I could use lots of help. I have tried the Mother's Milk tea and have increased my water to almost a gallon a day as of last week. I do have problems staying regular about pumping every 2-3 hours. I started back to work after Christmas so I lose track of time. But am only getting about 10-15cc every time I pump. Except first thing in the morning because I skip my 3am pump to get 6hrs sleep. I get no more/no less then when I first started pumping. As of today my trio gets 45cc,32cc & 35cc every three hours.

Thinking about stopping once they come home. Want to quit now but figure anything (even one feeding a day) is better then none.



Amy
Wife to Jason(pixelpusher)
Mom to Gwynne, Connor, Chloe 11/03/03
25wks 1day

Amy
Wife to Jason(pixelpusher)
Mom to Gwynne, Connor, Chloe 11/03/03
25wks 1day

www.ferristrio.blogspot.com

http://lilypie.com>

Hi all. I have exclusively pumped for one year now (well, I BF for the first two weeks). I never thought I'd make it for a full year, but my trio turned one yesterday and I'm ready to stop. I have gradually gone from 6 pumpings per day down to three (it was quite painful on Sunday when I dropped that 4th pump). Now, I'm okay with three after just 4 days. Should I try to drop my mid-day pump now? At what point do I go cold turkey? I'm still pumping about 32 ounces per day only with the three pumpings, so I'm worried that it's going to be so painful (although I am delighted at the idea of not being "married" to this pump anymore). Should I try to go to 2 pumps and then go cold turkey this weekend? Any tips are appreciated.

Thanks,
Susan

Susan
b/g/b born 1/7/03 at 34w6d

Susan
b/g/b born 1/7/03

Tulip-
I apologize for doing this in your thread, but I tried to post a seperate topic, and I wasn't able to post my topic. Maybe that should have been a 'sign to me'. My story is to encourage everyone to at least make an effort and make breastfeeding a priority.

I would like to share my breastfeeding story, especially with those who have yet to deliver . Stories of those who were able to breastfeed their triplets + are very inspiring to me. My story is not intended to scare anyone, but to encourage you to do everything in your power to at least give your babies some breastmilk, and to make it a priority.
I was aware my babies could potentially have major problems with formulas because of family histories of milk allergies on both sides. I did as much research as was available in 1996, and was prepared and determined to exclusively breastfeed my babies. I was pretty ill w/ HELLP syndrome after I delivered. I immediately requested I get a hospital breastpump after the babies were born. The lactation consultants at the hospital refused to help me w/ ANYTHING before the babies were born, including any tips. They reluctatntly dropped off the pump in my room, because I didn't have my purse with me, and my husband was with the babies. They were much more concerned about getting their $40.00 deposit, than helping me. I had to keep calling them to even get them to give me the 5 minute talk on how to use the pump and tips (I got no tips) a very frustrating start to a disaster with one of my babies .
I pumped as best I could, with tips from friends and not from the consultants they were "too busy". I developed some problems from the HELLP syndrome, so my dr decided to test my breastmilk for problems that could be passed on. The hospital had a donor milk program, so I was comforted to know that at least the babies could get the donor milk (pasteurized/sterilized) until my results came back.
I had INSISTED from the very beginning-starting before they were delivered, in the OR ,in the NICU for every feeding, and in the level II nursery for every feeding I insisted on breastmilk ONLY !!! They were being fed thru an NG tube at that point.
The nurse in charge of my babies forgot to order enough donor milk for my trio for the weekend. The same nurse decided that it would be ok to give one of my boys a milk based formula for his first bottle feeding (and too much formula also because 'he was hungry' > ) She did this on the day I was released from the hospital and left for the night , called every few hrs from home, and came back the next morning. She did not tell us she had given him formula, until after he was very ill and I grilled her about exactly what she had done with him that evening. My son was the only one of my three to get formula (a milk based one- special care 20) and the only one to get NEC.

NEC is a severe bowel infection that can happen when an immature gut can't handle an 'insult' to it (formula). My babies had the benefit of mega steroid doses taken by their mom, and no respiratory problems. Steroids also help the gut mature also. NEC can happen even with breastfed babies, but is much less common and usually much less severe that way. My son was so critically ill, they were basically waiting for him to die (didn't think there was any way he could survive surgery- we didn't know this at the time). He had his first of MANY surgeries at 6 days old. He had 70% of his small intestines, his ileocecal valve and part of his colon. He was septic (systemic and often fatal blood infection) 7 different times. We were told that if he beat all the odds (95% chance he would die) and survived for 2 yrs in the hospital in order to be at the top of the double organ transplant list, then he had a chance to survive.
He 'only' had to stay in the hospital for 6 months, and didn't need a bowel or liver transplant . He has been through an incredible amount of terrible pain, surgeries and ordeals with incredible grace. We feel truly blessed that he is here with us and according to his doctors "doing better than any other severe short gut kid on earth". We give a lot of credit to prayers in helping to save him, and thank God he was chosen to stay here with us for this long- and hopefuly for MUCH MUCH longer !!!!!!!!!

Please do everything in your power to make certain your babies at least get some breastmilk. I know it is not possible despite incredible effort for everyone to do. My milk supply dried up after @ 5 wks of pumping. Not being able to breastfeed and the incredible stress of of a gravely ill child caused it to dry up. My son who got NEC could not tolerate breastmilk and never even got any of mine , because he was fed the formula. My other son and DD got @ 2/3 of their feeding of EBM, the rest was formula.

