Some time ago we had a parenting talk about Routine and Breastfeeding
and here are some of the comments we collected from members. If you want
to get in touch with any of these moms, simply ask Twins@TwinsPlusSing.com
for their contact details ! (members only)
Marina: "I do have one suggestion. Write everything down. Get a notebook and keep a dairy with feeds, motions, burping times
(specially for first time mums), bath time, sleeping times etc. It really helps. Good luck!"
Helle: "My twins Alexander and Christian were born on May 15 2004. Alexander was 3.1 kg and Christian 3.4 kg.
Despite their weight they had immature lungs and spend the first ten days in ICU. My best advice to anyone is to get a
confinement-lady, like the local do. I will be happy to recommend mine. She was a great help especially at night - she
burped them, changed them and put them back to sleep all I had to do was breastfeed. She also cooked special food for me,
ensuring my milk was rich and plentiful - I had soup and fish every day. I got enough rest and she was worth every penny.
My second advice is take fishoil tablets and drink plenty of milo. Anyone interested in talking to me are welcome to contact
me. I am brestfeeding on demand, my twins are now 5 1/2 months and I haven't introduced anything else yet. They weigh more
than 9 kg each and are both much bigger compared to my first singleton at that age."
Karen: "I would be most glad to offer assistance to new mothers with regard to the above topics. I provided my boys with
breastmilk for 2 years (via expressing as we could not get them to latch on) and did manage to establish some sort of
routine for them so that they were (more or less) sleeping through the night by 6 weeks (preferred mode of contact via
e-mail as I am working)."
Delina: "I'll be happy to share my experiences w.r.t. routine, with the new moms. It helped that the hospital set my babes
into a 3-hrly feeding schedule. However it wasn't synchronised so it was extremely tiring for me esp. as i was also trying
to breastfeed them. I eventually got them to feed at the same time, that gave me more time to rest/do other things. However
i had a very stressful, discouraging time trying to breastfeed and decided to stop at 7 weeks - wished i'd known of
TwinsPlus then!"
Sarah: "I'm happy to give what advice I can to any new mothers. I have 4 month old identical boys and a three year old so
I can share my experience with routines and breastfeeding. On Routine - I firmly believe that the only routine worth
following is the one the babies set themselves and this seems to have worked for me as the twins are sleeping 7-9hrs at
night now - although it could just be luck. In the first few months you have to be prepared for the babies to change their
routine every 3-5 days so just as you're getting settled they'll decide to do something different - trying to enforce a
routine on a young baby is a frustrating and fruitless experience, under three months it's best just to feed them as much
as you can if you're breastfeeding or as much as they can manage if it's formula - the more they eat and suck, the more
contented they are, the more they sleep.
After three months things seem to settle down but again trying to keep two babies
on a 4hr schedule is not always realistic but I've found by following the babies lead we have established a routine. The
only thing I make sure of is that they always feed together and they never go more than 4.5 hours between feeds during the
day. On Breastfeeding - I think this is really an individual thing but with twins I found the only achievable way was to
supplement with formula and I never got the hang of two babies at once. But I did breastfeed all my children for varying
lengths of time. I hope this is helpful and not too long! Please feel free to call me if you would like some advice."
Melissa: "We established a routine with our twins right away & by at least 3.5 months they were sleeping a reliable 6-7
hrs/night. They are now 10.5 months old and sleep about 11.5 - 12 hours a night. I didn't actually breastfeed, but I pumped
for about 4 months - I don't know if that is any easier/less tiring than breastfeeding though! I'll try to write something
up as soon as I can, but in the mean time, just call me!"
Angelika: "I can share my
experiences regarding:
· Preparing for birth (birth plan etc)
· Natural birth
· Breastfeeding for stay-at-home mums
I recommend my gynae for natural birth (TLC Gynaecology Practice, Dr. Paul Tseng, 339 Thomson Road, #03-05, Thomson Medical
Centre, Tel.: 6254-2878).
Malene: "I have been breastfeeding my twin boys since they were born 29th of April 2004 (7 weeks early). I breastfed them
only for 5 month, but 3 weeks ago I started giving a bottle at night and now I am also giving them rice porridge twice a
day. In between these meals I still breastfeed, but probably not for so long anymore. I shall be happy to give my support
or any possible advice for new mums."
Davina: "I breast fed my twins for 6 weeks and found my routine kept me sane (and fed!) I would be happy to share and offer
advice for new mums and mums to be. Please phone between 10am and 3pm unless calling to arrange another chat time, thanks."
Ina: On Routine:
We (approximately) followed the Gina Ford 'Contented Little Baby Book' routine. It worked really well. Our
twins were 'in sync' by 4-5 months. They started sleeping through the night (8pm to 7am) from about 6 months. Before we got
Gina Ford's book, we were following the babies' own feeding and sleeping times (on demand). It started driving us insane.
