Transcript: An Introduction to Breastfeeding Multiples
The Boob Group
An Introduction to Breastfeeding Multiples
Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.
[00:00:00]
[Theme Music]
JonaRose Feinberg: There are many ways in which a mother can breastfeed her multiples. Sometimes the mechanics and logistics of it can all seem overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. I am JonaRose Feinbergan international board-certified lactation consultant, the editor of https://www.breastfeedingtwins.organd owner of Twins in Mind consulting. Today we will be discussing the mechanics of breastfeeding multiples. This is the Boob Group, Episode 7.
[Theme Music/Intro]
Robin Kaplan: Welcome to the Boob Group broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. I am your host Robin Kaplan. I am also a certified lactation consultant and the owner of the San Diego breastfeeding center. At the Boob Group we are your online support group for all things related to breastfeeding. Wondering how you could become involved with our show? Visit https://www.theboobgroup.comwhere you can send us comments or suggestions through our contact link. Join the conversation on our Facebook page as well. You can also call the Boob Group hotline at 619-866-4775. The Boob Group is also looking for listeners to join our blogging team. If you would like to share your current or past experiences about be sure to send us an email. Today, I am joined by three lovely panelists in the studio. Ladies will you introduce yourself, please!
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Hi, my name is Christine Stewart Fitzgerald and I am the mom to two twin girls, they are now 2.5 years and I have also got, I have got a single son on the way due this fall.
Robin Kaplan: Okay, congratulations.
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Thank you.
Jenica McKeown: Hi, my name is JenicaMcKeown. I have 13-month-old twin girls who were born 6 weeks early so, I am very to announce that they are 20 pounds.
Stephanie Adams: I am Stephanie Adams. I have a 2.5-year-old little guy and I just had twins a boy and a girl about 4 months ago well, 4 months today.
Robin Kaplan : Congratulations.
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[Featured Segment: News Headlines]
Robin Kaplan: Alright, we are gonna kick off today’s episode with some unbelievable breastfeeding stories and making headlines around the internet. All of these stories are posted on the Boob Group Pinterest board if you wanna check them out. And today we are gonna be talking about that Lovely time magazine, article are you mom enough? And what was your first sense when you read that read the title as well as looking at the picture of the mom breastfeeding her 3-year-old?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: I don’t know I have to say the visual of the 4-year-old standing there you know latched on its a little shocking. I know it a long term and definitely, an advocate of you know, longer-term breastfeeding but sometimes visually it takes, you do kind of sometimes have that sort of Woo Factor because we don’t see it that often. So, it doesn’t always sit in well in sense of “Oh! That’s normal” So, yeah.
Robin Kaplan: Well, it’s biologically normal it’s not necessarily socially normal in our society and so, I definitely think they use that for short value and kind of instigate the conversation or multiple conversations.
Jenica McKeown: I think it was shocking, I think they did it for a reason. I think they did to have people to start having these conversations. I do agree with longer-term breastfeeding. I don’t think it’s for everyone though. But if she is continuing to do it you know both of them are benefitting from it in some way.
Stephanie Adams: On first sight again, it was quite shocking just the way they have her posed it’s kind of suggestively and that’s just not really a normal pose for breastfeeding. I was also you know, I think the article is gonna be linked to talking about attachment parenting and I just thought that’s its really misrepresenting what attachment parenting is about.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely, Why so would you say?
Stephanie Adams: Just sort of the competitive title to it “are you mom enough?” that’s. And I think its misrepresenting what attachment parenting is. It is all about creating a secure, attached and confident child. It’s not about how naturally you can be or how long you can breastfeed, you know. I am kind of assuming from that, the title “are you mom enough?” It just pulls away from its purpose of it.
Jenica McKeown: Yeah, absolutely I mean really in my mind it started off just the mommy wars and when I saw that it was funny I guess I am a lactation consultant when I looked at the picture I was like “Oh! Oh! Alright” And then what shocked me the most was that title and I was like “why are you doing that and for mother’s day seriously you are gonna make us all start to doubt whether we are mom enough for our children because of we don’t do some things that other people do?” And I think that the title bothered me even more than the photo.
JonaRose Feinberg: I think it was really designed for shock value I think if you wanna have an open conversation about what it means to be a mother, understand the age or how different people mother and children are? That’s a great conversation to have but this was designed to you know drive the magazine’s sales and get people fighting with each other and creating a buzz and I mean I guess they were successful at that. They weren’t so successful in actually having an open conversation about different parenting styles and why people might make the choices that they make in their families.
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, because honestly when I think of attachment parenting which the article is actually about I was thinking well, I guess to me I was thinking well, put your 3 year old and a career on your back and but obviously that photo wouldn’t have sold as many articles or sold us many magazines as this one in particular.
JonaRose Feinberg : Yeah.
[Theme Music]
Robin Kaplan: So, today on the Boob Group we are discussing the many different ways of mother of multiples can make breastfeeding work for her and her family. Our expert JonaRose Feinberg is an international board-certified lactation consultant, editor of https://www.breastfeedingtwins.organd the owner of Twins in Mind consulting as well as an experienced breastfeeding mother of twins as well. Jona, welcome to the show and thanks for joining us.
JonaRose Feinberg : Thanks for having me.
Robin Kaplan: So, Jona, what do you find is the first question that mothers of multiples ask you about breastfeeding? What would be your kind of top three tips for them?
JonaRose Feinberg : Well, I think in the beginning moms are usually concerned about the mechanics about breastfeeding multiples. They want to know “can I really do this.How will I manage this? What have I gotten myself into? Oh! My god” and they kind of develop for there. But you know it’s great when they are asking those questions because that means they are getting prepared, they are thinking about, they are thinking about what they need to do to manage this relationship and then to enjoy it. So, getting prepared is my No.1 tip that can mean taking a class, reading a book, having an opinion does visit a lactation consultant it is often a really good idea for mom of multiples. And it can also mean attending a breastfeeding support group may be through a local mom’s of multiple groups or through the La Leche League. I think it’s really important especially for moms of multiples to meet other moms who are breastfeeding their own twins or their own multiples to really talk to someone who has been in the trenches and get that sense of it can be done and here is how?
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, even more so than being surrounded by moms of singletons would you say?
JonaRose Feinberg: I think so I think that really having the visual of having a mom breastfeeding twins but also hearing from another mom who is right there, who says “You can do this. I did it, you can do it. It’s gonna be Okay” So, I think that’s really important but because of multiples I have lot more tips for multiple babies multiple tips, right? So, I think also with one baby but especially with more than one it’s important to line up support. So, having your partner your mom, your sister, a postpartum doula, having somebody on board with your plans to breastfeed can make a huge difference in the early days. It’s helpful for a second set of hands to arrange babies to arrange pillows. It’s especially helpful to take care of the new mom by making sure she is staying hydrated and well-fed. My husband said to tell dads that “the best thing they can do to help the babies is to take care of the mom” But that’s a super important thing and that it shouldn’t get minimized in the relationship. Lots of mom find it useful to learn how to tantrum feed and to nurse the babies at the same time. Not everybody decides that’s the best way to do it but it’s often something to learn. I usually suggest that moms work on that after each baby has figured out latching sort of a lot of things to work on at the same time. So, get the babies latching and then work on feeding them together but it can be a bit time saver. And then my bonus tip which is for everybody but it is actually for multiples. If you are having problems get help right away don’t wait until it is a huge crisis call a lactation consultant, call your La Leche League, call whoever gonna get you support.Have it lined up in advance so, when you are in the crisis moment your partner, your support person can I say “I see that you are stressing out so you know what I am gonna pick up the phone and I am gonna call someone who can help you” So, that you have that ready to go when you need that.
