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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1161
  
| Well I am now 29 weeks along with my twins boy and girl. Still feeling good getting thing done around the house so I don't have to do them later. I am kind of torn though as what I am going to do with feeding breast feeding or formula? In my mind I am just not sure if I can do it and especially with twins but then again I want the best thing for them and with the cost of formula wow. I did not breastfeed my first and she is a healthy little go getter. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 305
| I breast fed both our boys. It is very time consuming but it is the best time I ever spent with them. It is an unreal feeling. It is also so much better for them in the short term and long run. If you have trouble making enough milk for two there is a tea called Mothers Milk, it taste really good and will increase your milk production. Also start freezing milk early . Some nurses are saying to wait for 1 month but I would disagree. That first milk is so good for them. It took me about a week before I was make enough milk to freeze and nurse. I was 41 and 43 when I had our boys so it was a little harder for me but I did everything possible to nurse till they were 1 yr and had enough milk frozen to last another few months. I mixed it with cows milk at the end to stretch it out. I also kept some frozen milk back after they were off it and If they got a little cold or were around kids that had a cold I would give them it for a couple feedings and they didn't get sick. Good luck and enjoy it. If you want to talk ever you can pm me for my number. Hang in there it can be a little difficult at first but it is worth it. |
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 Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | I pump fed  my baby had latching issues at birth due to a tongue issue. That had us having to use a bottle earlier than expected but with me having to go back to work it worked out better anyways. It is definitely more time consuming but I think its worth it. Heathier for baby, helps you lose baby weight, and MUCH MUCH cheaper!!! I got sick towards the end of my baby's first year and my supply went WAY low so I thought we would switch him to Formula for the last few weeks till he could go on cow milk and was SHOCKED at how expensive formula is!!!! My mom breast fed my twin and I and my sister breast fed all her kids and they both thought it was easier because u can lay down and sorta nod off while feeding. Plus you don't have to worry about packing milk when u leave the house ;-) |
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Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | Mitzer - 2015-03-11 7:52 AM I breast fed both our boys. It is very time consuming but it is the best time I ever spent with them. It is an unreal feeling. It is also so much better for them in the short term and long run. If you have trouble making enough milk for two there is a tea called Mothers Milk, it taste really good and will increase your milk production. Also start freezing milk early . Some nurses are saying to wait for 1 month but I would disagree. That first milk is so good for them. It took me about a week before I was make enough milk to freeze and nurse. I was 41 and 43 when I had our boys so it was a little harder for me but I did everything possible to nurse till they were 1 yr and had enough milk frozen to last another few months. I mixed it with cows milk at the end to stretch it out. I also kept some frozen milk back after they were off it and If they got a little cold or were around kids that had a cold I would give them it for a couple feedings and they didn't get sick. Good luck and enjoy it. If you want to talk ever you can pm me for my number. Hang in there it can be a little difficult at first but it is worth it.
This^^^^^
I had bags and bags of milk froze in the beginning. Then we moved and in the moving process it was thrown away. I started stock piling again and our freezer broke and my husband threw that milk away too!!!! I was sooooo ****ed. He was like u pump too much anyways just freeze more. Well not too long after that I got sick, would have saved us a couple hundred dollars if we had that dang milk.... husbands.......
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | If you want to formula feed, go for it! There have been lots of studies done showing breastfeeding is not any more beneficial than formula. The study that sticks out the most to me is where they examined families where one child was breastfed and the other formula fed. They found no differences in development, mental function, or health.
Not every woman is able to breastfeed, and I think it's unfortunate that those who choose to formula feed are made to feel guilty for their choice. You do what's right for you and your family, not what society tells you to do  |
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 The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
| I formula fed my son after two months of nursing he is now 4 and I nursed my daughter (still am at 13 months) my son has bad BAD allergies and was sick pretty often my daughter has no allergies and has run a fever 1 time. I lost all baby weight at about a 1.5 years with my son and at about 6 months with my daughter. When is comes to the studies that have come out the first 6 weeks of milk are supperior to formula but long term it's not huge difference. I love bonding with my daughter while nursing she jut melts into me and plays with my hair softly and she sighs like thank goodness i can let all my baby stress go. It's hard and time consuming at first but after the get in a groove it's much Easter and convenient. Not to mention our bank account wasn't being drained buying formula. I don't think any women should be shamed for not nursing. There are millions of babies hat are formula fed that grow up strong and healthy these are my personal experiences and feelings.
I realize there are typos but I'm on my phone so forget it
Edited by Thistle2011 2015-03-11 9:17 AM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1161
| Thank you |
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  Playing the Waiting Game
Posts: 2304
| I'm thinking would be pretty tough with twins. but YOU do what you can handle. I breastfed mine until it was time to go back to work. Breast pumps didn't work that well so my kids went on formula. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1161
| Harder yes but moms have done it. I just am not sure if I can be that super mom.... |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I'm all about breastfeeding. I nursed one for 8 months and the other for 18. There are benefits to mom and baby both, if you can make it work. It's tough getting started, but then gets easy and downright mindless.