They started going out of sync, so we started roughly following the book (as a guide - not strictly). The routine made
sense, for us and the twins. We were happy because we knew when we would have time to ourselves. The kids are happy and not
demanding at all. They seem to enjoy all the little rituals and games we play around eating and sleeping times. Good all
round for everyone. They're 17 months old now. They sleep between 2 and 5 o'clock in the afternoon everyday, and through
the night from 8.30pm to about 7am.
The hardest thing to do is not picking them up when they cry at bedtime. A friend of
my husband's (a grandmother) recommended her 'fifteen minute rule'. It sounds harsh, but it works. You let them cry for 15
minutes. They usually fall asleep well before then, but it seems like forever if you're the parent waiting outside their
door. It seems mean, but they learn to sleep without a fuss after about two weeks of this. As parents we also learnt not to
be too anxious. They go to bed now happily without any fuss.
on Breastfeeding: We had Sue Huxley, a lactation consultant over
to our place a couple of times. She reassured me that I was doing things right and helped me understand 'latching on'.
I breastfed sitting down using a Boppy nursing pillow and lots of other pillows for support. I needed help passing and
handling the babies if I fed them both at the same time. Otherwise they took turns. I breastfed until six months when I had
to stop because I had my appendix out and was given antibiotics (I didn't want to breastfeed on antibiotics). All through
the breastfeeding times I was supplementing with formula. As my flow slowed down, the formula amount got bigger until I was
eventually supplementing with breastmilk. I found that giving babies formula for their 'before bed' feed in the evening
helped them sleep better than just giving them breastmilk for supper. At times the babies would fall asleep and I'd use a
breastpump and refrigerate the excess milk for later. New mums can call me for advice on routines and breastfeeding."
Jo: "I don't really know if I would be much help as I only breastfed for 3 wks & in the first 12 wks didn't have much of a
routine at all as my babies didn't like to sleep during the day. Thank goodness they do now though. But I would be willing
to help where I can or if they just need a friendly voice to talk too about anything."
Wendy: "I am willing to share my
experience as a working mum. Here is my experience:
My twins were born at 34 weeks
weighing 1.985kg & 2.225kg only. They were put in the special care unit of KKH and I was encouraged to breastfeed them as
breast milk is more easily digested by babies at such young age. Had great difficulty doing as babies could not latch on
1) I had inverted nipples 2) too young to have the strength to suck 3) physical distance (they being in special care unit)
4) I have sensitive skin so bad infection after the C section, suffered excruciating pain around the wound for 2 months
making every movement a real pain. Despite these hurdles, the nurses and lactation consultants helped me. First, they helped
massage my nipples on the 2nd day of childbirth just to stimulate the breast. On the 3rd day, I had some first milk and
every 3 hours, the nurses will encourage and help me with the pump. The milk flow was really good after 1 week.
When I was
discharged 7 days after delivery. I diligently express milk every 3 hourly, placed them in the freezer and sent them to the
hospital at the end of the day. I had good supply of clean bottles from the hospital. As the days go by, the expressing
became easier. My supply exceeded so much of the demand that I had so much milk stored in the freezer of 2 big fridges. The
body is so tuned to expressing milk that if I don't I get engorgement and fever. In fact, I got that at least once per month
for 4 consecutive months. When I returned to work, I continue expressing the milk but at bigger intervals of 4-5 hours. I
would express at 6am in the morning, 10am-11am in the office, 4pm-5pm again in the office, 2 more times before sleep. I
would put the milk in the office freezer and bring them home with a cooler bag with an ice pack in it. I stopped after 6
months but the supply in the freezer lasted another month. The process of stopping was painful. Cold cabbage is a great
help and slow tail down is vital to ensure that you do not suffer bad engorgement.
Bottomline advise:
1) Determination - don't give up
2) Discipline - very important to express every 3 hourly to establish the initial flow
3) Endurance - endure tiredness & pain, buy a nipple cream and apply them each time after expressing
4) Good supply of clean bottles, think there are bags these days. I bot loads of them at $2-$3 each!
5) Drink loads of water, eat healthily e.g lots of carbo, protein & vegetables, don't think of your figure, it comes
naturally. I put on 30kg during pregnancy and lost 5kg each week without a sweat during the 1st month.
6) Invest in a good electric pump, manual pumps make you tired and it's slow, makes you want to give up. Ensure that you
know where to find the accessories for replacement. E.g. if you buy the Medela pump from the 1st year shop in KKH, they
will sell you the accessories.
7) Invest in a good cooler bag & ice block for office use
8) Invest in a couple of good nursing bras
9) Let your colleagues know that you are nursing so they can be supportive and understanding e.g. excuse you during
meetings, find you a room if there is no nursing room in your office, keep the freezer compactment for you even.
10) Use hot water to clean the pump after use in the office. If you really want, you can bring a small rice cooker or slow
cooker to sterile your pump after use.
11) Have a support group - I had the Ask-a-nurse hotline to talk about issues. Hope these experiences will be useful!"