Day 6 Pictures
July 7th- 6 Days Old
Jack and Aniston have been doing really well. Aniston had her bilirubin level checked again this morning and it had gone down enough that we should be in the clear! Jack's levels have been fine for the last couple days also, so there's nothing to worry about with him either. They have been increasing their feedings, so now they are getting 46 mL (about 1.5 ounces) at each feeding. They have been gaining weight slowly and Jack now weighs about 4 pounds 10 ounces and Aniston weighs about 4 pounds 8 ounces. Aniston is a little behind from the stomach issues she had been having and spitting up so much, but the last few days she has been much better! She hasn't spit up much at all and they haven't had to suck much air out of her stomach. I think having their mattress propped up on an angle has helped keep their food down and the air out of their stomachs.
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Really the main issue we are working on is trying to get them to nurse. Today hasn't been the best day with that either. Jack has been too lazy today to try very hard, so he has been tube fed all day, but Aniston latched on a few times, so that was a little improvement. The nurses tell me that one day it will just click and they will get it. I hope that day comes soon!!!
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The only other thing I have worried about is making enough milk to feed two babies! I am not much of a milk cow, so it's a bit of a struggle, but it's been nice to have such a good lactation consultant to help out and teach me what to do to make things easier (for anyone else in this situation- did you know there's a new pill that you can take to increase production? It's supposed to do miracles for some people! I think I am going to get a prescription for it soon and see if it will help me, they say it's harmless to the moms and babies.). I feel like a first time mom with nursing because Aaralyn never would nurse. With her I just pumped for 4 1/2 months, until my pump broke, then I decided I was done. I struggled keeping production up with her- pumping every 3 hours, so this time around they want me to pump every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours during the night. That makes it like 10 or 11 times a day... I think that has been the most exhausting part of everything! I just have to remind myself how worth it it is for the babies, otherwise it would be tempting to just give them a bottle and bring them home tomorrow!
12 comments:
They are so.. cute! I can't get over it! I love their hair!
That picture is of my oldest sister Toni. Do you still go to that ward?
I hated nursing! It was never easy for me. I blame it on the two weeks I was forced to use the pump. :) But hang in there - I'm sure it will get easier (I hope so for my sake too!). Can't wait 'til these babies get home so we can come see them.
There is a pill?? What is it called? I would be interested in that!
Yes! Keep up the determination to nurse! It's so rewarding when it finally happens. And it sounds like they will both get it as soon as they get a little less sleepy.
I was super frustrated when Jocelyn was born because she wouldn't nurse well for weeks. She did really well in the hospital, so I had no worries. But then when we got home... she went through a sleepy phase and wouldn't eat at all! And then I had soooo much milk that it would just run out and she would lay there and lap it up like a dog. Lazy kid...
It was so frustrating, especially for a first time mom. But one day it finally clicked with her and she latched really well. Of course I made a big mistake and let her nurse on one side for about 45 minutes straight. I was afraid that if I broke her off... she wouldn't re-latch on the other side. The result? A cracked nipple... which to this day is still cracked, because that's how it healed!
I definitely don't need a pill to up the milk production! I always joke that I'd be a good candidate for triplets. For the first month or two... I can feed my baby until they are completely full... and then still pump a 9oz. bottle out of each side. And I don't have huge boobs normally. Just plain ole A cups, LOL! After I had Calvin my doctor asked me about my milk supply. So I told him about the amount... and he said that I should give some of my milk to his daughter (who had her first baby 1 day after me). I guess her production was a little low! LOL...
When do I get to take some pictures of those babies!!!!!! I'm sooo looking forward to it! I've been telling all of my friends about it!
It is so frustrating to be willing to nurse and not have it going well. But I know you can do it. Cason was born at 39 weeks and he still didn't latch on well until he was over a month old. His feedings would take forever and I would spend at least 5 minutes just getting him to latch on to each side at EVERY feeding. (That isn't fun when you have to turn the light on in the middle of the night, open their mouth and get it just right so they will nurse) He was a lazy nurser too. I had to pump to keep up my supply. I feel for you as you try to make it work...with TWO babies.
THE GOOD NEWS- I stuck with it and it is a piece of cake now. As the nurses say...one day he just got it. Within 2-3 weeks it only took a couple of minutes and angling to get him to latch on and after a month he was doing it on his own. HOORAY!
Breastmilk is so much more ideal for babies, especially preemies. My good friend with 5 month-old twins (boy and girl) is still breastfeeding even though she supplements because she says there are studies that prove it makes their brain work better/faster the word starts with an m..myo-something. Anyways..that is motivating to me to stick with it- Your sacrifice will continue to bless them throughout their life. YOU CAN DO IT- but pumping sucks. They will get it!!!
PS ADORABLE BABIES- almost makes me wish Cason wasn't 3months already. Except I love sleeping through the night. Gotta love babywise!
Oh Tasha they are so cute! My sis-in-law had a premi last year and he was about that same size when he was born (He got down into the 3 lb range after birth for a little bit), but I remember how TINY he was. It is crazy. I am SOOO glad they are doing so well though. Sorry nursing isn't going as well as you would like. I'll keep you guys in my thoughts and prayers!
Congratulations on your little ones! They are beautiful. Good luck with the breastfeeding, it took Hannah at least 3 weeks then she was great for a year! I know one is a whole lot easier than two... but keep at it! By the way in all your spare time can I have you send me an invite to your blog? I have to go through Jessica Dahlquist to get to ya! my address is ryantarawest@gmail.com Thanks and confgrats again!
They are ADORABLE! ANd I can't believe all of that hair! My one year old doesn't even have that much hair!
Nursing... it really is so hard and frustrating, and not always the most "NATURAL" thing (everyone always told me it's just so natural you'll know what to do, not always true). But it is worth it! The pill you were talking about, what is the name... that is awesome!!! Well I hope they catch on soon so you won't have to be so frustrated. GOOD LUCK!
they are soo cute! I never noticed in the earlier pictures how much hair they have. We should be in st.george the weekend of the 18th. Mitch has a race in bryce canyon on the 19th, so maybe that evening we could all get together and do something. i will have to look up how far away bryce canyon is..anyway, i am dying to see you and your babies so i hope we make it that way. i don't want to put a counter on my blog yet because it is depressing to see how many days are left! maybe in a month or two :)
Hang in there. I know it is so hard. I had finally gotten to the point that I was just going to give up on breastfeeding and bottle feed instead just so we could get home. It was about at that same point that he finally started to nurse. I think it was on about day 12 or so. Once he got it they let him go home like the next day. I really don't think it will take them that long to bottle feed (one nurse told us the thought Dylan would be there for at least a month-try not to listen to them too much). Just tell them you want to start trying a bottle. Honestly, if you don't breastfeed no one is going to think anything of it, so if they will start bottle feeding and you can get home quick, I would do it. Sorry-I know I should be encouraging you to stick with it, and do if you want, but I just know I wish I would have just done a dang bottle and gotten the heck outta there. Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything. Do you want us to take AaraLyn one day? What are you doing with her? We would love to have her over. Trust me, I know how it is to shuffle them around and the guilt that you feel. She knows us, so hopefully she would just have a good time. I would really love to help.
I breastfed my boys for about 4 1/2 months...but it definitely took them a while to get it figured out. After that, they just got too big and I felt like that was all I did was feed babies all day, so I ended up pumping and giving them bottles until they were almost a year...Yeah, I did not have a problem with milk production. Good Luck!
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