Breastfeeding triplets

[hergrace]

I am looking for success stories of women who have exclusively breastfed triplets.

I am 11 weeks pregnant with triplets and people keep telling me I am going to have to give up on my natural parenting tendencies to keep my sanity.

I bf'd my son for 2.5 years and want to give the new babies the best I can.

[wednesday]

I think exclusive breastfeeding would be tough but if it were me I would absolutely give it my best effort! I'm sure most women could make ENOUGH milk, I think the real challenge would just be that someone would ALWAYS be nursing. Hopefully some mamas with experience nursing multiples can give you tips about nursing in slings or other ways to be as efficient as possible.

[snarfywarning]

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. It is of a mother in China breastfeeding her triplets

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20041223_48.jpg

I am just like "WOW~!!" everytime I look at that picture.

[artgoddess]

I recommend cross posting this in the parenting multiples forum. I'm sure that a woman can exclusively BF twins, and I think that triplets is possible.

[vanessab23]

Originally Posted by snarfywarning

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. It is of a mother in China breastfeeding her triplets

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20041223_48.jpg

I am just like "WOW~!!" everytime I look at that picture.

great photo! And I love that the babies are diaper free

[Dar]

I knew a woman who breastfed her triplet daughters as well as her son, who was two when the girls were born. She said that she didn't do anything *but* nurse for a few months, so lots of support will be essential during the first months... but she did it. I don't think any of her kids weaned before 3 or 4... they're all grown now; I think the girls are around 18?

If I figure out how to get in touch with her, I'll let you know...

dar

[jbmill2]

I just want to offer you some support, and some luck. I'm sure you can do it, it will just take a lot of dedication!

[MaryJaneLouise]

Congratulations on your triplets! How awesome!

Yes, it is very possible to successfully breastfeed triplets, with a lot of work. Exclusively breastfeeding them, however, also requires a bit of luck with your supply, something not everybody has. How was your supply with your first?

Step one to successful breastfeeding is to gestate your babies for as long as possible. Preemies have a much harder time with latch and suck issues. Get a copy of Barbara Luke's When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads , which recommends a high protein diet with significant weight gain in the first trimester.

http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Expectin...e=UTF8&s=books

Check out www.tripletconnection.com, they have some breastfeeding moms there who can give you some hints and tricks.

Read up everything you can about boosting your supply; you're going to need everything you can get. Here's some starters:

Low Supply

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

Herbs

http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milks...actagogue.html

Domperidone

http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/...actagogue.html

Check into renting a hospital grade pump, or buying and Ameda Purely Yours or Medela Pump in Style, you're probably going to need to pump some for your babes.

Recruit lots of help for changing diapers and doing household chores. You're going to just be a milk (and snuggle ) machine for the first few weeks.

I wish you the best success and check back with us!

[veganf]

I bet you can do it if you have support from others to help with all the other household chores.
And if for some reason you do need to supplement, there is always donor milk, ie. MilkShare.

[CurlyTop]

Congratulations on your triplets!

I went to a lactation support workshop put on by the Fortune 500 I was working for. At the end, they asked when everyone was due and I said I was 5 months pg and eyebrows all shot up. I said, "Twins," and the leader of the group sighed really loudly and said something like, "well, if you can do it at all, it will be next to impossible." I was miffed but not deterred at all. I just thought she was rude to think of me as incapable of doing what I want to do. I assumed my body would know it was pg with twins and would supply the right stuff.

As it turned out, my twins were not preemie but one was in the IICN for several weeks. I took EBM to her but they were giving her milk through a tube and told me she needed it since she wasn't drinking enough from my breast. :/ They also were worried about the dads in the room when I nursed ~ actually said they thought it was great I was nursing but the men in the room might be uncomfortable seeing my breast. In a NURSERY? I was really unsupported (and blacked out tired) and long story short, my supply never increased enough for both babies. I am really sad to say that once I started "supplementing" out of fear of my babies not thriving, it went straight downhill. Eventually they were FF exclusively.

