A few random questions, please help me out here.

So today is the day I get discharged from the hospital. I get to take baby Noah with us home but not Skyla just yet. Shes been having a little bit of feeding issues and keeping her milk down, shes only getting 10 cc every 3 hours, shes a hard sucker and likes to suck a lot of air with her milk as shes eating. First question, since Noahs been in the room with us all he does is sleep, which I know is typical at this stage but do we really have to wake him up every three hours to feed him about 35 cc of milk? Can't they just eat when their hungry? it took me 45 minutes last night to give him 25 cc of milk, he just wanted to sleep. So they have me pumping every three hours, which I'm still getting nothing. Right after that I feed Noah, then right after that I go to the nursury to feed Skyla. Its like a cycle, I just dont want to get to overloaded in the beginning. Second question how do I sleep???? They've been giving me perisets for the pain and motrin, which is constapating me, hopefully that will go away. I just cant seem to sleep and I'm really tired beyound belief. Third and last, how to make this swelling go down in my feet, ankles, and legs?? its really bad, I didnt know I could swell this much, its very uncomfortable, their telling me to drink more water to make water go away from my body, kind of odd. I'm sorry I feel like I'm rambling but I hope you girls can help me with some of those questions. Because I'm one tired momma.

 

Congratulation!! When my LOs were in the NICU one was feeding every 3 hours and the other was every 4. So I know exactly what you mean by feeling like you have no time to sleep or do anything for yourself. However, when you get home it will be easier because you can feed them at the same time. That is what we did. As for pumping, I know it takes away from sleep but keep going. I see from your ticker they are 3 days old so your milk should be in soon. I was so happy once the boys could breastfeed because they were able to eat so much faster! Once they babies drift off to sleep go jump in bed yourself and try to get as much rest as you can. I remember those first few weeks my husband and I slept during the day, afternoon, and night. The only thing we really woke up for was to take care of the babies. I don't have any personal advice for the swelling. I never had that problem. I would think that when you get a chance to sit down take your shoes and socks off and elevate your legs and feet up. Soaking them in cold water should help too.

This time goes by SO fast! I feel like my guys should still be tiny but now they are 6 months old and about to crawl! Have fun and take it all in! Good luck!

 

I had massive swelling too. Time really helped and rest did too. I think it was about a week before I felt I could move my ankles! As for the feeding, I would ask the nurses what they think. If he was under 5lbs I would wake him, personally. You may want to discuss with them about making a 4hr schedule for him. You may want to ask in the breastfeeding forum about production, but I know I didn't get anything out until I let the babies actually attempt to nurse. I would nurse them then pump after to increase supply. I was lucky to get 20cc's a pump (combined) but kept it up for 3 months.

Oh, the other thing I'm going to suggest is kind of gross, but...the best thing I did before I left the hospital was have an enema. It was the strangest thing, but I could not imagine being at home and trying to pass a stool. I had a csection so I think that makes it harder, but still. It was worth it!

Hope you have a great day and don't worry, we all lived on adrenaline for the first month (at least)!

 

Waking babies to eat....yes, if they told you to wake them I would definitely wake them. I think your birthweights were around 5lbs? So they need as much nutrition as they can get, and babies that small/early don't always wake when they need to.

Swelling...water, water, water.

Sleep...I have really no advice here, besides to try and rest when they do, which is difficult when you have another one at home too. The first 3 months were rough as far as sleep goes!

Breastfeeding/pumping...I don't have any advice personally, so I also will direct you to our breastfeeding forum! The girls over there are great!

I hope Skyla is home with you soon. :hug:

 

First all, many congrats on your new additions!

Can't they just eat when their hungry? In a pre-natal class I took, they said for us to wake them. Check with your neonatologist/pediatrian

how do I sleep???? Yes, that is the million dollar question. Honestly I didn't get much sleep until they got to be 12-13lbs each. Pumping & sleep schedules don't always mix. Right now that early am prolactin surge will help you make milk. Most "pumpers" find their 1st pump of the day to have the most milk. Definately see a lactation person at the hospital... it's ok to get their help even after everyone is discharged from the hospital. Try to spend as much time in bed to rest & have someone bring your LO to you.

how to make this swelling go down in my feet, ankles, and legs?? Water, reducing sodium/salt intake, time, massage. Mine took a month.

With a little rest (let your body recover from working so hard carrying those cute LOs), kangaroo care, and increased food intake, you will have that milk you want. I'm still pumping now at 8 months! Best of luck!

 

QUOTE(twinsontheway09 @ May 25 2009, 06:32 AM) [snapback]1326969[/snapback]
So today is the day I get discharged from the hospital. I get to take baby Noah with us home but not Skyla just yet. Shes been having a little bit of feeding issues and keeping her milk down, shes only getting 10 cc every 3 hours, shes a hard sucker and likes to suck a lot of air with her milk as shes eating. First question, since Noahs been in the room with us all he does is sleep, which I know is typical at this stage but do we really have to wake him up every three hours to feed him about 35 cc of milk? Can't they just eat when their hungry? it took me 45 minutes last night to give him 25 cc of milk, he just wanted to sleep. So they have me pumping every three hours, which I'm still getting nothing. Right after that I feed Noah, then right after that I go to the nursury to feed Skyla. Its like a cycle, I just dont want to get to overloaded in the beginning. Second question how do I sleep???? They've been giving me perisets for the pain and motrin, which is constapating me, hopefully that will go away. I just cant seem to sleep and I'm really tired beyound belief. Third and last, how to make this swelling go down in my feet, ankles, and legs?? its really bad, I didnt know I could swell this much, its very uncomfortable, their telling me to drink more water to make water go away from my body, kind of odd. I'm sorry I feel like I'm rambling but I hope you girls can help me with some of those questions. Because I'm one tired momma.


