now and were really good babies. They ate, played, swam and went down for their mid-afternoon naps on a blanket on the grass. Ah the life of a baby... I wish I remember what it was like!
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