Robin Kaplan: Ladies, what else would you add to that list if anything?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Well, you know I think yeah, preparation is the key. I think when I found out I was having twins I realized “Oh! My gosh, I don’t know how to do this?” And I think if I had a one probably I will think “well, everybody has one so kind of did force me to really you know gear up and look at you know how it is gonna support afterward during you know the first few months”. But you know I think in one other thing I realize is that how would I am going to be living we have a two-story house and I realize I spend a lot of time in our family room. So, some of the practical day-to-day stuff meant Okay, I need to have sort of a daytime set up and I need to have a nighttime set up. So, I had kind of like you know two sets of nursing pillows and you know, I had my pump downstairs and so, of course, you can anticipate everything but it was just helpful to go out and you know get stuff in place you know, ahead time.
JenicaMcKeown: I was gonna say that I think it’s good to have some other plan in mind obviously setting up your support systems but realizing that plan can change and being flexible with that. You know I had an idea of how it’s gonna go. But, it is completely different once the babies come. But, that was helpful knowing that I could turn for help were I could go to for that support, definitely having the right equipment was important. But then you learn about all these new things once you see a lactation consultant and things I never even knew existed. So, just knowing what your options are I think are, is a key.
Stephanie Adams: Support is essential with twins. I had the experience of nursing just a single baby prior to having my twins and that was a challenge in itself just nursing, learning to nurse just one baby. And so I was nervous don’t know it was two babies just one was such a challenge. So, I knew right away sort of my plan of attack when I hit a struggle with the twins I had my lactation consultant sort of lined up and who I was gonna call. And my husband knew how to support me because he had experienced that before. And one thing I did was people who I knew that was gonna be in my house during this sort of newborn mommy stage with these twins, I let them know that this was something I really wanna do. So, to really be supportive and speak supportive messages to me rather than if they are seeing me fall into tears, crying because I am struggling with getting one latched or it hurts not to say “Oh! Maybe let’s try this, let’s just go ahead and try some formula”. To hug me and can tell me “what you are doing is Okay, let’s keep at it”
JenicaMcKeown: So, Cheerleaders you needed.
Stephanie Adams: Yeah.
Robin Kaplan : Jona, do you notice that there is a big difference in early breastfeeding yeast based on the baby's gestational age?
JonaRose Feinberg: I think there is, there is lots of growth and development going on in those last developmental weeks, the last gestational weeks and every day makes a difference. They tell you that when you are pregnant. You get always warnings about preterm labor and being careful. But you know when the babies come some babies are really premature and so it’s pretty likely that they’ll spend some time in just growing or if they have any medical concerns. But even babies that are born 35 and 36 weeks which we think of is pretty Okay, they are late preterm infants and so they often have feeding challenges of their even if they are healthy enough to ride with you and to go right home with you. And so they are smaller for one thing which means smaller babies, smaller mouth, got to get the logistics out on that. They also tend to be sleepy and they are more prone to jaundice so really need to work at establishing breastfeeding in those early weeks.
Robin Kaplan: Terrific, ladies as new moms of twins what did the breastfeeding look like for you and your baby’s during those first few weeks and if you wouldn’t mind also just letting us know how old they were gestationally when they were born?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Sure, yeah so my girl’s thing they were actually full term 40 weeks.
Robin Kaplan: Wow!
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: So, I ate a lot of protein so thankfully they come out the full term and you know, I think part of it was, of course, the milk supply that’s probably one of the biggest challenges. One of my girls ended up being in an incubator just for a few hours and so within that hospital setting I did have a lactation consultant and she spent a significant amount of time with us. But in order to get us out of the hospital, we were said that “Hey, we have to get them up to 4 weeks so, we need to supplement.”So, that was one of the things I felt Okay and fine we will do that and also the supplementing we did with the tube you know with being taped to the breast so they have got the sucking on the nipple they have got the little tube in the corner of the mouth. And that was a challenge doing it at home especially in the middle of the night. So, I was very thankful, it was really only after a few weeks that you go straight to regular nursing.
Robin Kaplan: Oh! It’s fantastic.
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Yeah, we did continue with supplementing with the formula you know, milk supply was a little bit of challenge but you know, my philosophy is always been I just wanna continue breastfeeding them whether they get it a 100% of the time you know breast milk or maybe they get 75% of the time and 25% formula you know, I feel good about feeding them you know.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely, because they are getting, every drop that they get is so beneficial and so it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It’s just fantastic that you have felt that way and you have noticed that so, that you could continue this relationship with them, that’s wonderful. How about you Jenica?
Jenica McKeown: Well, my girls were born in 34 weeks so luckily they didn’t spend too much time in the hospital. They just had to stay to gain a little bit of weight but my problem was my milk supply to come in for good 7 to 10 days. So, right after that we had to start with supplementation whichI was okay with, for me it was more important for them to get what they needed in order to gain weight and then I started pumping and then my life from then on was pumping you know, 8 times a day to get my milk supply. And then so eventually once it came in we, I did breast milk, again I had latching problems so it took us a while to get that down. And then the supplement and eventually got them just the breast milk so until later on. But that’s where……
Robin Kaplan: How long did that take you?
Jenica McKeown: Well, it took over a month.
Robin Kaplan: Lot of hard work.
Jenica McKeown: Yeah, my time frames are a little bit off right now. Yeah, it was over a month and I remember that it still used and I had to use a nipple shield I had to use a tube you know to try to get them used to latching correctly and then did everything that I could help them along and they eventually got it.
Stephanie Adams: We kind of had every nursing challenge with my sons in the first few weeks. My twins were full-term 40 weeks when they were born and but they were significantly different sizes they were 2 pounds different in size. One was in the 7-pound range one was in the 5-pound range and that presented nursing challenges in itself just because they were such different sized babies that they just had different nursing demands. My biggest challenge was with my boy who was smaller. He was 5 pounds he did go to the NICU right after the birth for a few days and how we managed that was we just lived down and the NICU pretty much and nursed and nursed until he go to the, he took enough ounces that they were happy with, they said “Okay, he is doing well” so they let him go. And then when we got home his latches were very, very painful and we came to find out that he was tongue-tied so we got his tongue clipped and his latch was much better but he was in a lot of pain from the tongue clip so he actually stopped nursing altogether. And that wasn’t really a challenging moment for me because I myself, I wanted so desperately to nurse my twins and I had to really come to terms with that it may not happen and through a lot tears and struggle I got I opened up the formula and I saw him happy for few days because what was most important was he needed to gain weight, it wasn’t about what I wanted it was I needed to nurture my son and however that happened was what I needed to do. And so I nursed my daughter and I get my son formula for a few days and then once he healed up we tried to put him back on and then he latched beautifully and ever since then I have just been nursing them both as much as they want and as often and it was possible to keep my supply up but it was a rough go, I would say for the first month.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely, sounds like it. Jona, what does breastfeeding looks like for you during those first couple of weeks?
