Breastfeeding Twins - 5 Months

Now that I have over 5 months of breastfeeding twins under my belt, thought I would post an update to my breastfeeding post I did when the little guys were just 5 weeks old. I can now say that I am exclusively nursing both my babies. Sean hasn't had a drop of formula since he was about 2 weeks old. Aaron hasn't had any formula since he was about 7 weeks old. Go us! There is so much that I love about nursing my boys. Mostly, I love having that secret weapon available to me. One crying baby I can deal with. Two crying babies, I just nurse them to make them happy. I am so glad that I am able to provide the "perfect food" to my little guys, particularly since they weren't the healthiest of kids when they made their entry into this world. I love having the opportunity to just sit on the couch and relax several times a day because that is something that I really need, but wouldn't do for myself if it weren't for breastfeeding. I love being able to leave the house and not worry if I have enough bottles packed. I love the way Sean and Aaron sometimes look up at me after they are done nursing and just smile. I love those rare times when the two little guys hold hands while they are eating.

All this bliss has come with a lot of pain and frustration. I have had almost every possible breastfeeding problem. It started off with low supply, latching issues, sucking issues, and nursing babies in the NICU. Once I got everything rolling, I have faced four episodes of mastitis, plugged ducts that were caught early enough to self medicate my way out of getting mastitis, and three milk blisters. All that has added up to a cycle of having a great nursing week, followed by two painful weeks of nursing issues. If it weren't for how great that good week in there was, I probably would have seriously considered quitting by now. In addition, Sean developed a sensitivity to a protein in cow's milk that gets passed through breast milk, which means for at at least the next several months there will be no milk, ice cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, or lots of other yummy stuff that I love in my diet. Oh, the things we do for our kids.

We are off the nipple shields now. I started trying a couple feedings a day without it with each boy. Then one day Aaron refused to nurse with it anymore. So, I stopped using it with Sean too. So glad I had the choice of using the shield in the beginning because I don't know if either of the babies would have been able to latch without it early on. Now it is so nice to not have to worry about dealing with it anymore.

Then there are the things I hate about breastfeeding. The no ice cream thing is up there. Because of all the blockages and plugged up things, the pain that goes along with that just plain sucks. (I'm currently taking a Lecithin supplement which is supposed to help prevent plugged ducts and such. We will see how this works out.) I tandem nurse almost every time I nurse at home during the day, but started nursing them individually at night. I hate that tandem nursing in public is not a possibility because there is just no way I can do that discreetly. I have no problem nursing in public, but it is a bit stressful because I always fear both babies are going to meltdown simultaneously and I'll only be able to take care of one of their needs at a time.

We will be starting solid foods here in just a few weeks. On days when I am really sick of having to whip out the girls yet again or deal with the horrible pain that goes along with whatever nursing related ailment I currently have, I get so excited that someday soon I won't be nursing nearly as often as I currently am. I believe that most of my nursing issues are just because I am nursing two babies so I have to produce so much milk that it is inevitable that things get backed up. I get sad about the future when Sean and Aaron won't be nursing as often. These boys will inevitably grow up, not need their mother for such basic of things as a food source, and I won't have nursing as an excuse to snuggle them.

I am sure it is no surprise that I have no plans on quitting this journey that we are on. Sean and Aaron don't seem interested in quitting at this point either. I guess we will all give it up eventually, like at least before they head off to college.