That said, there is no law written that you have to pick one or the other. You can totally have a foot in both camps and make it work, if that's what you need. Part time nursing is better than none. I had major surgery (12 hour brain surgery) when my daughter was 3 months old and had to supplement with formula and frozen milk until my milk came back good, which took about 3 months. She was and is healthy and smart as can be. I worked so hard to keep nursing her, that I didn't wean her until we were both good and ready, hence the 18 months. LOL
She's 6 and hasn't shown any allergies yet, whereas my other one had respiratory allergies by age 4. Who knows why? My guess is genetics more than anything. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 250
Location: Central TX | Congrats on the twins!! I too, am expecting twins! I have decided to formula feed as I can't produce enough milk, dang sure not enough for twins. My mom couldn't breastfeed either she formula fed us, and my brother and I are just fine. I really feel it's what you can handle. And twins are different. Don't let society choose what you should do, it's what you feel is best for you and the babies. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1161
| When are u due with your twins? Yes and maybe that will come into play where I just cannot produce enough milk. I guess even if I can do it for a little while it would be better than nothing. |
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 Ima Fickle Fan
Posts: 3547
Location: Texas | Gunner11 - 2015-03-11 8:56 AM If you want to formula feed, go for it! There have been lots of studies done showing breastfeeding is not any more beneficial than formula. The study that sticks out the most to me is where they examined families where one child was breastfed and the other formula fed. They found no differences in development, mental function, or health. Not every woman is able to breastfeed, and I think it's unfortunate that those who choose to formula feed are made to feel guilty for their choice. You do what's right for you and your family, not what society tells you to do
I would be interested to see those studies. As far as long-term benefits, there probably isn't a huge difference. However, in the short term, there is a difference between the two. Breastfed babies have greater immunity due to the colostrum and other immunities being passed in the milk. This benefit last up until about 6 months.
More than anything, breastfeeding establishes a strong bond between mother and baby, can provide greater comfort, is cheaper and easier (in some ways), and helps mom lose the baby weight.
I nursed and pumped for my first until 13 months. With my second, I nursed and pumped exclusively for 8 months, had to start supplementing then due to an inability to keep up with his demand, then switched over at 10.5 months to formula. That was hard for me because I didn't want to do formula at all and felt like such a failure.
I've had friends who have had problems getting the right formula for their baby and that sometimes takes a lot of experimenting. My friends who have been on the fence have not succeeded breastfeeding. I think that's because the first 6-8 weeks are HARD. It takes serious dedication.
Since you are having twins, I would recommend doing both breastfeeding/pumping as well as formula. You may not be able to produce enough for both babies. Then again, you might. Given that you are having twins, you may just want to pump. If so, there are a lot of articles on Pinterest that will help you learn about establishing your milk supply, etc.
No matter what you decide, it's your decision. Don't let anyone make you feel bad. I'm not sure why we feel it's okay to judge our fellow mothers when we really need to support each other. Being a mom is hard and there is no book to answer all your questions. Just do the best you can and take peace in knowing that you are doing just that--the best you can.
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Veteran
Posts: 250
Location: Central TX | I'm due begining of September. I'm still some what early, 12 weeks right now but everything is looking good. We are hoping for a boy and girl so bad! |
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 Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | First of all it definitely is a personal choice. I nursed both of my daughters until they were almost a year old. I fully intended to do the same if humanly possible with my twins.
The twins were taken by c-section at 34 weeks. I pumped every two hours for three days straight before I produced even a drop of colostrum.... The babies were tube fed for a week or so and had cpap masks, no oxygen, just room air. We did lots of skin to skin time and allowed them to try and nurse. Skeeter was a pro at latching and nursing immediately, but couldn't transfer enough milk to maintain her weight. Sterling was lazy and didn't want to nurse for more than 5 minutes at a time...I continued to nurse and bottle feed them pumped milk for the month that they were in the NICU. They were given some high calorie formula mixed in the breast milk to help them gain.
I was able to pump enough for both of them for 4 months. We supplemented as directed by their doctor to help give them a boost in calories and they did great. They had to be fed every three hours, so I got very little sleep, lol. My husband would help feed when he was home and over night so that I could pump and we could get back to bed. I got very sick with a kidney stone and subsequent kidney infection...and then some sort of flu. I had a fever that would come and go for four days and it completely ruined my milk production. That's where it ended....They've been on formula ever since.