JonaRose Feinberg: Well, it’s bit of a whirlwind. My babies were born at 37 weeks so on the early side of term and great for twins. I had a cesarean. My son was in the NICU for a couple of days at the beginning for some breathing issues. So, I spent a lot of time going back and forth between the one baby in the recovery room and the other baby in the NICU back and forth pumping. I was really lucky to have a lot of help at the beginning so my husband took a long leave of absence. So, my mom and his mom took turns staying with us as much as they could and so then I was really able to focus on breastfeeding because somebody else was doing pretty much everything else at that time. It’s a good thing because I couldn’t have managed everything else. I feel like it was little bit like a juggling act at times trying to get two babies and all of that we were pumping and we were supplementing and were lots of contraptions. I saw a fantastic lactation consultant a couple at the beginning and the other thing that I did I think that was really helpful was I reached out online to some other moms of twins who were breastfeeding just sort of like, “I mean this crazy phase and please tell me it’s better” and it was really nice to hear I guess “yes, it’s going to get better. You are in the worst darkest moment” there is a light. And then it started to work and we stopped needing supplements, we stopped needing to pump and then it was just breastfeeding. It was great.
Robin Kaplan: That was fantastic. Alright, when we come back we will discuss whether mothers of multiples benefit putting their babies on feeding schedules as well how pumping fits into the breastfeeding scenario. We will be right back.
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Robin Kaplan: Alright, we are back. So Jona when I guide a mother of a singleton I often discourage setting a feeding schedule during the first few weeks as I find the babies often put themselves on schedules. However, I realize that might be a different scenario for moms who are feeding two or more babies because otherwise they could literally be feeding like a friend of us like it’s called a 24-hour drive-through. So, how important for breastfeeding moms of multiples is it for her to help her babies find a feeding schedule early on?
JonaRose Feinberg: Well, you know I don’t encourage putting the babies on a schedule, although I would say the babies to come home from or stay in the NICU have already been put on a feeding schedule in the NICU, and if they are already on one then it’s not a bad thing to keep them on that schedule if it’s working for you but mostly I don’t encourage scheduling. I do encourage families to find a routine that works for them and what that often means is trying to keep the babies on the same feeding cycle. So, that could mean feeding them together or feeding them one right after the other especially at night so that mom can get some stretches of sleep. So, it’s one time when it might make sense to wake a sleeping baby so you have the one baby wakes up and you feed that baby and you wake the second baby to feed them so that maybe after that you get a stretch where you get to sleep and you are not constantly feeding babies. And I also suggest keeping feeding and a diaper log. I don’t suggest that as much with singletons after those first few days when you show that the diaper count is good but when you are talking about two babies it’s really easy to lose track of which baby you fed and which baby you changed. And again especially at night, it’s always better to just write it down then you don’t have to worry that you are not going to remember it in the morning.
Robin Kaplan: That’s terrific advice. Ladies, did you find that did you put your children on schedules?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: For me, no not really I mean thankfully they just sort of you know, went on a regular schedule. We just decided to feed on demand and thankfully they were pretty much in sync with each other I mean of course we just did some development milestones as far as introducing solids on a little bit older and teething. And then it did change we have you know one that might need a feeding and the other one would be sleeping you know that sort of thing. But early on thankfully they were at their own schedules.
Robin Kaplan: So, one kind when one woke up the second one kind of followed the suite?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Yeah, yes. We found that we did decide if one woke up let’s say at night time and with hungry we would feed her and then we would go again and just feed the second one sometimes sort of that dream feeling.
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, how about you Jenica?
Jenica McKeown: I actually did sort of follow a feeding schedule just because the girls were at the low birth weight. It was important to feed every 3 hours so for at least the first months or so we probably did set a pretty strict schedule. You know, they weren’t always waking for those feedings so that became a challenge. And then you know, you put a demand on yourself “I hope they are getting enough food” you know, and you want them to gain weight. So, that was always challenging but we would wake if one baby to feed and then wake the other one so we try to keep them on the same feeding routine and I think that’s important when you have multiples. So, that’s what I do remember doing and they do set their own schedule I think after a while. And then when you have girls I think it’s important to you know obviously you would feed the baby when that demand called so….
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, how about you Stephanie?
Stephanie Adams: I would say not so much of schedule but we sort of followed the baby's demand. We did spend a couple of nights just feeding one baby and then waiting for the other baby to wake up and those nights were really difficult.
Robin Kaplan: Okay.
Stephanie Adams: It was getting about 40 minutes of sleep in between the different wake-ups. So, we decided at night we would wake the sleeping baby and feed one and then wake the other one up and feed them back to back. And we have kept with that they really did well in type with that and that helped to push them to sort of a very predictable scheduled amount at night. And I just, yeah I always kind of try and feed them together back to back or tantrum just because it’s the time saver and also because I have a 2-year-old at home the poor little guy he needs an action with me if I don’t put them together I am always nursing so…
JonaRose Feinberg: You know it seems like to some extent some of those cycle variations have to do a little bit whether the babies are identical or fraternal. So, I don’t know that for sure but I know that Christine’s girls are identical, right?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Yeah.
JonaRose Feinberg: And I have heard again I don’t have studied about this but anecdotally it seems like identical twins are more likely to put themselves on a similar schedule both in terms of the sleep week and then later on in terms of their developmental milestones and things like that. They are more likely to be kind of right alongside each other and fraternal twins are two babies that happen to be born at the time and so they are individuals and they tend not to do that quite as much, some of them do but more often they are not. I think it’s just an interesting thing to look for and see.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely, no that’s fascinating absolutely. Jona, do you find that mothers of multiples have more of a difficult time getting that full milk supply compared to the moms of singletons that you worked with?
JonaRose Feinberg: I think it really depends on the mom and I don’t think that a mom is expecting multiple should automatically assume that she is going to have milk supply issues. Breastfeeding multiples, it’s a demand in supply situation just like breastfeeding a singleton. There is some kind of factors that complicate that equations. So, the mom may have fertility issues that led to the conceptions of her twins whether to that fertility treatments or just she has hormone cycles that make her ugly. She might still have something going on that might have an impact and the other thing is that mother, infant separation always adds a challenge to establishing supply. So, pumping or you know if the baby is premature, if there are other medical concerns then that are just added obstacles to establishing supply.
Robin Kaplan: Do you find that most moms of multiples become more friendly with their pump early on than the singletons?
