Random Mothering: July 2010

Welcome to the July 2010 Carnival of Nursing in Public

This post was written for inclusion in the Carnival of Nursing in Public hosted by Dionna and Paige at NursingFreedom.org. All week, July 5-9, we will be featuring articles and posts about nursing in public ("NIP"). See the bottom of this post for more information.

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Nursing Double Time...

For starters, I was a single parent with an almost 4 year old son, whom I had nursed for 18 months, with support from my midwives. So I was an experienced breastfeeding mama…or so I thought. With my first born son, I nursed him for my whole maternity leave and did the pumping and freezing bit when I return to work full time with overnights. He was able to drink breast milk from a bottle and I nursed him when I was home. No problems at all, except 2 bouts of mastitis a month after I gave birth to him.

With my second pregnancy, I had every intention of breastfeeding with full support from my hubby-to-be. I told him, “This will be a piece of cake-labor, delivery, breastfeeding...etc.” I told him that my first labor & delivery was quick and all natural, with a midwife who helped me start breastfeeding. He was totally supportive and didn't think this would be difficult since I had already done this before (he is a first time father). We went to the midwife appointments together and everything was going well, *HA HA HA* however, we were in for a big surprise at our 20 week ultrasound.

The day had come and we were so excited we would be seeing our little bundle of joy wiggle, kick, punch, etc….Boy were we surprised to find out.....WE WERE HAVING TWINS!!!!! Twin boys to be exact. Well, no need to say we were in shock, because you could tell just by looking at us! Everything we planned and prepared for went downhill. We had to see a doctor now, had to get this and that done.......etc. I was declared high risk, at risk for TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfer Syndrome), at risk for maternal or fetal death, plus I had gestational diabetes. Our doctors had us scared! Luckily we switched and found wonderful ones at 32 weeks pregnant. Despite how difficult all this was for us, I (we) still wanted to breastfeed our babies.

I was determined to breastfeed them with or without any help. I heard it all---"You can't breastfeed twins!", "How are you going to breastfeed twins!?", "You should formula feed, it will be easier.", "Your body won't produce enough milk.", "Why do you want to breastfeed twins!?"

I had an answer for all of them--"Yes, I can.", "I have two hands, two babies and wouldn't you know--two breasts.", "I never do things the easy way, you know that.", "I had too much milk the first time I breastfed, so maybe I will have just enough for the twins.", "I believe breastfeeding is the best thing for me and my babies."

On August 26th, 2009, at 38 weeks pregnant, I delivered our twin boys (vaginally, in case you were wondering). In the beginning, we nursed continuously. At first I listened to the doctors who said nurse every 2-4 hours. Well, that wasn't enough so we nursed on demand all day and night for the first 5-6 months. It was rough on us but we survived it. We also had our boys’ doctor trying to convince me to supplement with formula because my babies were not gaining enough weight. He asked what I thought about it. I said I didn't think about it at all. I was going to continue nursing my babies and I will not give them formula unless I am not making enough milk. My midwife confirmed that my babies looked great and I was/am definitely making enough milk.

I switched our childrens’ doctor due to him suggesting formula and not supporting me in breastfeeding twins. I wondered “Why can't I find anyone who supports breastfeeding twins and why are doctor's telling me that our twins are small?” Our twin were both under 7 lbs at birth so they were born small, but healthy (both had 9 on their Apgar scale). I started doing my own research online and asking other twin mommies about breastfeeding. I had a hard time finding a breastfeeding growth chart so I used one I already had at home! I also compared my first born son's growth spurts with my twins' growth spurts. My twins growth rate was/is similar to their older brother's growth rate. I was relieved and determined to NOT allow anyone to tell me that my babies were too small or to formula feed them. My hubby-to-be agreed that our boys looked healthy and had faith in my ability to nurse our boys.

Currently, our twins are 10 months old and still breastfeeding several times a day. When they were first born, I nursed them separately then as our boys got older they decided they wanted to nurse together. Now I nurse anywhere and everywhere both babies at the same time. It was difficult at first trying to not flash the whole world, but you know what--I just didn't, and still don’t, care. Ohhhhhhhhh no! I got over that fear real quick and focus on my nursing with my boys. I do not care if someone else has a problem with it and I do feel real bad for that one person who decides to speak up to me about my breasts showing. I am a feisty mama who is tired of people telling her how to be pregnant with twins, how to eat with gestational diabetes, how to deliver two babies...etc. No one is going to tell me how to or where to breastfeed my babies!!!! My whole pregnancy, labor and delivery were not how I wanted them to be. Even breastfeeding started to stress me out due to doctors who are not educated or supportive about breastfeeding (especially breastfeeding twins) and most of the world having an issue about women breastfeeding in public. I had to follow everyone's directions and not follow my own instincts when it came to these two amazing boys. Never again will I allow that to happen with me or my family or anyone who wants to be in charge of their own rights as a mother and a human being.

I am going to end this on a good, happy note. I enjoy nursing my twin boys. It is amazing that my body can nurture these two babies and keep them healthy. I am happy that I had faith in myself and I educated myself on nursing twins. I want to thank my hubby to be, my 5 year old son, and of course my twin boys for being such a wonderful family through all of our crazy moments together and for supporting my decision to breastfeed even when we kept having one doctor after another telling us it wasn't possible. And for all you mamas out there...follow your instincts and yes, breastfeeding is an instinct, it's just a long forgotten one that we need to bring back.

Redheaded_Mama_Of_3

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Welcome to the Carnival of Nursing in Public

Please join us all week, July 5-9, as we celebrate and support breastfeeding mothers. And visit NursingFreedom.org any time to connect with other breastfeeding supporters, learn more about your legal right to nurse in public, and read (and contribute!) articles about breastfeeding and N.I.P.

Do you support breastfeeding in public? Grab this badge for your blog or website to show your support and encourage others to educate themselves about the benefits of breastfeeding and the rights of breastfeeding mothers and children.