Diane writes:

>Re: twins who have cried all the time since birth and are gaining no more
>than .5 oz per day:  Could their gassiness and fussiness be simply hunger?
> Is their one-breasted mom supplementing them to the extent they need?
>(And not with cereal in a bottle ;-)  )

Diane, I think you may be right.  The babies get only 16 oz of ABM per day
and BF for 4 feeds each, each day.  I suggested to the mom that she increase
the amount of ABM to 20 oz per baby to make sure that they are getting enough
and to make sure that hunger isn't the prob.  She said that there was no way
to do that as she spends most of the day feeding them anyway, and they only
take 2-3 oz at most per feed, and much of that is done with a lot of
cajoling.
My suggestion was to maybe at least try it for a couple of days and see if it
helped.  She wouldn't hear of it.  I like this mom and feel that she is
trying, but she gets so obstinate about things sometimes.  It almost seems
like it is too much trouble for her to do what it takes to get her babies to
be happier, healthier, etc.  I'm sure that twins are a lot of work (having
never had twins, I can only guess), however, she does have help during the
day and I really wish she would try the things that our WIC LC and I suggest
to her.  (for example, the baby girl needs to be held in one position{very
close to the body and held firmly}, stationary, no bouncing, for a fair
amount of time before she will calm down and relax.  Otherwise she screams
and cries.  Our WIC LC, Sian, figured this out at a consult, and had the
little girl quiet and sound asleep within 15 min.  Mom was amazed, but has
chosen not to do this at home, because it takes too much time!  Of course the
girl is crying all the time in the meanwhile, but we can't waste 15 minutes
on her now can we?)  Sorry if I sound annoyed.  Everytime I call her to see
how things are going, I hear the same complaints, and the babies screaming in
the background.  Very frustrating.
Thanks to all of you out there for your advice.  Now if I can just talk mom
into listening....
Jay