JonaRose Feinberg: I think it’s very, very common, Yeah I think and especially again because a lot of twins are even still a little bit early while they are getting the hang of feeding, you wanna make sure to protect your supply and so of the babies are not 100% doing the job of getting all the milk they need from your body. Whatever you are doing to supplement the baby you also need to be sure to protect the milk supply. So, if the babies aren’t doing well by themselves then you need to do some kind of pumping at the beginning. So, in the early days that would be pumping with the hospital-grade pump to help establish milk supply.
Robin Kaplan: Ladies, give a low down on pumping during the first two weeks.
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Oh! My gosh, I think for me I did exactly what Jona is talking about. Basically, our lactation consultant set us up with the hospital grade pump which I think it is much more substantial than the kind we buy in a store. But the hospital grade was great and some of our routines was really I would feed each girl sometimes during a tantrum and sometimes you know one after the other kind of just depending on their moods and schedules. And then I would pump immediately afterward and I knew in that process that you know feeding them getting into their belly was the most important. And then if I can just you know use the pump to just stimulate you know more demand. So, I know I think at first it was always this I had this mindset of “Oh! My gosh you know I am only getting you know 5 milliliters.Oh! No, you know I keep looking at the bottle and you know, see if it is gonna be filling up” And you know, there is kind of this fighting feeling you know inadequacy just to some extent and I think you know I really had to stick with it and realized that Okay, it’s gonna be building up over time and it was you know within so many months then it’s like “Okay, I am actually you know, filling up more than one bottle” And so that was really rewarding but certainly it’s time-consuming. We spent a lot of time with that pump.
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, absolutely Jenica, I know you started with it too because your girls were so gestationally born so early?
Jenica McKeown: Yeah, it was probably I think 6 to 8 weeks I was pumping about 8 times a day it did really establish my milk flow. Again I got the hospital-grade pump I don’t remember if it was a lactation consultant at the hospital but they said you know “The hospital-grade pump will establish your milk flow and the pumps you buy in the store will maintain it.” So, you know I had the pump at home but definitely the hospital grade pump and you will miss it once it is gone. So, I was pumping, actually, I pumped after nursing for me because after a while one of my babies would prefer the bottle over nursing. So, that was about after 3 months since so that took a while for me to adjust to and just realized the most important thing is for her to get the breast milk it didn’t matter how? So, that meant that I was pumping again and once my milk flow was in any were from 4 to 6 times a day to make sure that she would get the milk. So, you know it’s definitely you have a plan in mind and like I said, you just have to be flexible with realizing what’s important for you and you baby and your lifestyle?
Robin Kaplan: So, for those of you who are still breastfeeding at this point or if you remember you know how did your breastfeeding relationship involve with your babies from this very stressful point in the beginning to may be a more comfortable, enjoyable and peaceful time with your kid?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: You know definitely we were in phases I mean, in the beginning, there was a sort of introduction and you know, the whole latch transition from supplementing the two that was not a little bit easier and then you know a couple of months afterward I just felt like a natural flow. But then you know, I will say when we went further on and to you know at the 6 month period when he got teeth that was not so fun. I always say you could hear a few screams in the house when I got bitten and but yeah, that’s okay we are gonna work that out. So, it just continued we had sort of a different kind of relationship but it did become enjoyable certainly.
Stephanie Adams: You know it’s different for me because like I said I was nursing one baby longer than the other one. So, I think my relationship with that baby changed.
Jenica McKeown: Yeah, our relationship is changed greatly, in the beginning, we had so many challenges and it was quite painful. I remember in the beginning it was just encouraging my babies “Oh! You can do it. It’s Okay with mommy you can do this” just really trying to encourage them till now it’s really smooth it’s easy the latches are very comfortable. And what I love is they are 4 months right now when I looked down at them nursing they looked at my eyes and smiled full laugh and smiled like “You are so cute” So, it has really evolved.
Robin Kaplan: How about you Jona?
JonaRose Feinberg: Pretty soon after that stuffy the nurse started poking at each other and it was really funny. I thought that those stages were all really, really fun experiences and I don’t want it to get past that sort of brutal early weeks which I think honestly parenting newborns is kind of tiring at the beginning and parenting two newborns is tiring, however, you feel like feeding them is you know it’s a little crazy. But I think as they got older our relationships changed, the positions changed, our schedule changed you know, their ability to ask or not ask or play with each other or not. But as they got much older I think that in a way nursing was almost the easiest thing for me to do to count two babies at the same time. So, and even to toddlerhood that it was this thing where everybody sat down and everybody got calm and quiet and we all sort of snuggled and I think those moments of connection are really valuable as older infants and as toddlers, I breastfed them for a long time and that was part of wise because it was a tool in my toolbox of parenting to snuggle with them and to settle down you know we do the same thing now but with the book. So, we all snuggle in together and we read a book together and that gets everybody sitting and quiet and we can react I think that’s really valuable.
Robin Kaplan: Well, thank you so much Jona for your insight into the mechanics of breastfeeding multiples as well as our three panelists. I really look forward to continuing our conversation about breastfeeding multiples in the upcoming months.
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[Featured Segment: Ask The Experts]
Robin Kaplan: Before we wrap things up here is the question you all had for one of our experts.
Jennifer: Hi, Boob Group this is Jennifer from San Diego, California. I loved the segment about Nutritional supplements for breastfed babies. I have a 6-month-old daughter and she is breastfed right now but my Pediatrician keeps wondering about whether or not I need to get her iron supplements. So, my questions for you are what are the signs that a baby is iron deficient and is it difficult to test for iron deficiency and I would really love to stay away from unnecessary supplements so, your advice would be greatly appreciated. Okay, thank you.
Dr. Johnson: Hi, this is Dr. Johnson, luckily Jennifer, we really don’t need those any longer there in infant food or formula, moms prenatal vitamin. We do normally at least an hour of this check at 9 months of age to see if a child is anemic? The very simple test involves the fingers tip and you can instantly know what their blood count is and most of the time I would say maybe once or twice a year now I feel the need to use iron. So, it’s a sort of the thing that would past but we still check for it anyway. As far as other supplements probably no.1 right now on the list is Vitamin D for breastfeeding in the sense breastfeeding infants or so to get enough Vitamin D. So, we usually supplements that. Vitamin D is a substitute that helps us to feel strong bones and as real become more prominent as far as a nutritional need. So, I hope that answers your question. Have a good day, thank you.
Robin Kaplan: Thank you to all of our listeners. I hope you all visit our website https://www.theboobgroup.comand our Facebook page to offer your personal stories about breastfeeding multiples. If you have any questions about today’s show or the topics we discussed call our boob group hotline at 619-866-4775 and we will answer your question on an upcoming episode. If you have a breastfeeding topic you would like to suggest we would love to hear it simply visit our website https://www.theboobgroup.comand send us an email through the contact link. Coming up next week we will be discussing how to manage a toddler while breastfeeding an infant. Thanks for listening to the Boob Group “because mothers know breasts.”
[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Suggestions and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. For such information in which areas are related to be accurate it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problems or diseases or for prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby please receive assistance from a qualified health care provider.
