Breast Feeding Triplets- My Journey So Far (4mos)

If I have learned one thing so far in my 4 month journey of breastfeeding triplets it's that flexibility is KEY!

• Before they were born I was developing schemes for how to sneak donor milk into the NICU and I was trying to decide if I should risk pumping with three babies in utero.  I waited to pump until the night before my section and I went into labor about 30 minutes later.  Glad I waited, LOL!
• Despite countless requests that I have a breast pump immediately following my cesarean, one was not brought to me until almost 10 hours post birth.  That's pathetic!  And that's counter productive to a mom wanting to establish her supply.  Still in and out of a sleep coma (stadol knocked my socks off) I managed to hook myself up to the pump, turned as fast and as strong as I could take it and I began to pump.  Twenty five minutes and I produced maybe 2ml TOTAL and about half of that was blood.  Yet I took it with me to the NICU.  I still thought about how I would bring milk in from home but it was stressing me out.  I decided I would pump as often and as long as I could and in the meantime the girls would get formula with a few drops of my breastmilk.  This was not a time to have any kind of dilemma or guilt trip about what I was feeding them.  My babies were feeders and growers, they just needed to learn to eat and then we could go home.  If giving them formula did that the quickest, I was on board.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The girls were born on a Monday night.  By Thursday night my milk came in.  I brought in about 12oz of milk and the neonatologist made a comment that the milk truck had arrived.  By day 5 my girls were 100% on my milk, plus a little bit of fortification.  Success.
• The coming weeks I practiced putting them to the breast.  I used the nipple shield because that's how they latched best.  And then I worried that the nipple shield would somehow sabotage things.  An informative and kind LLL told me there is no "setting myself up for failure" when nursing preemie triplets.  I just do what I need to do.  I was told it could take weeks, even months and that was ok.
  
• Lactation came to my house to work on latch.  I developed a plan to try to nurse the same baby all the time until she became really good.  Then move onto the other two babies.  This lasted for about a week or two.  Betsy fought it.  Even after nursing for 30-40 minutes they were unsatisfied.  
• Then PPD hit.  I didn't want to pump.  I didn't want to nurse.  I didn't want to do formula.  Not ideal for needing to feed three babies.  My "compromise" was that I refused to nurse.  I couldn't bring myself to do it.  It was a chore just to pump, they were "horrible" at nursing, but it's what I did.  That decision worried my OB a bit.  I got on meds, talked through some things with my husband and my OB, as well as some supportive friends, and started thinking about nursing again.
• I started to see pumping as my refuge.  I could steal away, if I wasn't home alone, for 15-20 minutes and pump.  It was about this time that I started pumping for 25-30 minutes mainly so I could be alone that much longer.  Pumping started growing on me.  
  
• Once I started to embrace pumping I realized I needed to get a better system in place in my house.  If I wanted to pump more often and help my supply I would need a second pump.  Lucky for me insurance covers the purchase of two electric pumps and the rental of a hospital grade.  Score!  So I bought the Freemie pump just for the parts that I can wear under my clothes.  
  
• Just a few weeks ago someone suggested I look into whether the girls have tongue or lip tie.  They did, infact, have tie.  So two weeks ago we began Occupational Therapy for myofacial release.  It was during one of those appointments that I decided I would try nursing again. 
• Last week I met with lactation again.  We both agreed that Abby and Betsy have a negative assocation with my breasts, not even with nursing, my breasts, ESPECIALLY Betsy. (no ""shoulda, coulda, woulda" comments allowed) She recommended I set a goal to where the girls can lay at my exposed breast, with no intent to nurse, and not cry.  It's a little sad when I sit and let myself think about it.  But I'm just trying to chalk it up to, "that's life with triplets."  Once they can do that then maybe I will play around with dripping breastmilk on my breasts so the babies realize they can get milk there and then maybe move toward nursing.  I told her that I Think I am ok with 2 out of the 3 nursing and the other getting bottles.
  
   

• Yesterday I started putting Bonnie back to breast more often.  She is my "best" nursing baby, as in she only screams a little before she latches.  But she latches and she can get a full feed.  Today she was only eaten at the breast, except for the 9AM feeding because I got to sleep in.  This is HUGE!  I realized that if I want just one baby to nurse better and more often I need to see the baby as an individual and not part of triplet package deal.  If I had just one baby that was hungry and dinner needed to be made in the Ergo she would go to nurse and off to the kitchen I would go.  If I needed to go to the store and it might intersect with a feed then she would come with me.  So this afternoon I took Bonnie and the big girls to the store.  She got fussy, as I knew she would so I nursed her while we were shopping.  It's not anything new to me, so it's not that difficult.  The downside to this method is I skipped two pumping sessions because Bonnie was nursing.  On the flip side the milk I pumped earlier in the day lasted a little longer because one less mouth  was being fed.  And if I found myself in a situation where I needed milk, thank the Lord for donor milk.  
  
  
  
  

It's all about being flexible and taking care of myself.  Right now what I have the energy and peace to do is nurse my little Bonnie whenever she wants.  If it takes either of the other two girls 3 more months to be able to latch that's OK.  My goal from the beginning was breastmilk.  It didn't necessarily have to be mine and didn't have to come straight from the tap.