Hi all,
Several weeks ago I posted about a mom whom I was working with via email.
Her twins - about 5 months old at the time - have been consistently refusing
the breast for some time (with an occasional willingness to latch on). MANY
of you offered lots in the way of advice and encouragement. EVERYTHING was
shared with her. Thanks to each and everyone one you! She recently wrote
again, and speficially requested that I repost on Lactnet about her
situation. Please direct any and all replies, support, suggestions DIRECTLY
to her email address at [log in to unmask] Thanks! Here
is the copy and paste of her latest email to me:
>> Dear Becky,
>>
>> You haven't heard from me for a while, but here I am
>> again, calling on you
>> for some advice. Your suggestions and the responses
>> form Lactnet helped me
>> to continue with nursing so far, but I am again
>> pretty desperate. Maybe
>> another posting at Lactnet might give me some
>> encouragement to continue!
>>
>> Our 6.5 month old twin daughters are still mostly
>> convinced that they do
>> not want to nurse, despite all the things I have
>> tried.
>>
>> Almost two months ago, you suggested that I try to
>> cut out bottles as much
>> as possible, start with fenugreek, pump more with my
>> double breast pump,
>> feed the girls at night (after waking them up), and
>> spend as much time
>> cuddling with them as possible. The fenugreek and
>> double pumping helped to
>> increase/maintain my milk supply and I am still
>> using these suggestions.
>> The girls nurse fairly well at night when I wake
>> them up (not always
>> though). They usually have their last bottle (yes
>> bottle, bc they don't
>> want to nurse at all when awake, especially in the
>> evenings when they are
>> tired) at 7:30 - 8:00 PM, then they go to sleep. I
>> usually pump after they
>> have gone to sleep, then wake them up around 3:00
>> AM, they nurse (sometimes
>> only for a very short time, or after I have
>> expressed some milk to get them
>> convinced there is really milk in my breasts), and
>> go back to sleep until
>> about 6:00 AM. If I catch them before they wake up,
>> they might nurse again
>> for a little while, but usually I am so tired that
>> they wake me up at 6:00
>> AM, once they are awake, it is too late, and they
>> refuse to nurse, even
>> when they are hungry. Sometimes, I can convince
>> them to drink a little
>> from the breast (the spinning method seems to help
>> sometimes with one of
>> the girls!), but not enough to satisfy them. We
>> ususally still need to
>> give a bottle before I go to work, so I have to pump
>> and bottle feed
>> already fairly ealy in the morning. When I come
>> home from work, they
>> almost always refuse to nurse. So, I usually have
>> only one (sometimes
>> none) good nursing sessions in a 24-h time period,
>> and I am so tired of
>> this struggle!
>>
>> Some other information:
>> We started with fruits and vegetables around 5.5
>> months, a little early,
>> but I had hoped that this might help with the
>> feeding problems. They both
>> really like their solid food and get some twice a
>> day followed by some milk
>> (bottle).
>> Elien is a very difficult drinker, she often also
>> refuses the bottles, and
>> sometimes I am the only one who can get her to drink
>> something at all. She
>> sometimes gets too tired to eat, and too hungry to
>> sleep, and it gets
>> really difficult to feed her during those times
>> (breast is out of the
>> question, bottle works only after a long struggle).
>>
>> Both have had teeth since 4.5 months and seem to
>> have some teething
>> problems on and off. Their top teeth haven't come
>> through yet. Elien in
>> particular, but sometimes Marlies also, likes to
>> bite me. I have so far
>> never yelled at them, and have always been able to
>> pull them towards me to
>> stop them from biting, so I don't think that this
>> has made the nursing
>> strike worse, but it certainly is another
>> complication that makes it even
>> harder to keep trying.
>> They both really like to play and cuddle with me,
>> and I try to spend a lot
>> of time with them.
>> My parents have been here during the last several
>> weeks and I have a lot of
>> support from them, so I have less stress than
>> before, but despite this
>> support, the nursing hasn't really improved.
Becky Flora
Kingsport, TN (hopefully an IBCLC by next week!)
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