[00:35:43] End of Audio
Episode Transcript
The Boob Group
An Introduction to Breastfeeding Multiples
Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.
[00:00:00]
[Theme Music]
JonaRose Feinberg: There are many ways in which a mother can breastfeed her multiples. Sometimes the mechanics and logistics of it can all seem overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. I am JonaRose Feinbergan international board-certified lactation consultant, the editor of https://www.breastfeedingtwins.organd owner of Twins in Mind consulting. Today we will be discussing the mechanics of breastfeeding multiples. This is the Boob Group, Episode 7.
[Theme Music/Intro]
Robin Kaplan: Welcome to the Boob Group broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. I am your host Robin Kaplan. I am also a certified lactation consultant and the owner of the San Diego breastfeeding center. At the Boob Group we are your online support group for all things related to breastfeeding. Wondering how you could become involved with our show? Visit https://www.theboobgroup.comwhere you can send us comments or suggestions through our contact link. Join the conversation on our Facebook page as well. You can also call the Boob Group hotline at 619-866-4775. The Boob Group is also looking for listeners to join our blogging team. If you would like to share your current or past experiences about be sure to send us an email. Today, I am joined by three lovely panelists in the studio. Ladies will you introduce yourself, please!
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Hi, my name is Christine Stewart Fitzgerald and I am the mom to two twin girls, they are now 2.5 years and I have also got, I have got a single son on the way due this fall.
Robin Kaplan: Okay, congratulations.
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Thank you.
Jenica McKeown: Hi, my name is JenicaMcKeown. I have 13-month-old twin girls who were born 6 weeks early so, I am very to announce that they are 20 pounds.
Stephanie Adams: I am Stephanie Adams. I have a 2.5-year-old little guy and I just had twins a boy and a girl about 4 months ago well, 4 months today.
Robin Kaplan : Congratulations.
[Theme Music]
[Featured Segment: News Headlines]
Robin Kaplan: Alright, we are gonna kick off today’s episode with some unbelievable breastfeeding stories and making headlines around the internet. All of these stories are posted on the Boob Group Pinterest board if you wanna check them out. And today we are gonna be talking about that Lovely time magazine, article are you mom enough? And what was your first sense when you read that read the title as well as looking at the picture of the mom breastfeeding her 3-year-old?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: I don’t know I have to say the visual of the 4-year-old standing there you know latched on its a little shocking. I know it a long term and definitely, an advocate of you know, longer-term breastfeeding but sometimes visually it takes, you do kind of sometimes have that sort of Woo Factor because we don’t see it that often. So, it doesn’t always sit in well in sense of “Oh! That’s normal” So, yeah.
Robin Kaplan: Well, it’s biologically normal it’s not necessarily socially normal in our society and so, I definitely think they use that for short value and kind of instigate the conversation or multiple conversations.
Jenica McKeown: I think it was shocking, I think they did it for a reason. I think they did to have people to start having these conversations. I do agree with longer-term breastfeeding. I don’t think it’s for everyone though. But if she is continuing to do it you know both of them are benefitting from it in some way.
Stephanie Adams: On first sight again, it was quite shocking just the way they have her posed it’s kind of suggestively and that’s just not really a normal pose for breastfeeding. I was also you know, I think the article is gonna be linked to talking about attachment parenting and I just thought that’s its really misrepresenting what attachment parenting is about.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely, Why so would you say?
Stephanie Adams: Just sort of the competitive title to it “are you mom enough?” that’s. And I think its misrepresenting what attachment parenting is. It is all about creating a secure, attached and confident child. It’s not about how naturally you can be or how long you can breastfeed, you know. I am kind of assuming from that, the title “are you mom enough?” It just pulls away from its purpose of it.
Jenica McKeown: Yeah, absolutely I mean really in my mind it started off just the mommy wars and when I saw that it was funny I guess I am a lactation consultant when I looked at the picture I was like “Oh! Oh! Alright” And then what shocked me the most was that title and I was like “why are you doing that and for mother’s day seriously you are gonna make us all start to doubt whether we are mom enough for our children because of we don’t do some things that other people do?” And I think that the title bothered me even more than the photo.
JonaRose Feinberg: I think it was really designed for shock value I think if you wanna have an open conversation about what it means to be a mother, understand the age or how different people mother and children are? That’s a great conversation to have but this was designed to you know drive the magazine’s sales and get people fighting with each other and creating a buzz and I mean I guess they were successful at that. They weren’t so successful in actually having an open conversation about different parenting styles and why people might make the choices that they make in their families.
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, because honestly when I think of attachment parenting which the article is actually about I was thinking well, I guess to me I was thinking well, put your 3 year old and a career on your back and but obviously that photo wouldn’t have sold as many articles or sold us many magazines as this one in particular.
JonaRose Feinberg : Yeah.
[Theme Music]
Robin Kaplan: So, today on the Boob Group we are discussing the many different ways of mother of multiples can make breastfeeding work for her and her family. Our expert JonaRose Feinberg is an international board-certified lactation consultant, editor of https://www.breastfeedingtwins.organd the owner of Twins in Mind consulting as well as an experienced breastfeeding mother of twins as well. Jona, welcome to the show and thanks for joining us.
JonaRose Feinberg : Thanks for having me.
Robin Kaplan: So, Jona, what do you find is the first question that mothers of multiples ask you about breastfeeding? What would be your kind of top three tips for them?
JonaRose Feinberg : Well, I think in the beginning moms are usually concerned about the mechanics about breastfeeding multiples. They want to know “can I really do this.How will I manage this? What have I gotten myself into? Oh! My god” and they kind of develop for there. But you know it’s great when they are asking those questions because that means they are getting prepared, they are thinking about, they are thinking about what they need to do to manage this relationship and then to enjoy it. So, getting prepared is my No.1 tip that can mean taking a class, reading a book, having an opinion does visit a lactation consultant it is often a really good idea for mom of multiples. And it can also mean attending a breastfeeding support group may be through a local mom’s of multiple groups or through the La Leche League. I think it’s really important especially for moms of multiples to meet other moms who are breastfeeding their own twins or their own multiples to really talk to someone who has been in the trenches and get that sense of it can be done and here is how?
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, even more so than being surrounded by moms of singletons would you say?
JonaRose Feinberg: I think so I think that really having the visual of having a mom breastfeeding twins but also hearing from another mom who is right there, who says “You can do this. I did it, you can do it. It’s gonna be Okay” So, I think that’s really important but because of multiples I have lot more tips for multiple babies multiple tips, right? So, I think also with one baby but especially with more than one it’s important to line up support. So, having your partner your mom, your sister, a postpartum doula, having somebody on board with your plans to breastfeed can make a huge difference in the early days. It’s helpful for a second set of hands to arrange babies to arrange pillows. It’s especially helpful to take care of the new mom by making sure she is staying hydrated and well-fed. My husband said to tell dads that “the best thing they can do to help the babies is to take care of the mom” But that’s a super important thing and that it shouldn’t get minimized in the relationship. Lots of mom find it useful to learn how to tantrum feed and to nurse the babies at the same time. Not everybody decides that’s the best way to do it but it’s often something to learn. I usually suggest that moms work on that after each baby has figured out latching sort of a lot of things to work on at the same time. So, get the babies latching and then work on feeding them together but it can be a bit time saver. And then my bonus tip which is for everybody but it is actually for multiples. If you are having problems get help right away don’t wait until it is a huge crisis call a lactation consultant, call your La Leche League, call whoever gonna get you support.Have it lined up in advance so, when you are in the crisis moment your partner, your support person can I say “I see that you are stressing out so you know what I am gonna pick up the phone and I am gonna call someone who can help you” So, that you have that ready to go when you need that.
