Twins, Tuesday!

So..

I figure, Tuesdays will be devoted to twins and twins issues.

I have a lot to talk about...I mean, a lot!

When you have kids, you constantly seem to worry about equal attention and fairness, and having twins, that are 5 months old and already really "in" to each other, and then a big girl who doesn't have a counter-part in the family that is her age, I always worry about attention and fairness.

So, it's not really "fair" to devote this whole blog (which I started in the first place when I became a new mom to my precious big girl) to the twins.

There are SO many things to get off my chest and to write about though, regarding them, that I really need an outlet...so, that's why Tuesdays, are my "Twin Days" my time to write about the hard issues I'm currently up against, and the cool quirky things I'm starting to notice about my identical girls...my small attempt at keeping it "fair." I also love reading blogs and getting advice from other moms who have multiples, so I'd like to offer any advice I come across to the next person going through what I'm going through now.

Out of all the things, I could pull out of my bag today to write about, I've decided to tackle the most current issue plaguing us...

feeding.

Gabby is an eating machine..

We never have a problem with her finishing her bottle. never.

Her sister, Annabelle, completely different story.

It's started from the very beginning...

Annabelle is our small one. She was born 3 lbs. 14 oz. and was our biggest concern during the pregnancy. She was the one, from the very beginning, they said wouldn't make it.

But, she did.

She proved them wrong.

Our little fighter.

She spent 8 days in the NICU, which if you've ever had a child or known someone who has had a child in the NICU, 8 days is awesome, 8 days is what you 'hope' for compared to some kids who are there for months.

Because she was tiny, she was getting high-calorie formula plus whatever I was able to pump. I'll admit, I was sending EVERYTHING I could get to the NICU, I wasn't yielding much in those early days, so whatever I could pump I sent to Annabelle, I figured she needed it more, since her twin was 5lbs. 12 oz. and never was in the NICU.

It didn't take long, to notice Annabelle did better with the breastmilk than the high-calorie formula. Luckily, since she was getting everything I was pumping, she was exclusively getting breastmilk those first weeks.

Once she came home, and my milk really came in, I figured it was only fair to split what I was yielding between the two girls. Each girl got about 9 bottles a day, so each girl got 5 breastmilk bottles and the other 4 bottles were formula. Gabby was on regular formula and Annabelle was still on the high-calorie special formula. Annabelle started having extreme gas pains when she'd have a formula bottle, she would be in LOTS of pain. The only way to calm her down after a feed was to use mylicon gas drops, which seemed to work fine. Finally we were able to knock her down to just having 2 high-calorie formula bottles a day, and then the rest breastmilk or regular formula, they still wanted her to get at least 2 high-calorie ones a day though, because of weight gain.

At 2 months we were able to throw out the high-calorie stuff completely! Yay!

Around 2.5 and 3 months, I stopped pumping (more on this later) it just became too hard, and I wasn't even yielding enough for 1 full bottle a day for each girl.

So, the girls were strictly formula fed.

Annabelle was still having issues with her formula, we tried sensitive formula, but nothing worked, then mylicon stopped working as well.

Bring on the Nutramigen!

Ever had a kid on Nutramigen or Alimentum?

It sucks.

It's basically ultra-sensitive hypo-allergenic formula, that's EXPENSIVE.

They only sell it in a 12 oz. can...a 12 oz. can that cost $25 dollars a pop. We currently are going through a can ever 2.5 days.

All I can say, is at least BOTH girls don't have to be on the formula, then it would REALLY be expensive!

Annabelle was doing great on the Nutramigen, until recently.

The gas pains, the arching back, it's all started back up again.

Silent Reflux.

That's what the Dr.'s say at least. She doesn't spit up, but stuff is still coming up her esophagus.

Bring on the Zantac.

Now we are on baby Zantac, we just started our doses yesterday, so I'm praying that it works.

The girls get five, 6-ounce bottles a day, and Annabelle can only get through 3 ounces of her bottle before she can't eat anymore because of the pain.

If Zantac doesn't work, we try Prevacid, if that doesn't work then we see a GI to make sure everything internally is working okay.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel guilty for not continuing with breastfeeding. Although if I had I would have still felt guilty about giving all of my milk to one baby and not the other, maybe that guilt would have been worth it, to have a baby that could at least eat and thrive without being in so much pain.

I'd be lying, if I didn't say part of me worries. Annabelle was a miracle, and came in to this world against the odds. Maybe something internally is wrong, something that during the pregnancy, when she was fighting so hard to survive, didn't form right, or didn't form at all.

I don't know.

I do know, that it doesn't matter if you have twins or a singleton. Worrying comes with the territory when you're a mom.

Pregnancies with complications, always lead to babies that get a little extra worrying on the part of the parents when they arrive.

A pregnancy with multiples is by definition high-risk. So I think all moms out there with multiples understand the "worry factor" all too well.

All of this being said, just because you have multiples doesn't mean you will have feeding issues.

As I said, Gabby, has no issues at all. A friend of mine with twin girls, has had no issues at all.

I think feeding issues are more prominent in babies, that are born early. My girls were 5 weeks early, which for twins isn't too bad. According to my Pediatrician, you can usually bank on some kind of feeding issue for any baby born more than 5 weeks early.

So, it's just something to think about.

I will say, it takes LOTS of patience. And, sometimes, you just need to take a time-out and breathe or cry.

It's never easy to see your child in pain, and for me, sometimes it helps to just have a good cry at the end of the day and get all those frustrations out, for my daughter.

Finger's crossed though, this new medicine will work out.

Either way, we'll get through it.

We always do.

Feeding Issues, suck...but at least I have 2 REALLY cute and cuddly girls to snuggle up on. (and a cuddly toddler when she "lets" me snuggle her)!

No matter how hard my day is, cuddly babies make everything better.