Lorraine

Lorraine

Reach for the heart of God and not just His hands.
Organ donation saves lives!
Life happens when love is given.


http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bradenwild

Wow, I am so impressed with everyone who has been pumping. I have thought several times about quitting. It is so hard some days to find the time to squeeze it in. Plus last week when my husband had an emergency appendectemy I think the stress has had an effect. My milk supply seems to have decreased and I have struggled this week wanting to continue. One of my quads developed bacterial meningitisis while in the NICU and they tell me the only reason he survived was because of the breastmilk so I would really like to keep going.

I guess I need to look into taking reglan and the other stuff you mention. Where do you find the herbal stuff at Walmart? Thanks for listening.

Jackie and the six-pack
DS-01/02/01
DS-10/05/01
GBBB-09/24/03

There are so many touching stories here regarding breast feeding and I commend those of you who have done it. I always feel a twinge of jealousy when reading these posts. I tried to breast feed but my babies never latched on so it was just me and the pump. I HATED that pump. I longed to throw it out of a moving car! I dreamed of the special bond of feeding my babies at breast but it never happened for me. At 3 months my babies started sleeping a bit more through the night and out of necissity so did I. I did it all on my own with minor help from DH but that was it. I truly needed the sleep. At 4 months my supply started to dry up and I could not pull myself over that hump so I quit. For me it was a decision of giving my babies great food but a bad mother or being a superior mother and resenting the pump as I did. I even considered trying to bring my milk supply back after it was gone but truly found I was enjoying my children with a new, improved outlook. For me it was the best decision. I should never have felt guilty for quiting because it made me such a better parent. I guess there is still this underlying guilt that I was an inferior parent for giving it up but in retrospect for me it was the best choice I could have made.

For those of you who are reading this post I just wanted to offer another perspective. For those of you who have had success, please do not misinterpret this. I truly appreciate the support you are offering and hope you can help other mothers to continue breast feeding. It truly is the best source of nourishment you can offer your babies.

Kim, Mom to
Logan Kenneth "I wish I were an only child"
Erin Louise "I love my brothers!"
Connor Andrew "I've gotta keep moving"
12/12/02 33w5d

Kim, Mom to
Logan Kenneth - Our future bull rider
Erin Louise -Our future ballerina/cowgirl
Connor Andrew - Our future artist

Hi Tulip, I recently had my trio. Two boys and a girl, on Dec. 17 and it feels like a nursery in my house.(ha ha ha) They are all home with me and it was very easy pumping while they were in the NICU but now they are home it has become very difficult, as a matter of fact I stopped pumping b/c on one occassion I was running a low grade fever and didn't know it until I went to the Dr. and I felt so guilty b/c I gave one of my babies my EBM and I worried the whole night. I told the Dr at the NICU and they assured me I didn't need to worry but, since that incident I haven't given them any more breast milk. Now that I want to try again my milk has practically dried up I still have the hospital grade pump, do you think I can build my supply back up. I was getting 2oz from each breast in the beginning. How do I build the supply up again? Any advise is gladly accepted. Thank You

http://www.tickercentral.com"[>img border="0"src="http://www.tickercentral.com/view/2hzi/1"[]/a[]

First, I just have to point out that TC and MOST survey data shows that most of us choose to do some pumping/nursing, if only while our babies are in the NICU, but that most of us choose to switch to formula after 2-3 months. So I'm relieved that this mostly hasn't turned into an "us against them" debate, because none of us make our feeding choices lightly and all of us probably have something in common with each other when it comes to the issue.

According to the AAP, "In 1995, 59.4% of women in the United States were breastfeeding either exclusively or in combination with formula feeding at the time of hospital discharge; only 21.6% of mothers were nursing at 6 months, and many of these were supplementing with formula." The numbers have moved up a little at discharge in the last 8 years (toward 75%) but have remained pretty steady at 20-25% at the six-month mark.

Also, looking for a forum for BF'ing moms of multiples? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apmultiples

Anyway, that having been said, if you're already pumping and worried about supply, check out the pump/massage/pump technique outlined here:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBJulAug96p118.html

And if you're pregnant and thinking about nursing, or already nursing but having problems, please borrow or buy a copy of the NEW edition of Mothering Multiples by Karen Gromada. Your local La Leche group will have a copy in their library and be happy to lend it to you, even if you're not a member and want nothing to do with us militant yahoos.

And if you're formula-feeding, partially or wholly, and looking for another great multiples parenting book, Keys to Parenting Multiples by Karen Gromada has several factual, non-judgemental chapters about supplementing or formula-feeding exclusively. The chapter on supplementing was especially valuable to me because I supplemented extensively.

Tulip, by the way, gets big props from me for this post. I struggled in silence my first few months while BF'ing, because every time I raised any kind of concern at all, the overwhelming chorus was, "you should stop, your babies will be fine." I really needed a place to complain or worry about BF'ing where the first response WASN'T something like that, even though I know that formula-feeding has been and continues to be the right choice for many other moms.

At the end of the day, I personally, just for myself, would say to moms who are thinking about breastfeeding their multiples, that nothing else gave me as much joy in that difficult first year as nursing my babies. Frankly, nothing else caused me as many tears either, because it was NOT easy and I had serious supply issues. But NOTHING, and I mean nothing, was as rewarding as that breastfeeding relationship. It pulled me through. So for me, all the health and economic issues raised by the World Health Organization or the American Academy of Pediatrics fade into insignificance when I consider the emotional benefits to ME of breastfeeding. And I would never presume to berate another mom for her feeding choices (and neither has Tulip), because it WAS such an intensely personal experience.

Best wishes,
Jody
g/b/g born Jan 2001
http://www.geocities.com/hombiblio/

Jody
g/b/g born Jan 2001
http://www.geocities.com/hombiblio/

Just thought I'd share this link.

http://mostonline.org/faqbf.htm

Take care,
Kristin
Mom to Hayden, Evan, Conner-13 and Kelsey-11
www.cure4conner.org