Robin Kaplan: Ladies, what else would you add to that list if anything?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Well, you know I think yeah, preparation is the key. I think when I found out I was having twins I realized “Oh! My gosh, I don’t know how to do this?” And I think if I had a one probably I will think “well, everybody has one so kind of did force me to really you know gear up and look at you know how it is gonna support afterward during you know the first few months”. But you know I think in one other thing I realize is that how would I am going to be living we have a two-story house and I realize I spend a lot of time in our family room. So, some of the practical day-to-day stuff meant Okay, I need to have sort of a daytime set up and I need to have a nighttime set up. So, I had kind of like you know two sets of nursing pillows and you know, I had my pump downstairs and so, of course, you can anticipate everything but it was just helpful to go out and you know get stuff in place you know, ahead time.
JenicaMcKeown: I was gonna say that I think it’s good to have some other plan in mind obviously setting up your support systems but realizing that plan can change and being flexible with that. You know I had an idea of how it’s gonna go. But, it is completely different once the babies come. But, that was helpful knowing that I could turn for help were I could go to for that support, definitely having the right equipment was important. But then you learn about all these new things once you see a lactation consultant and things I never even knew existed. So, just knowing what your options are I think are, is a key.
Stephanie Adams: Support is essential with twins. I had the experience of nursing just a single baby prior to having my twins and that was a challenge in itself just nursing, learning to nurse just one baby. And so I was nervous don’t know it was two babies just one was such a challenge. So, I knew right away sort of my plan of attack when I hit a struggle with the twins I had my lactation consultant sort of lined up and who I was gonna call. And my husband knew how to support me because he had experienced that before. And one thing I did was people who I knew that was gonna be in my house during this sort of newborn mommy stage with these twins, I let them know that this was something I really wanna do. So, to really be supportive and speak supportive messages to me rather than if they are seeing me fall into tears, crying because I am struggling with getting one latched or it hurts not to say “Oh! Maybe let’s try this, let’s just go ahead and try some formula”. To hug me and can tell me “what you are doing is Okay, let’s keep at it”
JenicaMcKeown: So, Cheerleaders you needed.
Stephanie Adams: Yeah.
Robin Kaplan : Jona, do you notice that there is a big difference in early breastfeeding yeast based on the baby's gestational age?
JonaRose Feinberg: I think there is, there is lots of growth and development going on in those last developmental weeks, the last gestational weeks and every day makes a difference. They tell you that when you are pregnant. You get always warnings about preterm labor and being careful. But you know when the babies come some babies are really premature and so it’s pretty likely that they’ll spend some time in just growing or if they have any medical concerns. But even babies that are born 35 and 36 weeks which we think of is pretty Okay, they are late preterm infants and so they often have feeding challenges of their even if they are healthy enough to ride with you and to go right home with you. And so they are smaller for one thing which means smaller babies, smaller mouth, got to get the logistics out on that. They also tend to be sleepy and they are more prone to jaundice so really need to work at establishing breastfeeding in those early weeks.
Robin Kaplan: Terrific, ladies as new moms of twins what did the breastfeeding look like for you and your baby’s during those first few weeks and if you wouldn’t mind also just letting us know how old they were gestationally when they were born?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Sure, yeah so my girl’s thing they were actually full term 40 weeks.
Robin Kaplan: Wow!
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: So, I ate a lot of protein so thankfully they come out the full term and you know, I think part of it was, of course, the milk supply that’s probably one of the biggest challenges. One of my girls ended up being in an incubator just for a few hours and so within that hospital setting I did have a lactation consultant and she spent a significant amount of time with us. But in order to get us out of the hospital, we were said that “Hey, we have to get them up to 4 weeks so, we need to supplement.”So, that was one of the things I felt Okay and fine we will do that and also the supplementing we did with the tube you know with being taped to the breast so they have got the sucking on the nipple they have got the little tube in the corner of the mouth. And that was a challenge doing it at home especially in the middle of the night. So, I was very thankful, it was really only after a few weeks that you go straight to regular nursing.
Robin Kaplan: Oh! It’s fantastic.
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Yeah, we did continue with supplementing with the formula you know, milk supply was a little bit of challenge but you know, my philosophy is always been I just wanna continue breastfeeding them whether they get it a 100% of the time you know breast milk or maybe they get 75% of the time and 25% formula you know, I feel good about feeding them you know.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely, because they are getting, every drop that they get is so beneficial and so it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It’s just fantastic that you have felt that way and you have noticed that so, that you could continue this relationship with them, that’s wonderful. How about you Jenica?
Jenica McKeown: Well, my girls were born in 34 weeks so luckily they didn’t spend too much time in the hospital. They just had to stay to gain a little bit of weight but my problem was my milk supply to come in for good 7 to 10 days. So, right after that we had to start with supplementation whichI was okay with, for me it was more important for them to get what they needed in order to gain weight and then I started pumping and then my life from then on was pumping you know, 8 times a day to get my milk supply. And then so eventually once it came in we, I did breast milk, again I had latching problems so it took us a while to get that down. And then the supplement and eventually got them just the breast milk so until later on. But that’s where……
Robin Kaplan: How long did that take you?
Jenica McKeown: Well, it took over a month.
Robin Kaplan: Lot of hard work.
Jenica McKeown: Yeah, my time frames are a little bit off right now. Yeah, it was over a month and I remember that it still used and I had to use a nipple shield I had to use a tube you know to try to get them used to latching correctly and then did everything that I could help them along and they eventually got it.
Stephanie Adams: We kind of had every nursing challenge with my sons in the first few weeks. My twins were full-term 40 weeks when they were born and but they were significantly different sizes they were 2 pounds different in size. One was in the 7-pound range one was in the 5-pound range and that presented nursing challenges in itself just because they were such different sized babies that they just had different nursing demands. My biggest challenge was with my boy who was smaller. He was 5 pounds he did go to the NICU right after the birth for a few days and how we managed that was we just lived down and the NICU pretty much and nursed and nursed until he go to the, he took enough ounces that they were happy with, they said “Okay, he is doing well” so they let him go. And then when we got home his latches were very, very painful and we came to find out that he was tongue-tied so we got his tongue clipped and his latch was much better but he was in a lot of pain from the tongue clip so he actually stopped nursing altogether. And that wasn’t really a challenging moment for me because I myself, I wanted so desperately to nurse my twins and I had to really come to terms with that it may not happen and through a lot tears and struggle I got I opened up the formula and I saw him happy for few days because what was most important was he needed to gain weight, it wasn’t about what I wanted it was I needed to nurture my son and however that happened was what I needed to do. And so I nursed my daughter and I get my son formula for a few days and then once he healed up we tried to put him back on and then he latched beautifully and ever since then I have just been nursing them both as much as they want and as often and it was possible to keep my supply up but it was a rough go, I would say for the first month.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely, sounds like it. Jona, what does breastfeeding looks like for you during those first couple of weeks?
