first week home with my girls...with some questions

Today makes 7 days since I've been home with my twin girls and its been so unreal! Getting into a routine, figuring out breastfeeding, lack of sleep and healing from c-section is all worth it when I look at those tiny faces. I love them sooooo much.

So a few questions for you ladies:
When did you start to produce a lot of breast milk? I was expecting a lot more by now.
Did you BF separately or at the same time? Which was easier for you?
How much weight did your LOs lose after birth?

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

i have no clue just wanted to say yay!!!!!!!!!!

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

congrats!!!!! when my girls came home it was after 6 weeks in the nicu. so I was pumping bfing and bottle feeding. they came home on the 3 hour schedule from the hospital.
both my girls were on nipple shields. It was easier with the shields. I would tandem them then. once they were off the shields, or when we were working on getting them off them, I nursed them separately.

I dont remember when I started to produce more milk. When I get home from this weekend I will check for you.

good luck and you are doing great mama. chin up!!!!!

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

Posted by gina409

i have no clue just wanted to say yay!!!!!!!!!!

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

Posted by Champ

congrats!!!!! when my girls came home it was after 6 weeks in the nicu. so I was pumping bfing and bottle feeding. they came home on the 3 hour schedule from the hospital.
both my girls were on nipple shields. It was easier with the shields. I would tandem them then. once they were off the shields, or when we were working on getting them off them, I nursed them separately.

I dont remember when I started to produce more milk. When I get home from this weekend I will check for you.

good luck and you are doing great mama. chin up!!!!!

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

Congrats!!! I remembr those first days so well. I was a walking zombie. I breastfed, pumped, and formula fed. Pumping definitely helped my supply. It wasn't until about a week where I noticed my supply increased. I was pumping and overfilled the little Medela bottle. That's when I was like wow, guess I'm producing more.

One of my guys did not latch as well in the beginning, so it took him longer to feed until he got the hang of it. I found tandem feeding to be so much easier, but I always needed another person to hand me a baby and help me position them. If I was alone I nursed separately.

Surprisingly, my little guy (4lbs 15oz) didn't drop any weight. My bigger guy (7lbs 1oz) was down to 6lbs 7oz by the time we left the hospital. They had already supplemented formula because he dropped so much weight. My pediatrician had us on a 2 hour feeding schedule for 3 weeks so they could gain some weight. I seriously thought I was gonna die from sleep deprivation .

Now they're a year old, how time flies. Enjoy every second.

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

I know nothing but congrats!!!!!

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

Hi ellie! Congrats!

I am not breastfeeding, just pumping, which I am doing every 4 hours or so. At first, I got about 10ml of colostrom from each breast within the first 4 days. Day 5 and 6 it was "looser", mixed with milk. By day 7, my milk came in and it was about 1 oz per breast on a 20 minute pumping session.
Now, 3 weeks later, it's a little over 2 oz per breast in a half hour pumping session. It's def. not enough so I have been mixing it with formula since day 7. even though my boobs are huge, lol, I guess I just don't make a lot of milk.


They lost 7% or so of their weight after birth. I thought it was a big deal, but it wasn't. I was just exhausted because they'd fall asleep in the middle of a feeding, which was starting to take an hour for an ounce or so!! So after we were discharged, I talked to the pediatrician. I asked "can I do this my way"? which was to feed every 4 hours instead of 3 so they'd be hungry enough not to fall asleep and lose interest.... he said "yes" and to feed an extra 1/4-1/2 ounce or so. Sure enough we did this, and they gained 6oz EACH in one weekend!!!!!! No joke. We did it! And all of us were much much happier. Go with your gut and use your common sense

Hope this helps! Congratulations again, and good luck!

Message edited 11/24/2012 3:36:00 PM.

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

Posted by 01ellie

Posted by gina409

i have no clue just wanted to say yay!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!!!! Isn't ur date coming up soon???????

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

Posted by LIRascal

Hi ellie! Congrats!

I am not breastfeeding, just pumping, which I am doing every 4 hours or so. At first, I got about 10ml of colostrom from each breast within the first 4 days. Day 5 and 6 it was "looser", mixed with milk. By day 7, my milk came in and it was about 1 oz per breast on a 20 minute pumping session.
Now, 3 weeks later, it's a little over 2 oz per breast in a half hour pumping session. It's def. not enough so I have been mixing it with formula since day 7. even though my boobs are huge, lol, I guess I just don't make a lot of milk.


They lost 7% or so of their weight after birth. I thought it was a big deal, but it wasn't. I was just exhausted because they'd fall asleep in the middle of a feeding, which was starting to take an hour for an ounce or so!! So after we were discharged, I talked to the pediatrician. I asked "can I do this my way"? which was to feed every 4 hours instead of 3 so they'd be hungry enough not to fall asleep and lose interest.... he said "yes" and to feed an extra 1/4-1/2 ounce or so. Sure enough we did this, and they gained 6oz EACH in one weekend!!!!!! No joke. We did it! And all of us were much much happier. Go with your gut and use your common sense

Hope this helps! Congratulations again, and good luck!

first week home with my girls...with some questions

Keep at it! At first, you'll question whether or not it works, but it will if they sleep in longer stints. How exhausting having them take an hour to feed?!?! I hated that. We tried everything to keep them awake, including undressing them. When I finally put them off to every 4 hours, they gulped down their bottles, slept longer, and were better in general!
Ok guilty time- I give them about 2oz of breastmilk each per day now. It was time consuming and exhausting for me to pump and I just found formula to be easier. I really don't feel bad at all and I am proud to have gotten in what I did.

I think you will all do great! as long as they're pooping and sleeping, they're growing!

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

OMG its very exhausting BF for almost an hour! I hope I make more milk soon so they can be satisfied sooner. I think you did a great job and I wouldn't feel bad if I decided to go with only formula eventually. BF is hard work!

Re: first week home with my girls...with some questions

I don't remember exactly how much weight they lost. I think Juliana went from 6lbs to 5lbs8oz and Katelyn was 4lbs12oz to 4lbs6oz at discharge.

In the first 6 weeks I only tandem nursed if someone was here to help me (hand me a baby). K was small so it took her a while to get a good latch. I would say she was probably 8 weeks old before she moved from pumped BM bottles to solely nursing.

Juliana was a champ at BFing from the beginning.

And both of my girls were STTN (on their own) by 8 weeks.

Hang in there, it will all work itself out. You are doing great!!