6 Week Old Eating Machines--Help!

"Jen in South Florida" wrote in message
ink.net...
Meg wrote:
Hi!

My twins are 6 weeks old and constantly eating in the afternoon and
evening.


Six week growth spurt!

Absolutely. Classic six week growth spurt.

I'm trying to breastfeed on demand during the day and give them a 5 oz
bottle of breastmilk + formula (I split up whatever I pump, then add
formula to reach the total amount) during their night feedings.


We were still using a lot of formula and a SNS during the day at 6 weeks
because I had SERIOUS nursing/milk supply issues, but we have always
done bottles at night too. At 6 weeks, a five ounce bottle is probably
too much, IMHO, to give at one time. Also, some people say not to mix
EMM and formula. They feel it decreases the iron available for
absorption. I say, you do what you gotta do. However, every bit of
formula you give them is that much more milk you are telling your body
not to make. As hard as it is, can you add any more pumping sessions?
Could you pump the other side if you ever feed only one baby at a time?


Today though, they just ate and ate and ate! I nursed them for about
an hour together, and they did not seem satisfied, so we gave them a
bottle. It seems that they are finishing a bottle, then falling
asleep and waking soon after "starving" again. I don't know what's
going on...


Yep, six week growth spurt! They are telling your body, "make more milk
now". Give it a few days and don't add more formula supplements.

Exactly. Now, as Jen says, "ya gotta do what ya gotta do". However, and I
realise this is a bad time to have to try to make big decisions, you need to
think about this:

If you wish/need to give formula rather than nursing at a time when your
babies are demanding that your body "make more milk, I'm growing", and your
body doesn't get the message....you may wind up needing to give more and
more formula, and eventually find you "don't have enough milk".

If you look at this behavior as abnormal and somehow an indication of
something being wrong....you might wind up feeding a lot more formula than
you ever intended to, or wanted to....and wonder why.

If however you don't want to go that direction, *and* you can grit your
teeth and get through the next few days or week without resorting to formula
to make up the difference....if you can see their behavior as *normal* and
*appropriate* even if it's driving you up a wall.....then you may be able to
continue with a much higher percentage of breastmilk to formula, or even
exclusive breastfeeding.

As long as you understand their behavior and choose how you want to respond
to it, you won't wind up bewildered or disappointed or whatever down the
road, or telling people "I just didn't have enough milk" when you might have
if you'd responded differently - or maybe even convincing some other twin
mom that she couldn't possibly nurse twins, based solely on your experience.

Understand what's going on, and then decide what you want to do about it.
If you want to breastfeed, then avoid formula as much as possible during
growth spurts. Goodness knows it's tough even with a singleton! But it *can*
be done with twins too. Or even triplets. I don't know about quads.

--angela

"Jen in South Florida" wrote in message
ink.net...
Meg wrote:
Hi!

My twins are 6 weeks old and constantly eating in the afternoon and
evening.


Six week growth spurt!

Absolutely. Classic six week growth spurt.

I'm trying to breastfeed on demand during the day and give them a 5 oz
bottle of breastmilk + formula (I split up whatever I pump, then add
formula to reach the total amount) during their night feedings.


We were still using a lot of formula and a SNS during the day at 6 weeks
because I had SERIOUS nursing/milk supply issues, but we have always
done bottles at night too. At 6 weeks, a five ounce bottle is probably
too much, IMHO, to give at one time. Also, some people say not to mix
EMM and formula. They feel it decreases the iron available for
absorption. I say, you do what you gotta do. However, every bit of
formula you give them is that much more milk you are telling your body
not to make. As hard as it is, can you add any more pumping sessions?
Could you pump the other side if you ever feed only one baby at a time?


Today though, they just ate and ate and ate! I nursed them for about
an hour together, and they did not seem satisfied, so we gave them a
bottle. It seems that they are finishing a bottle, then falling
asleep and waking soon after "starving" again. I don't know what's
going on...


Yep, six week growth spurt! They are telling your body, "make more milk
now". Give it a few days and don't add more formula supplements.

Exactly. Now, as Jen says, "ya gotta do what ya gotta do". However, and I
realise this is a bad time to have to try to make big decisions, you need to
think about this:

If you wish/need to give formula rather than nursing at a time when your
babies are demanding that your body "make more milk, I'm growing", and your
body doesn't get the message....you may wind up needing to give more and
more formula, and eventually find you "don't have enough milk".

If you look at this behavior as abnormal and somehow an indication of
something being wrong....you might wind up feeding a lot more formula than
you ever intended to, or wanted to....and wonder why.

If however you don't want to go that direction, *and* you can grit your
teeth and get through the next few days or week without resorting to formula
to make up the difference....if you can see their behavior as *normal* and
*appropriate* even if it's driving you up a wall.....then you may be able to
continue with a much higher percentage of breastmilk to formula, or even
exclusive breastfeeding.

As long as you understand their behavior and choose how you want to respond
to it, you won't wind up bewildered or disappointed or whatever down the
road, or telling people "I just didn't have enough milk" when you might have
if you'd responded differently - or maybe even convincing some other twin
mom that she couldn't possibly nurse twins, based solely on your experience.

Understand what's going on, and then decide what you want to do about it.
If you want to breastfeed, then avoid formula as much as possible during
growth spurts. Goodness knows it's tough even with a singleton! But it *can*
be done with twins too. Or even triplets. I don't know about quads.

--angela