JonaRose Feinberg: Well, it’s bit of a whirlwind. My babies were born at 37 weeks so on the early side of term and great for twins. I had a cesarean. My son was in the NICU for a couple of days at the beginning for some breathing issues. So, I spent a lot of time going back and forth between the one baby in the recovery room and the other baby in the NICU back and forth pumping. I was really lucky to have a lot of help at the beginning so my husband took a long leave of absence. So, my mom and his mom took turns staying with us as much as they could and so then I was really able to focus on breastfeeding because somebody else was doing pretty much everything else at that time. It’s a good thing because I couldn’t have managed everything else. I feel like it was little bit like a juggling act at times trying to get two babies and all of that we were pumping and we were supplementing and were lots of contraptions. I saw a fantastic lactation consultant a couple at the beginning and the other thing that I did I think that was really helpful was I reached out online to some other moms of twins who were breastfeeding just sort of like, “I mean this crazy phase and please tell me it’s better” and it was really nice to hear I guess “yes, it’s going to get better. You are in the worst darkest moment” there is a light. And then it started to work and we stopped needing supplements, we stopped needing to pump and then it was just breastfeeding. It was great.
Robin Kaplan: That was fantastic. Alright, when we come back we will discuss whether mothers of multiples benefit putting their babies on feeding schedules as well how pumping fits into the breastfeeding scenario. We will be right back.
[Theme Song]
Robin Kaplan: Alright, we are back. So Jona when I guide a mother of a singleton I often discourage setting a feeding schedule during the first few weeks as I find the babies often put themselves on schedules. However, I realize that might be a different scenario for moms who are feeding two or more babies because otherwise they could literally be feeding like a friend of us like it’s called a 24-hour drive-through. So, how important for breastfeeding moms of multiples is it for her to help her babies find a feeding schedule early on?
JonaRose Feinberg: Well, you know I don’t encourage putting the babies on a schedule, although I would say the babies to come home from or stay in the NICU have already been put on a feeding schedule in the NICU, and if they are already on one then it’s not a bad thing to keep them on that schedule if it’s working for you but mostly I don’t encourage scheduling. I do encourage families to find a routine that works for them and what that often means is trying to keep the babies on the same feeding cycle. So, that could mean feeding them together or feeding them one right after the other especially at night so that mom can get some stretches of sleep. So, it’s one time when it might make sense to wake a sleeping baby so you have the one baby wakes up and you feed that baby and you wake the second baby to feed them so that maybe after that you get a stretch where you get to sleep and you are not constantly feeding babies. And I also suggest keeping feeding and a diaper log. I don’t suggest that as much with singletons after those first few days when you show that the diaper count is good but when you are talking about two babies it’s really easy to lose track of which baby you fed and which baby you changed. And again especially at night, it’s always better to just write it down then you don’t have to worry that you are not going to remember it in the morning.
Robin Kaplan: That’s terrific advice. Ladies, did you find that did you put your children on schedules?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: For me, no not really I mean thankfully they just sort of you know, went on a regular schedule. We just decided to feed on demand and thankfully they were pretty much in sync with each other I mean of course we just did some development milestones as far as introducing solids on a little bit older and teething. And then it did change we have you know one that might need a feeding and the other one would be sleeping you know that sort of thing. But early on thankfully they were at their own schedules.
Robin Kaplan: So, one kind when one woke up the second one kind of followed the suite?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Yeah, yes. We found that we did decide if one woke up let’s say at night time and with hungry we would feed her and then we would go again and just feed the second one sometimes sort of that dream feeling.
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, how about you Jenica?
Jenica McKeown: I actually did sort of follow a feeding schedule just because the girls were at the low birth weight. It was important to feed every 3 hours so for at least the first months or so we probably did set a pretty strict schedule. You know, they weren’t always waking for those feedings so that became a challenge. And then you know, you put a demand on yourself “I hope they are getting enough food” you know, and you want them to gain weight. So, that was always challenging but we would wake if one baby to feed and then wake the other one so we try to keep them on the same feeding routine and I think that’s important when you have multiples. So, that’s what I do remember doing and they do set their own schedule I think after a while. And then when you have girls I think it’s important to you know obviously you would feed the baby when that demand called so….
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, how about you Stephanie?
Stephanie Adams: I would say not so much of schedule but we sort of followed the baby's demand. We did spend a couple of nights just feeding one baby and then waiting for the other baby to wake up and those nights were really difficult.
Robin Kaplan: Okay.
Stephanie Adams: It was getting about 40 minutes of sleep in between the different wake-ups. So, we decided at night we would wake the sleeping baby and feed one and then wake the other one up and feed them back to back. And we have kept with that they really did well in type with that and that helped to push them to sort of a very predictable scheduled amount at night. And I just, yeah I always kind of try and feed them together back to back or tantrum just because it’s the time saver and also because I have a 2-year-old at home the poor little guy he needs an action with me if I don’t put them together I am always nursing so…
JonaRose Feinberg: You know it seems like to some extent some of those cycle variations have to do a little bit whether the babies are identical or fraternal. So, I don’t know that for sure but I know that Christine’s girls are identical, right?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Yeah.
JonaRose Feinberg: And I have heard again I don’t have studied about this but anecdotally it seems like identical twins are more likely to put themselves on a similar schedule both in terms of the sleep week and then later on in terms of their developmental milestones and things like that. They are more likely to be kind of right alongside each other and fraternal twins are two babies that happen to be born at the time and so they are individuals and they tend not to do that quite as much, some of them do but more often they are not. I think it’s just an interesting thing to look for and see.
Robin Kaplan: Absolutely, no that’s fascinating absolutely. Jona, do you find that mothers of multiples have more of a difficult time getting that full milk supply compared to the moms of singletons that you worked with?
JonaRose Feinberg: I think it really depends on the mom and I don’t think that a mom is expecting multiple should automatically assume that she is going to have milk supply issues. Breastfeeding multiples, it’s a demand in supply situation just like breastfeeding a singleton. There is some kind of factors that complicate that equations. So, the mom may have fertility issues that led to the conceptions of her twins whether to that fertility treatments or just she has hormone cycles that make her ugly. She might still have something going on that might have an impact and the other thing is that mother, infant separation always adds a challenge to establishing supply. So, pumping or you know if the baby is premature, if there are other medical concerns then that are just added obstacles to establishing supply.
Robin Kaplan: Do you find that most moms of multiples become more friendly with their pump early on than the singletons?
