Update time!

Let's share how far we've come! Let's get a general update on how you are doing on the breastfeeding front!

Random question: What is your favorite number?


My update:
We are in the process of slowly weaning. Mom has had enough, but still enjoys it very much. Audrey didn't do so hot when I tried to get DH to put her down without her mid-day nursing session last weekend. Clayton however has been pretty much skipping that feeding on his own. Even will get Audrey to skip it at times. They still want it when they get up in the mornings and of course before bed at night, but it's a start!! I however have been 'full' quite a bit. I can't imagine stopping cold turkey! Ouch!

My favorite number is 97! LOL

 

At 20 months, we're still nursing with no specific end in sight. But we are nursing less and less. About 1/3 of mornings now one or both will wake up and not specifically need to nurse. I'm pretty much an on-demand nurser, so those days we don't do it... except for one morning when I was really full, so I offered. They most always nurse right before naps and bedtime. And random times during the day. But that's down a lot lately, too. I have even told Sydney no a few times lately, when she's just up and down a bunch... like 10 minutes after she just nursed, she's signing for more. So summary: I see that we're cutting back, but not ready to wean.

And I don't have a favorite #, LOL!

 

We're doing good here!! My boys are almost 10 months (on the 9th) One of my boys has started to do "nursing gymnastics". He likes to crawl over me, or do all these contortionist moves while nursing :lol: I'm glad they still love nursing, I was a bit afraid when they started solids that they wouldn't want to nurse anymore..

Favorite #? anything with 7!

 

We are at 12 1/2 months and we are still going strong. We are slowly weaning down to morning and nighttime feedings for when I go to work in September.

My favorite number is 4.

 

This is more of an intro (though I have posted here a few times...)

The twins are 4 mo corrected age today, though chrono. age is more like 5.5 mo. Ivy spent 2 wks in the NICU, and I first started nursing her there. I was also pumping milk for Andrew, who had severe IUGR. We had to monitor his intake very carefully. He spent 4 wks in the NICU getting bottles of EBM fortified with extra calories.

Once both babies were home, Andrew still got bottles for a while. He had a weak suck and would fall asleep nursing almost instantly. But gradually I took him to the breast more and more. Once a day for a while, then a couple times a day, then every other feeding... And once he got really good at it, I started tandem nursing. Hurray!

If I had any brain cells left, I could figure out how long I've been tandem nursing. But it's been a good while - couple months? And I love it. It's so much easier than feeding one at a time and hoping the other won't wake up until we're done, or contorting myself to nurse one while bottle feeding the other.

And best of all, both babies are healthy and growing like weeds. Ivy was born at 6lb3oz, and is now about 14 lb. Andrew was tiny - just 2lb11oz. And he is now a big, chunky, 13 lb baby! His phenomenally steep growth curve has continued even after the transition to BFing, which is pretty amazing, since he's not getting those extra calories in the bottle anymore. Except for the occasional bottle of formula here and there, all that growth is coming from me!

The gift shop at the maternity hospital has a great t-shirt: "I can make milk. What's your superpower?" :lol:

 

Great job everyone!

Well I'm just nursing one, but I'll join in

Elizabeth was 3 months old last week and is doing great. She's starting to take a regular morning nap and is also sleeping about 8 hours at night now. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Now if I can just get my toddlers to sleep all night again!!!

QUOTE(fuchsiagroan @ Aug 4 2007, 05:02 PM) [snapback]357800[/snapback]
The gift shop at the maternity hospital has a great t-shirt: "I can make milk. What's your superpower?" :lol:


Oh I want one!!! Elizabeth has a tshirt that says "I cry over spilled milk"

 

well.....

ally has been latching for 2 weeks now, though she's been having trouble with the left breast the past 3 days, she just screams and pushes away, so that is now becoming her "brother's side" just about every feeding...

the bear pretty much seems to have a boob magnet in his mouth that just automatically latches, he's gotten so good at it and i'm just stoked about that

we are still offering chaser bottles of EBM: 2 oz for ally and 3 oz for the bear as i regularly only get 2-3 oz per breast BUT thanks to the fenugreek i just started taking tuesday, last night i started getting 4 and 5 oz from each breast, i can hardly believe it!! i could actually be getting to the point where i can FINALLY build a stash up, or maybe stop offering the chaser, but i sorta like having a general idea of how much they got...

ally is sleeping between 4 and 5 hours between night feedings and the bear can go 5 to 6 hours...during the day we are pretty strict with feeding every 4 hours...we wake to feed if necessary...but still no schedule, it really just depends on how long they went between feedings the night before. sometimes they need to be fed at virtually the same time (10 to 15 mins. apart) and others its up to 2 hours apart...