I tell you this because I hope you'll know it might be even harder than you think (I hope not) and it's possible you'll not end up exclusively BFing despite your very best intentions. I fought guilt for years about it, and I hope you'll not beat yourself up if it isn't in the cards for you & your babes.

[twinsarefun]

You can do it! Go to the La Leche Leugue Forum. Karen Gromada is wonderful there for support. I know a gal who bf her triplets. She would nurse two on the EZ2nurse pillow and then after that nurse the third. She would rotate the babies. You can keep them on the same schedule later as they fall into that. Nurse the two first, then the last one. They will get used to eating that way. I have twins and they nurse together all the time on the pillow. I had some trouble in the beginning because I didn't know that they had a bubble palate and wouldn't express the milk correctly. I had tons of milk! It was so frustrating because I didn't know why they were not gaining nor getting all of it. I had some bad LC advice and as a result my twins are hooked on the SNS. Thank God they have always been at the breast, but if I would have got a well trained International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in the beginning (go to their web-site for how to get a referral), my twins would be nursing at the breast. I had nursed 2 others for three years, so I thought I wouldn't need one. That was a mistake! My twins got hooked on the SNS! If I knew what I know now, my twins would have had suck training exercises and nursing at the breast! Get the help you need and you can do it! My friend's twins are the same age as mine and hers have nurse like a dream. Makes me sad, but I am happy for her. Also, the Kellymom site has a wonderful forum there. With all the right help, you can do it. Especially since you have nursed before, you can do it. Our bodies are designed to make the milk needed for however many babies. Barbara's book "Having Twins and More" is very encouraging with birth and lactation. I know a midwife who delivered triplets vaginally. They were all head down. That is rare these days. I only know one doctor who has done it (he is tops!) but even he says he won't do it because the insurance will not allow it now. If for some odd reason you find you don't have enough milk after a few months, have your thyroid checked. Sometimes lowered thyroid can affect supply. I wish you well. Again, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

[roxyrox]

My friend fed triplets exclusivley until they were 6 months. (mixed fed until they were nearly 2) She used to espress before a feeding so that one would feed from a bottle and the other two at the breast. Rotating the baby who bottlefed on each occasion. She had a really good supply though but I just wanted to post so you know it can be done! She used to aim for a feed every 3 hours but if she was just sitting down (having a cup of tea or something) she would latch one of them on even if just for 5 minutes to help her supply! She did still manage to get out and about too - she came to our breastfeeding and toddler groups and it actually looked pretty easy. She always had a baby on the boob but they were in a sling feeding so she could still chat to people and talk and play with the other babies! Good luck to you but I am sure you can do it - you just have to believe in yourself! xx

[proud mama of 2]

There is a Mama (Kathrynne) on here who just had triplets and she breastfeeds. I hope she sees this and can be of assistance to you!

[hergrace]

Thanks for the words of encouragement and the resources. I'm going to be using every resource I can get my hands on to get through this. I know it is going to take commitment and some luck to be able to ebf triplets, but I'm going to try.

With my son, I had problems with oversupply, so I am hopeful that supply won't be much of an issue. My husband is incredibly supportive and intent on getting me all the help I need so I can do what's best with our children. I worry more about how my son will handle the early months. He is such a mamma's boy that it will be a huge adjustment.

[twinsarefun]

It sounds like you will do great. It will just take some used to juggling babies around. My daughter loves the twins. Your son will have lots of buddies now! The first few months may be rocky, but everything will get easier. I just love having twins! They are so much fun! Be sure to have lots of swings available (that was a life saver) and lots of exersaucers. My babies always slept in the same room, so that they would sleep and eat at the same time. One things I would do differently was not use a bassinet and have everyone in a crib so that they would be used to it for naps and bed time. With each bed change, they had to get used to a new environment. Since you have triplets, you may want to have one of the babies that you will feed last, sleep in another room. Have two together. Just in the beginning for getting them used to a rotation. Feed two babies together when they wake up together. When they are done, go get the third baby. That way you won't have baby number three crying and waiting for the first two babies. My two twins would sleep in the same room and then both wake up each other for feedings. I would then always feed them together. That was a like saver. If you could have this with the first two and then wake up the third, I think that would really help a lot. How fun to have triplets. I hope to hear how it goes. You can always pm me here or on the site below. Most likely the site below is where I am at most. I like to hear how these things go. I'll be happy to correspond with you and encourage you in any way that I can. I wish you well!