I would also wake to feed. You will be amazed at how quickly they start to become more efficient at it. Right now, they are as tired as you are from the whole birthing process. I hope you have help at home and are able to rest. I can't give much advice on how to sleep because I really struggled with that also. Are you having trouble sleeping because of pain or just restlessness? If it's pain, I would maybe discuss that with them before you leave to see what they recommend. I had a hard time because of restlessness and it just got better with time. As far as the swelling, drinking water really does work. I had horrible swelling also which was weird since I had NONE during my pregnancy since I was on bedrest for so long. The other thing that helped give me some relief from the pressure was to put my feet up. I had a little footrest in front of my pumping/nursing station and I just tried to put them up whenever I could. It felt drastically better within a week. I hope your homecoming is smooth and you feel better soon! :hug:

 

You got lots of great advice, I just wanted to comment on the sleep thing. I had major sleep problems. You need to watch out because severe sleep deprivation can trigger ppd. I would ask your husband to take a couple feeding shifts early in the night (8-midnight) So you can sleep. Take a benadryl if you have to. Sleep is important for your well being.

 

You have great advice and it will get easier when you get onto the routine. Our boys were 6.9 and 6.6 and we woke them up every 3 hours for the first 2 weeks. Now they feed on demand, but they are on a 3-4 hr feeding schedule.

Regarding the constipation get a perscription of stool softner and that should help you. Walking too will help get things moving.

I had massive swelling. I looked like a large tree trunk. Two things, water and walking will help you tremendously.

GL and Congrats on your babies,
Jenn

 

I would definitely wake them to feed. This is important now, and wont last for too long.

Constipation - get a prescription for stool softener, walk (like pp said) and also try to eat lots of fruits and veggies.

If they are only 3 days old, your milk will still come in. Mine took nearly 5 days. Pumping can be a pain, but its so good for you babies! Plus, when everyone is home, and if they can both nurse, that will be so much easier.

Sleep - like a pp said, see if your husband can take a feeding shift so that you can sleep for a solid 4-5 hours. That will be such a huge help! Sometimes its easier said than done. The first couple weeks a rough, but it will get easier and easier.

Swelling - I was soooo swollen even 4 weeks after that I got a prescription to help. It helped some, but the rest just took time. I had to drink lots of water, and walk. I know how uncomfortable it is! Also like a pp said, don't eat foods high in sodium.

Hang in there. Congrats on your new babies, and just remember that it will get easier.

 

For the first two months, we fed our girls every 3 hours... woke them if they were sleeping. They needed the calories at that point. At two months, we started letting them go longer at night. They still eat every 3 hours during the day. I would ask you babies' doctor. Ours were preemies so that was part of the reason we had to feed them so often for a couple months.

As for sleep... are you going to have help when you get home? We had help for the first month home with the girls. My DH and I also took "shifts". I slept in the evening and then he slept at night.

As for the swelling... I found that I did need to drink water and keep my feet up. My swelling was the worst when I was sitting with my feet down for a long time.

Good luck and enjoy your babies!

 

I was extremely swollen during the last month of my pregnancy. When I delivered I said to myself "YAY, now this swelling will finally go away!" It turned out that wasn't so, I actually got much MORE swollen. I asked my doctor when it would go away and he said it would just take time. He did say that he could prescibe lasix but it would just be "one more thing" that would end up in my breastmilk. I was so embarassed of my feet & legs, it was hard for me to even let my husband see them. Elevating them seemed to help some, but it was only temporary. Honestly, just give yourself a good 2 weeks for them to go back to normal. You may not like this, but with me, my feet felt like snake skin for 2-3 months because all of the skin that had stretched for fluid had shrunk back down. BUT i just reached down and touched my feet and NO MORE SNAKESKIN! YAY!

 

Tons of good advice here. We had to wake ours up to feed for two weeks - until they got back to their birth weight, then our doc said we were in the clear. It seems so wrong, but it won't last forever!! And as for the pumping, 3 days in it is VERY frustrating, but don't worry - it will be worth it soon! I used my pumping time as my only "me" time. I would either read a trashy magazine or sleep. Get one of those airplane pillows which will make pumping naps nice and comfy. This works while tandem nursing, too. My two were super slow eaters, and would fall asleep on the boob a lot, so we'd do a lot of post nursing naps. The airplane pillow is KEY! And if you don't have a hands free nursing bra, I highly recommend just cutting holes into an old sports bra. I would not EVER have pumped without the hands free option.

Good luck to you, and congratulations!!!