Twin Mom Seeking Info on Breastfeeding 4 Month olds/Nursing at Night/Weights

J.:

sounds like you are doing just fine/

babies wake for many reasons.. this is NORMAL.

I am reading a study now... " the majority of infants wake multiple times in the first months of life and require parental response. By 8 months 60-70% of babies appear to be able to fall back asleep upon waking....." babies who do attain this ability to self sooth are not always able to achieve this at every waking"

Sleeping though the night is a neuromuscular development not a "full stomach".... cereal is a filler/ it has NO calories. At 4 even 6 months babies do not have the enzymes to digest cereal.

P., RLC, IBCLC, CST
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions
www.brestfeedingandparentingsolutions.com

good for you, I can barely keep up with the one. BF babies wake up more at night and you're right, cereal won't help. They just eat when they need to. Mine still wakes up at 18 mos, my daughter did until she transitioned exclusively to "grown-up" food. You are doing such a great thing for your babies. Also, mine were on the small side, but they both only weighed about 9 lbs at 4 months. So well over thirteen lbs sounds great. As long as they are growing and following a curve, I don't see why your ped would be concerned.

Sounds like your doctor needs a reality check.

I have 2.5 year old twin girls that I breastfed until 20 and 21 months.

I think my girls were around that same weight and would wake at least 2x a night. I agree that putting them on rice cereal doesn't work.... We tried putting it in a bottle...didn't do anything. Most doctor's don't know much about breastfeeding (seriously, they have no clue)....breastfed babies will want to eat more often.

Have you checked out twinstuff.com? they have a great message board for breastfeeding moms. Also, have you checked out your local twins club? They are also a great resource.

Just wanted to say, it sounds like you are doing a great job!

Your boys sound normal to me, but I'm not a doctor. At four months my son weighed in at 14 lbs 3 oz. Not much more than yours. As for the night waking, if you are breastfeeding they are going to wake up. All three of my little ones have been breastfed and didn't sleep 12 straight hours until 9 months. Actually, my second one didn't sleep through the night until over a year old. It is common practice to begin introducing cereal at four months, not just because babies are under weight. And no, it does not help them sleep through the night- at least not mine.

By the way, I think you are amazing that you are breastfeeding twins!

Congrats! I am a mom of twins. I nursed for 10 months. Way to go! First off, your twins sounds like they are doing wonderfully. Is your pediatrician measuring them on the "standard full-term singleton charts"? That's one thing always to remember... twins are a little different and then throw in prematurity and we can't always go by "standard charts", so I'd definitely ask about that. Is their curve progressingly to their rate? If so, that's most important. As far as waking... heck yea!!! Breastfed babies will be fuller for less time and at 4 months, I was waking up AT LEAST 3 times. Checkout twinstuff.com - it's an invaluable resource for moms of twins!

Sorry to contradict your doc but he or she is wrong. Plenty of babies at 4 months wake many times a night to nurse and it just depends on the baby. Yours are fine and I would not worry about it. If you are not sure go get another opinion (from one that is more holistic instead of robotic). Each baby nurses in amounts that is best for him or her and that may reflect on how often they nurse as well.

Hi - I don't know anything about twin weights, but my son was born a month premature and weighed 5lb 12 oz at birth, so he was a little guy. I exclusively breastfed and was told about putting the rice cereal in a bottle before bedtime when babies are about 4 months old.
Worked like a charm for my son, he slept for the 1st time right through the night - I was going back to work after 16 weeks maternity leave so it couldn't have been timed better (I did continue to breastfeed until he was 14 months old). Can't remember if I used pumped breastmilk, or whole milk - but I added, I think, a tablespoon of the rice cereal to start, and over a week or so thickened it up to the consistancy of a mostly melted milkshake. You have to use the "crosscut" nipples on bottles, I could only find 1 manufacturer that made them.
Good luck & let me know if you have any questions I can answer.
J.

A new doc is what you need. Especially having 2 babies, you need all the compassion and up to date knowledge you can get!!! My 4 month old girl wakes 1-2 times a night for feedings (I am exclusively breastfeeding). Also cereal is not a good idea now. At this point they wouldn't be getting any nutritional needs met from it.

Should you decide on a new peditrician, Dr. Faith Myers, D.O. is awesome. She is in Lemont and very much for breastfeeding and is up to date on pediatric needs.

Good Luck.

Congrats on nursing twins! That is quite and accomplishment!

Ugh...peds should not give nutrition advice!

Yes, baby cereal is empty calories really, it is only practice for helping them learn to eat solids. It could be anything that you give them...does not have to be cereal. Also, it is best if you are exclusively nursing to ONLY feed them BM for the first 6 months. Formula fed babies do actually need some cereal because there is a nutrient in it (Iron I think?) that they don't get so much from the formula, but breastmilk is perfect food, and should always be the first choice, even after they start solids.

He is also contradicting himself by saying they need more calories and then telling you not to feed them so much at night. 2-3 times a night is perfectly fine. Every baby is different.

