How many calories?

My girls seem to be draining me! No, not low on milk--but possibly low on fatty milk--in a 2 oz bottle I pumped, there was MAYBE 1/2 an ounce fatty milk after refrigerated and it settled--is this normal?
AND ON TO THE REAL QUESTION----how many calories should I be eating? I read 3500 for twin pregnancy [HA!! That is a whole lot of food! and i doubt i ever did that, although i sure tried]....and where can i GET these calories? This goes against ALL of society's pushing for healthy eating and I can't get these from fruits and veggies. I don't want to be purely sugared up and I know dairy has a good calorie count, but after that [and making sure to eat big healthy colorful meals plus snacks], I'm lost!!
:drown:

 

I don't have the book checked out any more, but Dr. Barbara Luke's book had sample pregnancy diets for multiples and also breastfeeding diets too... here's her website, don't know that it has it, but her "what to expect..." book did.

http://www.drbarbaraluke.com/index.cfm

it is a lot of food, I remember eggs & bread and all sorts of yummy things. good luck! I personally eat a lot of ice-cream... but that's not probably the most healthy option!

 

I had a bit appetite in the beginning. I would eat in the middle of the night when the babies woke for a feeding. After the first couple of months I found that I didn't need to eat any more than usual. I still make plenty of milk. When I was trying to consume a lot of calories, I drank a lot of milkshakes.

 

Milk fat is good for you, and I found that my milk supply would be greater on days when I ate lots of ice cream, etc. You could eat whole milk yogurt mixed with fresh fruit if you wanted something less sugary than ice cream. Avocados are a great source of healthy fats/calories, and so is tuna fish. I ate a LOT of peanut butter when I first started breastfeeding because it was quick, had protein and would stay good if left out for a while (I didn't get to sit down for meals often with twinfants!).

Hope this helps!

 

Thank you all!! I guess I needed to know that milkshakes were good for me Although fatty ice cream would probably be best, we usually use milk and ice along with coffee or chocolate or plain yogurt with some frozen fruit....any other ideas?
I've lost some of the varocious appetite from that first week and have to MAKE SURE to eat now that hubby isn't towering over me making sure I'm keeping food around.....I have to remember to eat even when not hungry and I have granola bars and pop tarts laying close by for when I sit down to nurse--it is difficult when you have NO extra hands!! And i can't exactly get up with 2 like I could with 1 still latched!!

 

I didn't eat much when I was pregnant. I was sick the whole time. They say that during BF you should eat an extra 500 calories per child. (can't remember where I read that) Here are some high-calorie ideas:

Avocado's
Toast with almond butter
High calorie protien shakes (Kashi makes a good one that's about 300 calories per shake)
Dark meat
Nuts
Olives
Pasta

I didn't ever count calories I just ate when I was hungry and made sure the foods weren't processed and were what I was craving. Hope that helps.

 

To answer your first question- the fat content of your milk is constantly changing. the closer more frequently you feed the more likely you are to have hind milk.
It cant all be fatty milk though. Think of breastfeeding as a complete meal from drinks to appetizer, to the main dish to dessert (fatty milk).

As for your eating, I always ate to hunger as well. Some of my favorites (in addition to Liesels list) were:
anything bagels
eggs
string cheese
yogurt
popcorn

HERE is some other general reading from Kellymom. Most of this references nursing a singleton though.

 

i have this same issue..i was losing weight for a while, but in the past couple of weeks i've started to put it back on...and i know why too...my body has gone in to "starvation" mode because i'm just NOT eating enough for nursing both babies...they are growing and doing fine, but my body is rebelling, of coarse...so i need to remember to step it up a bit..it's HARD eating that much! i also really need to add some exercise to it all!

 

You can try adding protein powder to your yogurt shake (I usually use a banana plus some frozen strawberries--yum) or even buy the protein shake mix from a pharmacy or health food store. You can also get protein bars that are quite filling and nutritious (say 300 cal and 6 g of fat, compared to 110 cal for a granola bar).

 

First bolded part - that is SUPER fatty milk! Also, don't try to judge your milk's calorie content by looking at it. Your body will make perfect milk, even if you're not eating enough. It's like when you're pregnant - all your resources go to the babies. So if you're not eating well, you'll suffer, but they won't.

I wouldn't worry at all about counting calories. Eat healthy stuff (including healthy fats!!!) whenever you're hungry, drink whenever you're thirsty, and nature will take care of the rest. And if you're ever worried about what the babies are getting, just count the diapers and keep an eye on weight gain - if those things are ok, you're doing great.

 

Thank you all for your input!
The nutrition consultant at WIC on Friday had the same calorie idea--500 per child. and I've read that i need to make sure and get extra protein and dairy. I can't fully rely on my hunger or thirst or cravings because sometimes I'm just not hungry or I get busy and forget :FIFblush: I have to make myself remember and I have suffered before because I wasn't getting enough [i caught every sickness going around over and over again after #4], so I don't want to do that. I'm not really counting calories because unless it is prepackaged and processed, I haven't a clue how many calories it contains--just trying to eat "enough" and add in extra high calorie foods whenever possible.
BTW--I had gained 50 lbs during the pregnancy, starting at my ideal weight of 145 and I have currently lost 35 lbs [just 3 wks postpartum] although i have been eating like CRAZY!!
I hoped if my milk was "fatty" enough, the girls wouldn't need to eat so often, but I guess I just need to be patient with them and their growing--it's mostly every 2 hrs at this point.....
Oh--the good news is that they ARE gaining!! Abigail had gone down from 6.3 to 5.11 on day 5 and on day 19, she weighed 6.8!! Elizabeth went from 6.6 to 6 on day 5 and 6.9 on day 19!!

 

Great news about weight gain!

Eating every 2 hrs is perfectly normal at their age. No matter how fatty your milk is, it still only takes 90-120 min to digest. And their stomachs are still tiny, so there's only so much they can pack in at once.

Can your older kids bring you good snacks to eat while you're nursing?

 

Yes, my older kids do great at chores, bringing me things, even fixing lunch--there is sometimes the problem of EVERYONE wanting whatever mom has though

Thanks for the encouragement! Silly how much i forget from one child to the next!! It makes a huge difference to not be able to do ANYthing while tandem nursing though,like i can with one--makes the hours seem shorter! [and way less productive]

 

I thought I was eating but I lost weight like crazy after my second bout of mastitis. I was very underweight and have now added the Ensure Plus drinks back into my diet. I am also eating these lactation cookies which are delicious and high calorie If you don't mind baking- or have someone who can make them for you, here is the recipe-

http://www.recipezaar.com/Oatmeal-Chocolate-Chip-Lactation-Cookies-by-Noel-Trujillo-192346?scaleto=2.25

They really worked for me both in supply and weight.

And for what it's worth- I have just a thin layer of fat at the top and my boys have been gaining just fine.