It's a LOT of work...but totally worth it. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Gunner11 - 2015-03-11 8:56 AM If you want to formula feed, go for it! There have been lots of studies done showing breastfeeding is not any more beneficial than formula. The study that sticks out the most to me is where they examined families where one child was breastfed and the other formula fed. They found no differences in development, mental function, or health. Not every woman is able to breastfeed, and I think it's unfortunate that those who choose to formula feed are made to feel guilty for their choice. You do what's right for you and your family, not what society tells you to do
If you line up 20 babies I can tell you which ones are breast fed and which are formula fed. Take a look at the ingredients list on a can of formula the next time you're in a store....then tell me that there's not going to be a difference. |
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Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | aggiejudger - 2015-03-11 9:57 AM
Gunner11 - 2015-03-11 8:56 AM If you want to formula feed, go for it! There have been lots of studies done showing breastfeeding is not any more beneficial than formula. The study that sticks out the most to me is where they examined families where one child was breastfed and the other formula fed. They found no differences in development, mental function, or health. Not every woman is able to breastfeed, and I think it's unfortunate that those who choose to formula feed are made to feel guilty for their choice. You do what's right for you and your family, not what society tells you to do
More than anything, breastfeeding establishes a strong bond between mother and baby, can provide greater comfort, is cheaper and easier (in some ways), and helps mom lose the baby weight.
I nursed and pumped for my first until 13 months. With my second, I nursed and pumped exclusively for 8 months, had to start supplementing then due to an inability to keep up with his demand, then switched over at 10.5 months to formula. That was hard for me because I didn't want to do formula at all and felt like such a failure.
I've had friends who have had problems getting the right formula for their baby and that sometimes takes a lot of experimenting. My friends who have been on the fence have not succeeded breastfeeding. I think that's because the first 6-8 weeks are HARD. It takes serious dedication.
Since you are having twins, I would recommend doing both breastfeeding/pumping as well as formula. You may not be able to produce enough for both babies. Then again, you might. Given that you are having twins, you may just want to pump. If so, there are a lot of articles on Pinterest that will help you learn about establishing your milk supply, etc.
No matter what you decide, it's your decision. Don't let anyone make you feel bad. I'm not sure why we feel it's okay to judge our fellow mothers when we really need to support each other. Being a mom is hard and there is no book to answer all your questions. Just do the best you can and take peace in knowing that you are doing just that--the best you can.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614000549
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1094
Location: Idahome | I nursed my daughter for around 6 weeks and then had to start supplementing before going straight to formula. I went back to work after 4 weeks and pumped while there, but eventually I just couldn't product enough no matter what I tried. I kept with it for as long as I could and supplemented the rest with formula, but after about 2 1/2 months I gave up the pumping and nursing because the time it took, I would hard get any milk. She was on straight formula from there on. She is almost 3 and rarely gets sick and if she happens to catch something it is usually gone within a day or two. I was also a formula baby and have a pretty high immune system. I am 26 weeks now with my 2nd and I plan to nurse for as long as possible and pump when I go back to work. |
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Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | rachellyn80 - 2015-03-11 10:20 AM
Gunner11 - 2015-03-11 8:56 AM If you want to formula feed, go for it! There have been lots of studies done showing breastfeeding is not any more beneficial than formula. The study that sticks out the most to me is where they examined families where one child was breastfed and the other formula fed. They found no differences in development, mental function, or health. Not every woman is able to breastfeed, and I think it's unfortunate that those who choose to formula feed are made to feel guilty for their choice. You do what's right for you and your family, not what society tells you to do
There's more to a baby's health than what they are fed:
"researchers have consistently found large socioeconomic and racial disparities in breast-feeding rates. A C.D.C. survey in 2008 found that 75 percent of white infants and 59 percent of black infants were ever breast-fed, and in 2013, the agency reported that 47 percent of white babies but only 30 percent of black babies were still being breast-fed at 6 months. Compared with bottle-fed infants, breast-fed babies are more likely to be born into families with higher incomes, have parents with higher educational attainments, and live in safer neighborhoods with easier access to health care services." |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Gunner11 - 2015-03-11 10:30 AM rachellyn80 - 2015-03-11 10:20 AM Gunner11 - 2015-03-11 8:56 AM If you want to formula feed, go for it! There have been lots of studies done showing breastfeeding is not any more beneficial than formula. The study that sticks out the most to me is where they examined families where one child was breastfed and the other formula fed. They found no differences in development, mental function, or health. Not every woman is able to breastfeed, and I think it's unfortunate that those who choose to formula feed are made to feel guilty for their choice. You do what's right for you and your family, not what society tells you to do There's more to a baby's health than what they are fed: "researchers have consistently found large socioeconomic and racial disparities in breast-feeding rates. A C.D.C. survey in 2008 found that 75 percent of white infants and 59 percent of black infants were ever breast-fed, and in 2013, the agency reported that 47 percent of white babies but only 30 percent of black babies were still being breast-fed at 6 months. Compared with bottle-fed infants, breast-fed babies are more likely to be born into families with higher incomes, have parents with higher educational attainments, and live in safer neighborhoods with easier access to health care services."
One reason for that disparagement is WIC. Formula is expensive, but if it's provided for free, cost is not an issue in your choice. |
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