Also, their weights are perfectly healthy...I would expect even big for twins....they fall right in the middle of the growth charts for breastfed babies http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/growthcharts....

Doctors just seem to LOVE to worry new moms over nothing.....

I agree with the other posters. Is your ped an older person? Definitely behind in current practice recommendations. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months. Congrats on the twins and on succesfully breastfeeding.

I don't have twins but have 2 girls. My youngest is 10 mos old and she weighs about 17#'s. It all depends on their height and the peds should have let you know where they were on the percentage chart. According to the "standard" growth chart they both fall in the 25-50% range which means they are heavier than 25-50% of other U.S. babies their age...seems pretty good to me. I tried the cereal thing...it really doesn't help them sleep through the night. Sleeping through the night really depends on your babies temperment and where they are with their developmental milestones. Also remember, sleeping through the night for a baby is anywhere from 5 to 8 hours if you're lucky. So if your babies are sleeping 5 hours at night, they are technically "sleeping through the night" even though mommy and daddy would like that sleep to be longer. My 10 mos old sometimes still gets up for a night breastfeed. Just do what you are comfortable with. As long as they are pooping at least once a week and have several wet diapers a day, your fine, their fine, and they are not starving. Their weight is reflected by their metabolism, their sleep, their development and being solely breastfed is the BEST food for them. Cereal is not necessary. Remember, their health does not depend solely on their weight. Trust yourself. Good luck!

I think your doctor is off base here. My son weighed about the same at that age - as long as babies continue to gain weight and track their growth curve on the chart, your doctor shouldn't worry. If your twins wake up 2-3 times per night it's because they still need to eat that often. I think that sounds pretty normal.

If they are decreasing the amount of time between feedings AND seem interested in food, then it's time to start them on some solids. But you're right - feeing them solids won't make them sleep any longer. The goal when you start solids is to add calories. So you should breastfeed them just as much as you did before, and add maybe 1 solid meal in between breastfed meals when you do this.

Honestly, the American Acad. of Pediatrics recommends EXCLUSIVE breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, so I'm surprised your ped is saying otherwise. The reason they say this is that if babies aren't really "needing" the solids, they will cut back on the amount of breastmilk they consume, which is not good.

I nursed my twins and they did eat more often than formula fed babies. It's because breast milk is more easily absorbed, therefore making your babies hungrier sooner. I personally did not give my boys any other food until they were close to six months. Cereal esp. with iron does have nutrional value. It might make your babies feel more full and content, at four months though seems a little young.

I think you should find yourself a new pediatrician personally. 4 months old is really young to be sleeping through the night. Some babies do but most don't. Any solids before 6 months can be really bad for their digestive systems. I think it's so easy for docs to tell us what are babies "should" be doing. They aren't the ones there at 3 am trying to get a baby back to sleep. Doctors are great for medical advice, but are not any better at parenting advice than anyone else, especially other moms. Your milk is so high calorie and nutrient filled, far superior to cereal which is just filler. especially at an age before they know how to digest it. The reason some young babies sleep longer at night who eat cereal is because they aren't able to digest it and it is just sitting there in their bellies. Keep in mind too that growth charts were developed by formula companies and that formula fed babies tend to be larger than breastfed ones.
Kudos to you for nursing twins, that must be so challenging. My daughter didn't sleep through the night without nursing til she was about 16 months old and she sleeps fine now. Keep up what you're doing, it's perfect for your boys.

Hi J., it sounds like you are doing excellent. I have twin boys but they are 7 now. I breastfed until one was 6mos. and the other until 7mos. As long as you are eating healthy and keeping liquids the babies are fine. I can remember like yesterday the feeding frenzies and you also have to remember they are new to the world. Do you pump? That is good also so mommy can get her rest and it gets them ready for the bottle. Think about if the boys were 4mos. and 22 pounds the doctor would still have something to say!! Also the night feedings sound familiar thats normal remember breast milk is very thin and maybe for your pm meal eat a little more so it can hold them. How long do they nurse at night? Is it 10,20 30 minutes?

R.

umm.. yeah i have an almost 4 month old (who is currently screaming..ahh the music)and we wake up sometimes 2 times a night to feed...BUT we cosleep at least half the time...I would hold off on the cereal i also have not heard that it makes a difference from other moms...my ped reminded me that all the studies and standards on on FORMULA fed babies and that my 15lb 4 month old who wakes occasionally is fine...go with your gut..i do..btw for twins i think the wieght is great.. my son is a chunky monkey!!

I don't have twins but I am nursing my 10 month old son who still wakes to eat once and sometimes twice a night. I don't know what people think it is some kind of race to have them sleeping through the night and eating cereal at such young ages. I think it is amazing that you are nursing your boys and they sound so healthy!! Good job.
When he wakes for the first time we cosleep the rest of the night and I feed him as much and as often as he likes. Now that he is getting older he doesn't wake as often.
Enjoy your baby boys-