Celebrating 6 Months with the Twins (and 6 months of survival and breastfeeding)
The twins recently turned 6 months old, but because they were born one month early, their adjusted age is only 5 months.
None the less, it’s a milestone!
We are so lucky to have such healthy, thriving, happy boys. But, this milestone is MINE to celebrate. MAN, the newborn stage was HARD! The first 4 months I don’t think I slept! They didn’t nap well during the day, they nursed ALL the time, and I often questioned my sanity.
For all you new moms out there (of multiples or singletons) it really does get easier! I would say the turning point was around 4.5 months for us. This is when they started to stretch their sleep a bit more and we started getting them to nap during the day.
As most of you may know, I breastfeed my babies, and this is what I AM CELEBRATING! Breastfeeding isn’t for everyone and that is totally fine, but this is my blog, my celebration.
It didn’t come easy or natural to me at first. The first 5 days we spent at the hospital I hardly produced a drop of milk. I was incredibly discouraged and feeling like a failure at motherhood already. (why we put so much pressure on ourselves is still beyond me!) Everyone kept telling me to keep pumping and to be patient. I wanted to throw my pump across the room (honestly, I hate pumping, I hardly ever pump but when I do I still want to throw it across the room).
Finally, my milk came, and within two weeks the babes were exclusively breastfed. They were exclusively breastfed until around 4.5 months when we started giving them solids (well a couple tablespoons of rice cereal a day). Then at 5 months we introduced actual food; avocado, carrots, peas and sweet potato. This is all they’ve had so far. During the last month – month and a half we also started giving them a small top up of formula right before bed. For the longest time we only gave them 2oz. For the past two weeks I try and give them food twice a day, depends how the day goes!
Other than that, it’s all nursing. I can’t believe my body has nourished theirs for so long! It really is something I’m proud of! Both boys weigh just over 15 pounds. Pretty good for starting at just 5lb and 5lb 14oz.
I was never a fan of tandem nursing! I felt too restricted and too much like a cow. So, one by one I nursed them. Sure, it took more time, but hey, I’m a stay at home mom! Because of this, it feels like I have nursed the two boys (in 6 months) the same amount of time a singleton mother nurses one throughout the first year. WOW!
My goal was to nurse them 6 months, and here we are! Since we seem to be doing so well, I think I will just plan on gradually increasing the amount of real food they eat, nurse in between (as long as my supply doesn’t diminish) and when they are one year, maybe consider making the transition to cow’s milk. Who knows?! Honestly, at this point we just take it day by day, and week by week.
(Just to be clear, in case anyone is wondering- Yes, I do know breastmilk or formula should be their number one source for nutrition until at least one year. As it is- I currently nurse them about 7 times a day each, so don’t worry- they’re doing just fine! This works out to be a little over 2.5 hours a day of just nursing!)
Anyways; mom, dads, guardians, it’s easy to celebrate our little ones, but don’t forget to celebrate YOU. After all, if it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be celebrating anything at all!