Home

Our little family is reunited and home together. Home… a truly wonderful word. It’s hard to take my eyes off the little guys, and I wake up repeatedly in the night just to check on them both. I’m glad we went to a hospital with a great NICU, but I’m even happier not to need to make that trek every day.

We took some video of the boys coming home today, and we’ll try to get it up soon. For now, here are some recent photos of the boys: (Click on the image to see the full image; click on the full image to see a larger version.)

Just a short note to say that we were able to bring Dominic home this afternoon! Alexander has sent him ahead to check out the lay of the land and report back about whether their new home is a desirable place. One of our neighbors got to meet Dominic on our way into the house and a couple of the neighborhood children stopped by to meet him (dutifully washing their hands before gently touching his little hands). My body seems to know that there is a definite difference in our living situation - milk production is already up. Shakti found Dominic interesting to sniff - especially when he had his first dirty diaper, and she’s not sure what to think when he cries.

We are - of course - looking forward to having both boys together and under our roof very soon. Alexander will most likely come home on Thursday, and we will all be heading up to the hospital to visit him tomorrow. I’ll try to add some photos or a video of Dominic on his way home to this blog post soon. For now, I just wanted to get the word out.

From the Twin-Mommy

Dominic and Alexander are both doing well. We’ve been up to see them every day and working on getting them nursing well. Yesterday we took the infant CPR class offered by the hospital, and this morning we have an appointment with a physical therapist who (I believe) will be recommending exercises to do with the boys after we head for home. We will also be giving the boys a bath this afternoon - a first for us (though not the boys first bath).

I spoke with one of the NICU doctors yesterday afternoon, and it now sounds like Alexander might be coming home a few days after Dominic. Dominic might still come home today or tomorrow. We’ll need to get the car seats in the car and ready as we may not know much in advance. Yes, this makes life a little unpredictable and crazy. Still, both boys are doing very well. They continue to gain weight. Last night Dominic weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and Alexander 7 pounds!

Milk Update: I’m finally being able to pump between 2 ounces (60 mL) and 4 ounces (120 mL) at each pumping, so milk production has been improving a great deal. It still has a ways to go to be able to support both babies without supplementation, but we’re getting there.

From the Twin-Mommy:

I struck gold on Wednesday afternoon with one of the nurses who let me hold the boys together! Dominic and Alexander got to touch for the first time that afternoon around 1 PM for almost an hour and then again when Dad came to the NICU that night.

Mom with Alexander on the left (Mom’s right) and Dominic on the right.

Dad with Alexander on the right and Dominic on the left - Two can be quite an armful!

Dad with Alexander on the left (crying) and Dominic on the right.

(Alexander wanted some alone time cuddling with his dad.)

Our Boys:

Dominic and Alexander are both doing well, and if nothing new comes up, they will probably be heading home on Tuesday. On Thursday, Mr. Dominic weighed 5 pounds 15 ounces and Mr. Alexander 6 pounds 8 ounces, so they both have surpassed their birth weights.

From the Twin-Mommy

Dominic and Alexander are both learning to latch onto Mom for nursing, and we’ve taken our twin nursing pillow to the NICU to start practicing the football hold for tandem nursing. So far, we’re still working with each boy separately. We had an appointment with a lactation consultant on Wednesday who helped give me pointers on how to hold the babies and ways to improve my still slow milk flow. (Unfortunately, Alexander was completely exhausted during the feeding that the lactation consultant was there, and we couldn’t wake him up enough to nurse.) We have another appointment with the same consultant on Monday afternoon.

They currently have Dominic eating 1 hour before Alexander since the same nurse takes care of both, and I’ve been going to the NICU for three feedings a day: 10:30/11:30, 1:30/2:30 and 7:30/8:30. I spend 15 minutes nursing and then 10-30 minutes finishing off a 60 mL bottle with each one. I’ve also been more active while pumping (per the lactation consultant’s advice), using a warm washcloth on the breasts before pumping and gently massaging them to help start and keep that milk flowing. The time with the boys and the more active pumping have already doubled my milk. Yesterday I was up to 20 mL (from 10 mL) at each pumping, and last night I almost made 30 mL at my last pumping before bed.

When you start out scrounging for every .1 mL of colostrum to fill a syringe and your milk takes forever to arrive, it can be an extremely frustrating experience. Many moms of multiples deliver early by C-section, and it is very easy to become discouraged and to give up because we typically take longer and have to work harder to get our milk to come in. I remember one particular morning just crying in my hospital bed after a particularly meager pumping session. I felt so inadequate because there was no way I could feed my babies on my own yet.

I’ve been lucky to have a wonderfully supportive husband who was willing to suck up every drop of colostrum he could get with a syringe that first week and to cheer with me for every tiny increase we achieved. Plus, my mom and the NICU nurses have been supportive. They stress that they will use every drop of colostrum or milk that we give them for our boys and how important it is for them. I also did reading on the Web which reassured me that this is not an atypical experience for mothers of multiples.

If you want to breastfeed your babies (or baby), don’t give up!

• Seek help from lactation consultants.
• Try to spend as much time with your babies as possible, but remember that you’re recovering from surgery or labor and need sleep to keep from becoming ill. Being exhausted can also slow milk production, and if you get sick, they won’t even let you in the NICU to see your little ones.
• Start nursing as soon as it is considered safe for your babies if they are preemies
• Be persistent.

I’ve enjoyed every nursing session with my little tykes. It is an amazing experience to feel them latch on or to see them eager to nurse again, and it’s so much more satisfying than simply pumping.

Also, remember that many people won’t understand why you aren’t producing more milk or why your babies are on formula. Their questions or comments may upset and/or discourage you because you are feeling down about your own milk production. However, everyone just wants what is best for the babies and for mom, and we can educate each other about the trials of NICU and multiples nursing. I’m still hoping to transition my boys completely off formula, and we’re on our way.

P.S. While writing this post during a 2 AM pumping session, I just collected 50 mL of milk! A new record and almost enough to feed one of my boys a complete meal!