Monday, June 13, 2011

"Breastfeeding is HARD"

This is a direct quote from a friend of ours who had a baby girl in February. She said this to me about two months ago while we were chatting online. She continued to say that despite it being difficult, stick with it because it will get easier. Now that I have babies of my own, I can say that breastfeeding is HARD and breastfeeding (or attempting to breastfeed) two babies is even harder.

I don't mean to sound negative, if that's how I'm coming across. Yes, I'm finding it difficult and overwhelming, but I'm more determined than ever to master it. I firmly believe that breast milk is best for babies. I have also seen tremendous progress in both babies in two weeks.

For the first few days, neither baby could suck very well, let alone latch. The hospital and our midwives preferred that we stay away from bottles. I would pump and we would feed them through a variety of methods; syringe, cup, finger/tube feeding. The method would change every 24 hours, as would their needs.

Teagan started latching towards the end of week 1 and is now breastfeeding almost exclusively. We are not without our issues though! I constantly worry about whether she is getting enough. In theory, I know that as long as the baby has dirty diapers, she's getting enough. The problem is that Teagan has quickly received the nickname "Hungry, Hungry Hippo" and wants to eat constantly. So now, my current worry is about how efficiently she is eating.

Quinn is the tougher case. She's about 1 1/2 pounds smaller than Teagan. She just started latching two days ago. Yesterday she successfully breastfed for 40 minutes. We had to supplement her afterwards though because her suck is still weak so she probably didn't get a ton. Quinn and I have been to one breastfeeding clinic and are going to another one on Wednesday....

...Enter Jack Newman. This man thinks that he is the god of breastfeeding apparently (I know, a man, weird). If he's able to help us, then I'll be the first to give him that title! He has a world-renowned breastfeeding clinic in Toronto. 

I knew breastfeeding would be hard but I don't think I thought that it would be this difficult. Balancing feeding and pumping is challenging and time-consuming. I know that some people say that breastfeeding is supposed to be "natural" and "instinctual" but I certainly don't feel that way right now! If you look at Jack Newman's site and all of his info sheets and video demos, you can quickly see how much experience and technique is needed to truly master breastfeeding. 

Teagan, Quinn and I will get it for sure and soon enough they'll be tandem feeding! Stay tuned for a future post that will make all of these worries a bit of history. 

3 comments:

  1. Hang in there. Breastfeeding twins is one of the hardest things I've ever done. And make sure to cut yourself some slack when you need to-- I didn't go easy on myself and was miserable much of their first year for my perceived "failures" as it related to breastfeeding (I never made enough milk). I hope everything works well and easily for you, though! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is unbelievably hard; I can't imagine doing it with two at once. It helped me not be so hard on myself to realize that even a few days of breastfeeding was so good for the baby. It helped not to take on too much at once and just take it one day at a time. This website
    http://www.pregnancy.org/article/how-breastfeeding-benefits-add
    really helped keep me grounded through the process. Good luck!

    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hang in there! I know what you mean about the "natural" feeling like a myth. It makes me impressed that our species has survived this long.
    Good luck with it--I'm told it gets easier and I'm aiming to find that out for myself.

    ReplyDelete