JonaRose Feinberg: I think it’s very, very common, Yeah I think and especially again because a lot of twins are even still a little bit early while they are getting the hang of feeding, you wanna make sure to protect your supply and so of the babies are not 100% doing the job of getting all the milk they need from your body. Whatever you are doing to supplement the baby you also need to be sure to protect the milk supply. So, if the babies aren’t doing well by themselves then you need to do some kind of pumping at the beginning. So, in the early days that would be pumping with the hospital-grade pump to help establish milk supply.
Robin Kaplan: Ladies, give a low down on pumping during the first two weeks.
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: Oh! My gosh, I think for me I did exactly what Jona is talking about. Basically, our lactation consultant set us up with the hospital grade pump which I think it is much more substantial than the kind we buy in a store. But the hospital grade was great and some of our routines was really I would feed each girl sometimes during a tantrum and sometimes you know one after the other kind of just depending on their moods and schedules. And then I would pump immediately afterward and I knew in that process that you know feeding them getting into their belly was the most important. And then if I can just you know use the pump to just stimulate you know more demand. So, I know I think at first it was always this I had this mindset of “Oh! My gosh you know I am only getting you know 5 milliliters.Oh! No, you know I keep looking at the bottle and you know, see if it is gonna be filling up” And you know, there is kind of this fighting feeling you know inadequacy just to some extent and I think you know I really had to stick with it and realized that Okay, it’s gonna be building up over time and it was you know within so many months then it’s like “Okay, I am actually you know, filling up more than one bottle” And so that was really rewarding but certainly it’s time-consuming. We spent a lot of time with that pump.
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, absolutely Jenica, I know you started with it too because your girls were so gestationally born so early?
Jenica McKeown: Yeah, it was probably I think 6 to 8 weeks I was pumping about 8 times a day it did really establish my milk flow. Again I got the hospital-grade pump I don’t remember if it was a lactation consultant at the hospital but they said you know “The hospital-grade pump will establish your milk flow and the pumps you buy in the store will maintain it.” So, you know I had the pump at home but definitely the hospital grade pump and you will miss it once it is gone. So, I was pumping, actually, I pumped after nursing for me because after a while one of my babies would prefer the bottle over nursing. So, that was about after 3 months since so that took a while for me to adjust to and just realized the most important thing is for her to get the breast milk it didn’t matter how? So, that meant that I was pumping again and once my milk flow was in any were from 4 to 6 times a day to make sure that she would get the milk. So, you know it’s definitely you have a plan in mind and like I said, you just have to be flexible with realizing what’s important for you and you baby and your lifestyle?
Robin Kaplan: So, for those of you who are still breastfeeding at this point or if you remember you know how did your breastfeeding relationship involve with your babies from this very stressful point in the beginning to may be a more comfortable, enjoyable and peaceful time with your kid?
Christine Stewart Fitzgerald: You know definitely we were in phases I mean, in the beginning, there was a sort of introduction and you know, the whole latch transition from supplementing the two that was not a little bit easier and then you know a couple of months afterward I just felt like a natural flow. But then you know, I will say when we went further on and to you know at the 6 month period when he got teeth that was not so fun. I always say you could hear a few screams in the house when I got bitten and but yeah, that’s okay we are gonna work that out. So, it just continued we had sort of a different kind of relationship but it did become enjoyable certainly.
Stephanie Adams: You know it’s different for me because like I said I was nursing one baby longer than the other one. So, I think my relationship with that baby changed.
Jenica McKeown: Yeah, our relationship is changed greatly, in the beginning, we had so many challenges and it was quite painful. I remember in the beginning it was just encouraging my babies “Oh! You can do it. It’s Okay with mommy you can do this” just really trying to encourage them till now it’s really smooth it’s easy the latches are very comfortable. And what I love is they are 4 months right now when I looked down at them nursing they looked at my eyes and smiled full laugh and smiled like “You are so cute” So, it has really evolved.
Robin Kaplan: How about you Jona?
JonaRose Feinberg: Pretty soon after that stuffy the nurse started poking at each other and it was really funny. I thought that those stages were all really, really fun experiences and I don’t want it to get past that sort of brutal early weeks which I think honestly parenting newborns is kind of tiring at the beginning and parenting two newborns is tiring, however, you feel like feeding them is you know it’s a little crazy. But I think as they got older our relationships changed, the positions changed, our schedule changed you know, their ability to ask or not ask or play with each other or not. But as they got much older I think that in a way nursing was almost the easiest thing for me to do to count two babies at the same time. So, and even to toddlerhood that it was this thing where everybody sat down and everybody got calm and quiet and we all sort of snuggled and I think those moments of connection are really valuable as older infants and as toddlers, I breastfed them for a long time and that was part of wise because it was a tool in my toolbox of parenting to snuggle with them and to settle down you know we do the same thing now but with the book. So, we all snuggle in together and we read a book together and that gets everybody sitting and quiet and we can react I think that’s really valuable.
Robin Kaplan: Well, thank you so much Jona for your insight into the mechanics of breastfeeding multiples as well as our three panelists. I really look forward to continuing our conversation about breastfeeding multiples in the upcoming months.
[Theme Music]
[Featured Segment: Ask The Experts]
Robin Kaplan: Before we wrap things up here is the question you all had for one of our experts.
Jennifer: Hi, Boob Group this is Jennifer from San Diego, California. I loved the segment about Nutritional supplements for breastfed babies. I have a 6-month-old daughter and she is breastfed right now but my Pediatrician keeps wondering about whether or not I need to get her iron supplements. So, my questions for you are what are the signs that a baby is iron deficient and is it difficult to test for iron deficiency and I would really love to stay away from unnecessary supplements so, your advice would be greatly appreciated. Okay, thank you.
Dr. Johnson: Hi, this is Dr. Johnson, luckily Jennifer, we really don’t need those any longer there in infant food or formula, moms prenatal vitamin. We do normally at least an hour of this check at 9 months of age to see if a child is anemic? The very simple test involves the fingers tip and you can instantly know what their blood count is and most of the time I would say maybe once or twice a year now I feel the need to use iron. So, it’s a sort of the thing that would past but we still check for it anyway. As far as other supplements probably no.1 right now on the list is Vitamin D for breastfeeding in the sense breastfeeding infants or so to get enough Vitamin D. So, we usually supplements that. Vitamin D is a substitute that helps us to feel strong bones and as real become more prominent as far as a nutritional need. So, I hope that answers your question. Have a good day, thank you.
Robin Kaplan: Thank you to all of our listeners. I hope you all visit our website https://www.theboobgroup.comand our Facebook page to offer your personal stories about breastfeeding multiples. If you have any questions about today’s show or the topics we discussed call our boob group hotline at 619-866-4775 and we will answer your question on an upcoming episode. If you have a breastfeeding topic you would like to suggest we would love to hear it simply visit our website https://www.theboobgroup.comand send us an email through the contact link. Coming up next week we will be discussing how to manage a toddler while breastfeeding an infant. Thanks for listening to the Boob Group “because mothers know breasts.”
[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Suggestions and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. For such information in which areas are related to be accurate it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problems or diseases or for prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby please receive assistance from a qualified health care provider.
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