By Juan Bainton
As an expectant mom of twins, I had decided to give breast-feeding a good try.
I was positive that I could manage feeding two babies and did not pause to consider bottle feeding. I think that half my battle was won - being positive from day one.
Having the girls born at 32 weeks got the breast-feeding off to a rocky start.
Megan weighed 2,09kg at birth and spent her hospital time in the nursery. Darian, however, weighed in at 1,73kg and for 16 days stayed in the neo-natal ICU. Feeding preemies was no doubt an enormous challenge.
Although they were born by c-section, I was up and about between the nursery, ICU and bed very quickly. One doesn't have an option with twins!
Megan could be brought to me to feed and only received formula during the first three midnight feedings. Megan caught on to the breast-feeding issue really quickly.
I received wonderful support from the staff at the hospital, family and in particular the breast-feeding sister at the hospital.
She took the time and interest in guiding me through the first week of feeding my twins.
Feeding Darian was an issue on its own. Being so tiny, she was under an oxygen box for three days, in an incubator for 10 days, and finally a crib for three days before coming home.
Lose weight
She had to be tube-fed as she was not strong enough to suckle and breathe. Her tube remained there for 13 days.
For the first three days, I only fed Megan. When Darian was three days old, I was taught to help her latch on and was only allowed to let her drink for a couple of seconds so that she wouldn't strain and lose weight.
For seven days, I was only allowed to attempt feeding this little mite once a day and only for a few seconds.
And even then I could not feed every day because she had jaundice. This became very frustrating. I was feeding Megan every four hours and expressing for Darian in between feedings.
After a week, Megan and I went home. Megan was still on a four-hour feeding schedule and doing really well.
We would travel to the hospital twice a day to breast-feed her sister. For the feedings I couldn't make, she was fed my expressed milk only - no formula - at first through a tube and eventually by bottle.
A walking dairy
My usual routine would be to feed Meg at 9am, express and rush to the hospital (stocked with expressed milk in bottles) to teach Darian to breast-feed at 11am and then spend some real quality time with her.
Then I would rush home and start again at 1pm. By feeding two babies and expressing in between feedings, I used to joke that I felt like a walking dairy!
I can remember two days in particular. Dari drank really well the previous day and I felt like a million dollars, only for her to reject me totally the following day.
This could easily have been the breaking point in my breast-feeding attitude but fortunately, because of a very supportive husband, I picked up my pieces and started again.
It was certainly not easy trying to feed a little preemie who was attached to tubes and monitors but perseverance, support and a positive attitude got me through our first tough two weeks.
Quite a sight!
From there on, it was pretty much downhill. Once the girls were both home and on the same feeding schedule, I would feed them together using the football hold.
Actually, I became quite a spectacle - family and friends could not believe it was possible and would come to "view the sight"!
Actually, this made me feel quite proud. I was doing the best I could for both my girls.
For 13 months, I breast-fed my twins, not supplementing with formula at all. Megan really took to the breast to the point where she wouldn't accept expressed milk in the bottle - at all! She really knew what was good for her!
Sure, it was not easy when, while shopping, I would have to sit in the moms' baby feeding room for a good 40 minutes or so feeding while dad stood outside burping the other baby.
Best you can
But when you consider the girls weren't at the doctor once due to any major illness and are happy, contented babies, I can honestly say that by breast-feeding my twins, I feel that I gave them the best start that I could.
By being positive and determined and with mounds of support, yes, it is possible and worth it.
- Juan Bainton is a 25-year-old stay-at-home mom to twins Darian and Megan. She used to work as a secretary/Girl Friday at a small advertising firm and then at her mom's business which sold horse equipment.
She used to train drum majorettes until the birth of her twins, when she decided to stay at home with them and give them her full attention.
She is now very involved in the South African Multiple Birth Society: chairperson of her area with a membership of 80 families of which seven families are triplets! She is also editor of the SAMBA National magazine this year.
Contact SAMBA on 0861 432 432 or email [email protected].