P.S. For naps I have the Pack N Play playpen that comes in handy. The twins wake up each other for nap time. So they sleep in seperate rooms sometimes if the naps are not going good. Otherwise they are playing and keeping each other up. That comes in handy when there are times you need to seperate everyone to work on getting them to nap, etc... A great book that really helped me the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". It is great! Also, "The Happiest Baby on the Block". They are the absolute musts for parents with twins or multiples!

[bri276]

if you had an oversupply then I think chances are great you will have enough, especially in the first couple of months.

I second the pp who said the first step to successful bf'ing is gestating as long as possible. Most OBs are going to want to schedule you for a c-section around 33 weeks even if you and the babies are perfectly healthy. However there has been research- and no I don't have any internet links but I know it is out there- about the benefits of waiting longer proving it's still safe (assuming no other risk factors are involved).

And as far as the people telling you what you're going to do and not do- have THEY ever had triplets??? Pretty presumptuous of them to decide what's right for your family! Triplets occur in nature, so it makes sense that a woman's body would be able to sustain them- true, "in nature" usually another lactating mother was around! maybe there is one around for you as well? (if that idea doesn't bother you?)

[wednesday]

Originally Posted by bri276

I second the pp who said the first step to successful bf'ing is gestating as long as possible. Most OBs are going to want to schedule you for a c-section around 33 weeks even if you and the babies are perfectly healthy.

OMG are you serious? 33 weeks? That's insanity!!!! :

I've always thought if I got pregnant with multiples I would book a stay at The Farm in Tennessee. They have a great track record of delivering multiples naturally there. It's about 6 hours from where we live but you can rent a cabin on their property a few weeks before your due date, so that you don't have to try to make the trip when labor starts.

[MaryJaneLouise]

Karen Gromada's web site has a good resource of pics of tandem nursing, and drafts of birth plans for multiples:

http://www.karengromada.com/

The EZ2 Nurse if the best tandeming pillow, it kind of curves the babes into your body:

http://www.doubleblessings.com/Detail.bok?no=5

[boheime]

I suggest speaking with other moms of multiples and finding an LC that they personally recommend - even if that LC is across the country. The experienced LC can tell you if your local LC is giving you good advice or coach the local LC.

I am a low supply mom. With my first child, we were seeing someone who was IBCLC. We received really bad advice from her. Much later, I discovered that she is great if you have a regular issue that she can help fix. If not, she sets you up for failure - because if you quit, she doesn't count that against her success rate for helping moms and babies. I'm not sure where she counted me - because I kept fighting and trying. She really could have affected our relationship positively and helped me work through things, but instead she made it so much harder on me.

We saw an LC with dd, because she had issues of her own besides my supply issues, and we also received bad advice which exacerbated her problems. I am very leary of LCs and their advice. There are a few I have spoken to on the phone across the country who were helpful. They supported me, helped me, and encouraged me. That is why I say find out from someone who has nursed multiples who they recommend. Also, speak to those mothers, because they can give you a lot of practical advice. I have spoken to several mothers who were dealing with issues similar to my dd's and was able to help them get their baby on the breast - only because I had been there, done that, and could give them advice and encouragement that only a mother who has experienced it can.

[thepeach80]

OMG are you serious? 33 weeks? That's insanity!!!!

32 wks is considered 'term' for triplets. My cousin works w/ a mom who was close to 40wks though when she delivered hers!

I know you can do it and thinking this far ahead will help.