i have tandem fed once (last week) but it was definitely too complicated at this point, with ally still not latching right away and losing the latch if i move just a little, i need to have my hand holding the breast steady for her i took a picture, for the memory book, but i will probably not try again for another month or so, or when they seem steadier (more head control) and ally gets better at keeping the latch. lastly, the bear came down with an ear infection (at 7 weeks!) and i'm concerned it's because of the horizontal positioning from nursing...i have to ask the pedi about that, since if we tandem feed it will be even harder to have him in a more vertical position...

i should say, though, that the fact that we have come this far is largely due to the information and support i have received from you ladies, i am infinitely grateful and hope to continue to be a part of this community for many months to come! thanks everyone!

sandra

 

15 months and still going here. I am getting ready to wean. I am kind of ready to be done. I want my body back. I love it but I think I am getting ready. I think the hardest will be the middle of the night feedings. They still get up 2 x each and I nurse them each time. What I would give for a full nights sleep! So I really don't know how I am going to do it. They both only nurse once really during the day and before bed then the night time feedings.

I don't have a favorite number.

 

Hi ladies!!!! The babes are 13+months and we still nurse 4-6 times per day (they STTN). No plans on weaning anytime soon, but they seem to be less interested (refusing) the 11am and often 1pm feed, so we are slowly working towards bfing 3 times a day. Dh used to less than supportive (to put it lightly ) in regards to extended nursing (he was more than fine with 1yr), but has now fully joined my camp :good:
The babes are doing REAL well, growing great, progressing great and the light of our lives :wub: I work 24-32 hrs per week and still pump while at work, the babies still get mostly ebm those days with one sippy of whole milk occasionally. I was SOOOOO worried about returning to work and figuring in pumping (I get NO breaks) but it has been pretty easy IMO. I will be glad when I can stop pumping, though!! Maybe in a few months!

I am so proud of all of us, we are doing such a great thing for our babies, not enough is said about how great it is :clapping: :bow2:
It is a wonderful thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One day, one year, its the effort, it DOES make a difference.

 

We hit the six month mark and things couldn't be going better. :banana: Lately its like a switch got flipped on and things are so much smoother! Mostly tandem feedings and not lasting as long, also it doesn't take anywhere near as long to nurse them to sleep as it used to. :a_smil09: They are getting bigger so we have had to try different tandem positions but the little ones are pretty adaptable

:yahoo: :Clap:

WTG everyone! Keep up the good work!!

 

nursing b/g exclusively from beginning...and now 9 months.my dd seems to like solids a lot more lately..hope she isnt weaning herself!!! i plan to start weaning around a year old

 

Everyone is doing such a great job!!!

At 13 months, I am down to two nursings (morning and evening). I think I am almost done, because my letdowns are taking longer than before. I will definitely miss it, but I am mostly proud of myself for being able to go this far.

My favorite number is 13.

 

Yeay 6 months and still going! They are getting so big, I was thinking they should make the EZ 2 nurse pillows even larger for chunky babies They have this bad habit of turning their heads quikly while still nursing. This afternoon was so painful I looked at Alex and asked her for my nipple back and told her she's been cut off for the day

Fave # 3

xox
Mariel

 

My babies have finally really taken to solids and get two solid feedings a day. This has drastically reduced the amount of supplementary bottles I need to give them. I had been giving them one or two 2-oz bottles of EBM during the day, but no more. I am still giving them a bottle before bed and just tonight had enough EBM for even that full feeding.

Favorite #7

 

We're down to 3-4 nursings per day unless they're sick or get a hard bonk (which seems to happen once or twice per day... each) I'd like to wait until after next Winter to begin weaning but we'll see.

It's bittersweet having nursing be so easy and enjoyable now because DH has a huge bug up his rump to try to bully me into quitting. He has some misguided ideas that weaning will bring him closer to the boys and distance me so I won't mind leaving them and we can take off and go at will. Basically, so everything will be just like before we had kids... Absolutely everything I do now is questioned and analyzed and criticized and then he tells me how he would do it "better". Mind you, all of this is while he has his bug infested rump parked firmly in front of the TV and/or computer.

Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a rant. I'm not getting much sleep these days (DH has taken up snoring and I'm not used to it).

Favorite number? People have favorite numbers? I guess 2 because everything good comes in twos.

 

I'm still here, and still BF'ing exclusively. I can't complain about a thing, because I feel like the luckiest momma in the world to have these little ones. I am, however, looking to sell my 2 year old to the circus....or gypsies....or perhaps donate him to science. Everytime I sit down to nurse a baby he starts misbehaving something fierce---just testing me to see what I'll do. He knows I don't get up until I'm done....so he's turning into a little monster during nursing sessions! I'm hoping this is just a phase!

Reyna

 

Still exclusively breastfeeding here. Not sleeping through the night but we are only up twice a night now. We are nursing about 8 times a day and eating a full solids schedule. The past few days they've rejected food for nursing (which of course makes me very happy!)

 

We're at 7 weeks and I can't believe how hard this is! But getting easier - and it's great to read how well everyone else is doing several months down the line! I hate tandem feeding, and the boys don't seem to eat as much that way, but the alternative is screaming (they infallibly wake up at the same time) and I figure practice makes perfect...Meanwhile, I'm thinking of opening a cafe called the Snack-n-nap...

Favorite # is 9, DH's is 33, and Tom was born at 9:33am

 

We have passed the 6 month mark and are going well. I remember when 6 weeks was my goal! It definitely gets MUCH easier for anyone still in the first 3 months or so. From 3 months to 6 months we tandemed a lot but now in the warmer weather (I find I get really hot when tandem nursing) and with them getting bigger (harder for me to maneuver by myself) I am back to mainly nursing one at a time. I pump once a day (3 hours after they go to bed) so that I have some EBM around the house. If we get home and both babies are hungry and I don't feel like tandem nursing I put about 50ml in a small bottle and give it to Jae in her car seat or high chair. She is pretty good with holding her own bottle and that occupies her while I feed her sister and then I nurse her next. Just a little system we have worked out. I also use the EBM to mix with their baby cereal and then they get a little bottle after nursing right before bed where I put their Vit D and iron droplets because I am no good at giving them to them from the eyedropper!

Great work everyone! I have found this board really encouraging. I am almost positive I would not still be nursing without all the support and info on these boards.

 

:clapping: WooHoo! It's great to read how far everyone has come!! Thanks for sharing!!
I'm so proud to be a part of such a supportive community!! :bow2: Job well done ladies!

 

I wrote a long reply to this yesterday, but then got interrupted and didn't finish it or post it. Anyway, I feel kind of silly even responding because I'm not exclusively breastfeeding. The girls probably are 60% breastfed and 40% formula. It still makes me sad but my body could not handle trying to make enough milk for them, I guess....at least at this point.

This past week I had surgery to repair my perineum from a bad stitching job after the birth of my girls. NOT FUN!! I had to pump for 24 hours since I couldn't nurse due to the anesthesia. It didn't help that I couldn't eat or drink from the night before my surgery. Anyway, the girls still enjoy nursing and I think sometimes prefer that than the bottle. We've had some issues lately with distractability. They just pull away and smile and coo at me. They do that with a bottle too, and sometimes it seems like they don't eat a full feeding and then are hungry again not much later.

Even with cutting down on nursing I still feel like my immune system is just not right. I feel constantly run down with a sore throat, cold sores, and swollen glands. Maybe being pregnant as often as I was in the last couple years has taken too much out of my body...I don't know...??

Anyway, thanks for your support.

 

:hug99: Don't sweat it Melissa! You are still giving your babies your milk! THey are receiving the benefits!! You belong here as much as anyone else! I hope you heal fast from the surgery!! Ouch!

 

My girls are 6 months and we are exclusively nursing. It has gotten much easier and quicker! I love it, but my girls nurse every 2 hours round the clock so I am very tired.

 

1 month today!!!! I was figuring we have nursed about 800 times aleady, how crazy to think about!
Things are going well, looking forward to more sleep, someday, hopefully, please o please!

 

It's going very well. Up twice each night, usually around 1 and 4. Tandem feedings all the time; those are much easier than I had expected.

Love my EZ 2 Nurse Pillow!

Oh and my favorite number is 7.

Jen

 

We are just past 6 months and exclusively BF. I tandem 95% of the time, I LOVE tandem feeding. We only have one middle of the night nursing and that one I do individually unless they wake at the same time.

The advice and support on this board has been invaluable. I, too, love my EZ 2 nurse pillow and I LOVE LOVE LOVE BFing these babies.

YAY! BFing Mommies!

:banana:

PS. It really does get easier between 8 - 12 weeks, so hang in there new mommies. Once you get past the beginning it is the easiest thing in the WORLD!

 

Still going strong here. Babies are sleeping through the night. We still nurse about 6x/day. I like to tandem to save time. I have no pressure to wean because DH is deployed for a year, and I'm not going back to working outside of the house while he's gone.