Singleton after twins - so many questions

Our DS was born on 7/17. He was born by VBAC, needed no NICU time, latched instantly, and basically had none of the feeding issues that his older sisters did. My milk came in 3 days after he was born and my supply is great. So, everything should be great, right? If only. So, I have a ton of questions for you moms of a singleton after twins.

With the twins, they ate every 3 hours and I pumped after each feeding. We did this to boost my low supply as well as to provide milk for the supplemental feedings they needed (initially by tube, then by bottle). I never made enough for their full feedings and we always blended milk with formula. I was told never to go more than 3 hours without feeding or pumping each breast. How does this work with just 1? He eats about every 3 hours. The hospical LC said to offer one breast and let him eat to satisfaction, then offer the other the next time. This means that it could possibly be 6 hours between feeding on a breast. Because my supply is so good right now, I am worried that if I wait 6 hours that my supply will start slowing down - something I don't want. I'd rather pump, freeze, and toss (so far he doesn't seem to need supplemental feeding) than lose supply. BUT, I am also fearful of pumping away DS's meals. The other night, I was so engorged that I pumped the breast he didn't eat ... only to have him wake hungry one hour later.

Basically, my biggest worry is maintaining my (momentarily?) great supply.

I'd welcome any advice and thoughts from moms who BFed a singleton after twins.

 

Congratulations on the arrival of your little one! And welcome to the "easy" world of nursing just one. My first bit of advice is: take "the rules" and throw them all out the window. If babe is latched well, nursing well, gaining weight & has lots of wet & poopy diapers, then the ONLY thing you need to do is feed him on cue. Don't worry about pumping or how long between feeds or how long he does feed each time. Just put him on a boob any time he seems hungry, or if he's fussy, or just if it looks like he might be thinking about having a snack.

Keep in mind that right now, your body is actually OVER producing milk (hence the full/engorged feeling between feeds) and the way to help your body regulate to your little guy's needs is to just remove the milk he needs. If you pump a lot right now you're going to continue to over produce (which isn't necessarily a bad thing - but you will end up with a lot of milk in your freezer! Maybe you could see if there's a milk bank in your area you could donate to?). It's very normal & not a problem to go 6 hours (or more) between feeds on the one side. Remember - you only need enough milk to feed one, not two!

The only thing I would suggest you change at this point is to let him feed to satisfaction on the one breast, burp him, change him & then offer the second breast. He may eat, he may not (either is fine) but if he is still hungry he can have a bit more & you'll be less full on that side. At the next feed, you'd start with the second boob, first. Does that make sense? If you can't remember which one you should feed from first, just feel 'em up - whichever feels fuller is the way to go.

All that being said, if you do start to feel painfully full & it seems like the little guy isn't going to wake up any time soon, DO go ahead & pump (or hand express), but just enough to relieve the pressure & to feel comfortable. Rest assured, your breasts are never truly empty - they are producing milk all the time. Even if you pump & feed him immediately after, there will be milk there for him. It may not flow very quickly which is why he may fuss at the breast, but it's there.

Last, but not least, in about 6 - 8 weeks (or possibly a bit longer), one day, you'll wake up & he'll be nursing in 5 minutes flat & your breasts will no longer feel full ever & you're going to panic that your supply has disappeared! Rest assured, it has not. This is a very normal development that signals that a) your body has regulated your milk supply to your baby's needs & b) your baby has become a champion, efficient nurser! Both things to be celebrated.

 

All I can say is, DITTO ^^ Rachel. Nursing 1 is nothing like nursing 2. Most women produce plenty of milk for a singleton, and your body just needs to follow your babies cues to figure out how much milk it needs for just 1.

I nursed 2 singleton's and never pumped for either of them. You can if you want to, but it's totally not necessary. I also nursed fully on one side (usually 20-25 minutes at first), burped, then offered the other side and they would fall asleep anywhere from 10-15 minutes in on side two. Then, I started with that side first the next time. You can use a small safety pin to pin on your bra strap to help remember which side to use first too.

 

Nursing my baby girl is so different physically for me than nursing twins.

I never had a problem with supply but I was nursing all the time so I was very full most all the time until they were on solids several times a day.

With this baby, my body still thinks she's a twin and would have no problem making tons of milk. I was engorged for weeks and she's never really had a true growth spurt and only nurses one side for like 5 minutes at a stretch. I'd be worried except she's a ginormous, roly poly 4 month old who wears 12 months sized clothes. :lol:

I'd put the pump aside unless you want to donate to your local milk bank (I do- it's nice for when she doesn't nurse one side for like 12 hours and I'm rock-hard with milk).

 

Your situation sounds a lot like mine. I ended up block feeding (single side feeding) every 3 hours during the day up until about 4 months. After that, I would offer the other side at each feeding, but he didn't REALLY start taking the other side until closer to 6 months, at which point he started to go every 4 hours. I did pump with my first singleton, but it made the engorgement and discomfort last longer. With my second singleton (currently one month old), I resisted the urge to pump and the engorgement resolved much quicker. I did have to hand express once to soften the nipple just to the point that she could latch. Though, I wasn't able to avoid mastitis in the first month with any of my babies.

Block feeding works and I never experienced any problems with supply. Big congratulations on your baby son!!!

 

I agree with everything the ladies on here have said so far! Honestly, I think your supply issue the first time was not so much because you had twins but because they were preemies and had to be tube fed, etc. I was able to nurse my twins on demand without supplements, but I had a similar experience with #3 in that my body thought I was producing for twins. Holy melons, was I engorged after Gigi was born!!!! I made it a practice to try to pump once a day, enough to take advantage of my oversupply and bank some in the freezer for when I went back to work but not enough to encourage my body to produce so much. Especially since you are busy with the girls, don't try to follow a schedule. Follow his cues and he won't let you starve him! What I did/still do is burp when baby appears finished, offer same breast again to make sure it is "empty", and then offer second breast. Sometimes she eats both sides, other times just one. Also, keep in mind that your breast is never completely empty. There is always milk there, the let down might just be slower and less forceful when you have just fed or pumped. You definitely won't pump away his meals, so if you want to pump occasionally to build up a freezer stash that is totally fine. But pumping while taking care of 3 kids is difficult and time consuming, so only do it if and when you feel you have the extra time or when you are so engorged you want to pump for comfort. Otherwise, you'll drive yourself crazy! Enjoy this time. The early time with my singleton was so precious because I can actually remember it, instead of the whirlwind chaos that was the first 3 month with twins!

 

Everything everybody said

 

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for me. Thanks everyone for the words of wisdom and advice. I am taking the advice and hand expressing or pumping to comfort once a day and to keep myself from leaking all over the place, but trying to relax and just let things be. It is just so weird to have things going so normally. With the girls I was worried constantly. With him, everything is falling into place so nicely. Perhaps I am looking for things to worry about.

Rachel, thanks for the sound advice and forewarning. I am sure had you not warned me, I'd have panicked again. I appreciate your insight. :give_rose: