- I did eliminate caffeine from my diet for a few days to see if it made a difference in nursing Mr. Fussy Fusspants. No such luck. Oh well, back to enjoying my latte!
- I'm still not sold on CIO, but having the time to research other methods requires time to read sleep training books and time to read...what is that?? So I welcome comments on HOW DID YOU DO IT??!! Particularly if you had a fussy fusspants. If you had an easy-going baby...well, you are lucky!
- We are still researching when to introduce the solids. The verdict is out. It used to be introducing solids early was the name of the game. Then, a few decades ago, the USA started delaying the introduction until after 6 months (at least here in the USA--please chime in if you are outside of the USA). Now, the progressive school of thought and research is swinging back as we have a booming food allergy problem. Peanut free zones, anyone? The thought is that we are creating more food allergies by introducing solids at a later and later age. Ah, the secret life of babies. I still think they are a little young and I'm going to hold off until 4.5 months at least especially with them being born a few weeks early.
- CindyHoo--Yes, you can take turns in the night IF you have enough expressed breast milk to bottle feed. I have only in the past week been making enough for 2 bottles so this was never an option for us unless I stockpiled for a couple of days and then got a 'night' off or if we resorted to formula. If you are exclusively breastfeeding from the breast....there are no shifts 'off'! Your boobs are in constant rotation! Plus, Chicken never gets to sleep through the night because her 'job' is baby wrangling while mine is feeding.
- When the babies wake up (or one and we wake up the other) she gets up, changes diapers and I go set up the milk bar on the couch (I tried to tandem breast feed in bed--HATED it). Then she brings out one baby at a time and goes back to bed. I feed them, burp them and bring them back to the bedroom, put on the swaddle or sleepsack and put them back in their cribs. Most of the time I can do this without Chicken's help, but sometimes I need her.
- That being said, Chicken, oh glorious wife of mine, decided to give me a 'bottle night' as she calls it, last night. We did the dream feed at 10pm, I pumped and blogged afterwards and then went to bed on the couch while she slept in the bedroom with the twins. It is AMAZING what being able to skip one feeding AND get a quiet night of 5.5 uninterrupted sleep will do for you. I feel like a new person. Thank God. It was either that or die.
- The boys are so freaking happy in the morning it makes me crazy (in a good way!). They are so amazing and at this stage it seems like they are changing daily. I love just watching them coo and gurgle and grin their way through the day. I love being a mom, but damn, this is the hardest thing EVER. I never, ever thought 2 little babies could be this much work. Nothing can ever truly prepare for motherhood, but I am so lucky to be able to finally experience it. Thank goodness I am an older mom with loads of energy. You certainly need it.
- I'm convinced birth mothers have a mommy hormone that keeps them alive and trucking because while Chicken gets more sleep than I do (while I'm breast feeding) she still needs 3xcaffeine and drags. Anyone else notice this?? I'm tired but not like her. Must be nature's way of keeping the mother alive!
- Despite the craziness of the last trip, we are traveling again soon. You knew that though, right? Oh yeah, gotta get those passports stamped.
PS--Post on induced lactation and the ABC's of plane travel with twins are in the works. I'm typing as fast as I can!!!
14 comments:
Your comment aout birth moms, I agree. I usually am worthless if I get less than 8 hours of sleep, but once our daughter was born, I had almost no trouble with the lack of sleep, and I was breast feeding. My wife hardly ever had to actually get up at night with the baby and still, she was more tired than me. She also has been much slower to feel ready for another baby feeling like the pregnancy and first 6 months were so tough, whereas I feel it was hard, but I'm ready to go again.
You are the first person to way the same thing about the difference with between birth mom and non birth mom. And I eliminated caffeinne from my diet prior to getting pregnant and didn't start having it again until our daughter was at least 4 months old. Although, having only one easy going baby, I did nap with her during the day for the first 16 weeks until I went back to work.
Melisa in Durham
Your birth mom vs. other mom comment is right on! I'm at work now on so little sleep it's amazing I'm upright. But, somehow, it just works. Previous to this, I needed SLEEP... now I'm happy with whatever I can get.
I'm jealous that you can sleep through a bottle night! Even if we plan for Heather to do a night time feeding, I still hear the little guy and end up waking up... and if I'm up, might as well feed him at the breast. Maybe we need a bigger house? :)
Can't wait to hear about your upcoming travels and induced lactation!
I would start at 4/5 months with solids. You do not have to give full meal if you do not want to but you definitely want to introduce different textures to avoid issues later on.
I clicked over to read the comments, and after anonymous' comment above thought I would throw out the opposite view ;-) We waited until 7 months to start solids. No problems at all with textures, etc. AND we did what is called "baby lead weaning" as our feeding method (in British English weaning means the introducing of solids). Basically no purees, soft foods. You start with french fry size chunks and the theory is that when the baby can gnaw a piece off they are ready for it (and it is very very hard for them to release a piece and stuff the whole thing in their mouth). Anyway, the fusspot has never choked and eats everything I eat (including spicy stuff on our fab vacation). I only mention it here because I chose that method because I was single parenting and it is SO much easier to be able to sit down and eat at the same time as your kid, which would be practically impossible if you're spoon-feeding twins. Just wanted to throw it out while you're considering many options.
ps - in Europe where we lived they start solids around 5/6 months, in India much later in the North. And obviously both places raise beautiful babies.
Omg, girl, I don’t know where to start. First, I’m so sorry to hear about Chicken’s stepfather. Please give her my condolences. And I’m so sorry about Bunny. I wish I had something better to say. :(
Your posts make me more and more nervous. I won’t get to take nearly as much time off work, so we haven’t quite figured out yet how we’re going to cope. You guys are rockstar mommies!
after trying several other methods and tiring of our rocking/walking/nursing to sleep routine, we eventually resorted to letting her CIO at about 5.5 months old. it was really hard for the first week, but got better and better. now we give her a bath, nurse for a few minutes, turn on her music, hold her for about one song, then lie her down. she goes to sleep right away, no (or very little) crying. its been a life-changer!
as for solids, we started with a little banana right before 6 months. mostly just to let her taste/explore. we've tried a few other foods (peas and sweet potato), but she still gets 98% of her nutrition from breastmilk - she's just not that interested in eating yet. i think every baby is different, you've gotta just do what feels right for you and in response to the boys' cues. good luck!
Just weighing in behind Rachel's comments on weaning (in the British sense). We waited til 6 months (as advised here in the UK, partly, so we were told, to AVOID allergies and intolerances as by 6 months the gut is more mature).
Letting BB feed himself meant we could all eat as a family without someone having to be on spoon duty, and he's been able to explore a huge variety of textures as well as different tastes. He'll eat anything we do, including curries, much to other people's amazement!
If you think it might be for you, check out Gill Rapley's book - Baby Led Weaning.
Canada they are recommending 6 months to introduce solids. I thought waiting was to reduce them having allergies. That is interesting that your ped says start earlier to reduce allergies. In Cuba some people I talked to said three months some said six.
I am going with my gut. She seemed ready so we started feeding her just a little rice cereal with breastmilk. She is five and a half months. I am thinking avocado next. I haven't researched it, it just seemed right and she liked it.
It is more work to feed them so you might just want to start them when they look ready and it makes sense in your schedule too.
PS I am liking the book "the no cry sleep solution". I wish I had read it earlier!
We liked The No Cry Sleep Solution as well. It's pretty easy to skim the areas that are relevant fairly quickly.
On foods, we learned a lot about digestive issues with our son's early allergies, and before 6 months, most babies have what is called an "open gut," making them far more susceptible to food allergies/sensitivities (even in breastmilk). This is one of the reasons the recommendation is to wait until 6 months. Another has to do with physiological developmen of the mouth (tongue thrusting, gag reflex, etc.). Ultimately, we just started BG when he seemed ready, which was a week shy of his six-month birthday. As with so many things related to motherhood, I think it's best to trust your own instincts on this. If they seem ready to you and your wife, go for it!
I agree regarding the bio mom being better able to tolerate sleep deprivation. I suspect it is something related to hormones from breastfeeding. I pretty much never slept more than 3-4 hours a night for the first 4 months and did not feel too tired all things considering. Unfortunately, it does not last, at least not for me, and now if we have a bad night I'm pretty wiped out.
Chiming in on a few points:
1) You're right that birth moms can tolerate less sleep. I remember being FAR more exhausted when I was the non-birth mom, and I was six years younger then!
2) We waited until six months with Kyan and we'll wait again with Rilo. The RN who taught our First Foods class brought up a great point that rings true for me: it's pretty awful to eat from a less-than-upright position. (Think about trying to eat at the hospital, for example.) Therefore, she recommends waiting until they're independent sitters and can sit comfortably in their highchairs, which is right around six months. This gives them a real choice about what they swallow and what they refuse.
Chiming in on a few points:
1) You're right that birth moms can tolerate less sleep. I remember being FAR more exhausted when I was the non-birth mom, and I was six years younger then!
2) We waited until six months with Kyan and we'll wait again with Rilo. The RN who taught our First Foods class brought up a great point that rings true for me: it's pretty awful to eat from a less-than-upright position. (Think about trying to eat at the hospital, for example.) Therefore, she recommends waiting until they're independent sitters and can sit comfortably in their highchairs, which is right around six months. This gives them a real choice about what they swallow and what they refuse.
We noticed the bio-mom connection to relative sleep deprivation in our house, too. Even if there weren't other post-birth hormonal factors (which I agree that there are), I knew she was going to be in trouble toward the end of my pregnancy. I was getting up 3-4 times a night to pee and existing on lousy, fragmented sleep for the last few months and she was sleeping perfectly every night until I went into labor. I remember talking to her near the end of my pregnancy about how she was starting out at a disadvantage because I had several months of lousy-sleep conditioning under my belt! It wasn't enough to convince her to let me start waking her up for every pee break though. :-)
About CIO... I can empathize with the desparation that brings someone to CIO. We arrived there against our will, processed the fact that we were "there" at length, and finally went for it. E had reached the point where he was awake more than he was asleep during the night (waking 3-4 times for 30-120 minutes each time) and we were ALL feeling the strain. We told ourselves it needed to happen and it was for his own good. It took him 45 minutes to cry himself to sleep the first night and M and I were so horrified by the experience that we started the No Cry Sleep Solution at his first wake-up a couple of hours later. I can't say enough good things about that program. He was a lot older than your boys are so that may have been why it worked so well for us and so quickly, but we saw improvement within days and now he is an awesome, AWESOME sleeper. I wouldn't have believed the transformation if I hadn't witnessed it first-hand. He puts himself to sleep now and we don't hear a peep from him until the morning.
My hat is off to you and all the other twin moms out there! I have a hard enough time with one. I can't even imagine how full your days (and nights) are.
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