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Other articles in Home & Family > Motherhood
Moms Know Best - Part 2: It's Yesterday Once More 25 March 2009
Moms Know Best - Part 1 25 March 2009
Mothering Several Babies At Once 30 January 2009
| Babies: Is That Normal? |
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| Home & Family > Motherhood |
| Written by leiapiztha |
| Sunday, 25 January 2009 23:10 |
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After having recently given birth via C-section to twins, I have one thing to say…this is really hard. I love my babies, of course, but I wanted to say that it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. They’re 7 weeks old now and still not sleeping through the night, which is apparently normal. Normal is something that just plain doesn’t exist anymore. The books help to a certain extent, as do all of the chat sites where you can ask opinions and advice. I’ve found that every piece of advice has the caveat, “Ask your pediatrician” which makes me believe that there is no such thing as normal when it comes to infants, let alone twins. My daughter Tenley and son Ethan were born at 38 1/2 weeks by a scheduled c-section because they were both in the breech position and not willing to leave my uterus on their own. This means that my daughter will have to have her hips ultra sounded to make sure that they didn’t develop poorly due to the pressure from sitting breech (apparently this doesn’t affect little boy hips). They weighed in at 5 lbs. 10oz for Tenley, and 5 lbs. 15 oz for Ethan, which I hear is impressive for twins (see also: not normal). My pregnancy was really easy, which I hear isn’t normal at all. My doctor never believed me when I said that I was feeling fine and still working full time. I worked until the Wednesday before the Friday they were scheduled to arrive. I never had to visit the triage center prior to their birth for some issue such as falling down, having contractions, or bleeding. This was also decidedly not normal for a twin pregnancy. All of the doctors and nurses made me feel like I was Super Woman for getting through it with no complaints or issues. I’m sure my husband appreciated the lack of complaints too. I never even made him go out in the middle of the night to satiate some crazy asparagus and cheesecake craving. I had this idea while I was pregnant that I’d be able to breast feed both babies at the same time…it didn’t look that difficult in the illustrations in the books and online. It’s hard. I couldn’t get one to latch on properly let alone both of them. I can hardly hold them both at the same time even though they’re still so small. Instead, I have taken to using my fantastic Medela Pump In Style™ double breast pump every 3 hours or so and feeding the babies by bottle. This allows their dad to help out as well with the nighttime feedings. The doctors suggested that we wake one baby when the other wakes up just to keep them on the same feeding schedule. This goes against the normal advice given which is, never wake a sleeping infant. This does not work during the day when their dad goes to work because they cannot both be fed at the same time by one person. Sure, you could prop them up on a pillow and feed them together, but I ask you this, what about when Tenley starts to cough and Ethan needs to be burped? Try taking care of that by yourself without bursting into tears of your own. I have not had to supplement with formula yet, which again seems not normal given the reactions I’ve gotten from my doctor and the pediatrician…again, I’m Super Woman. Well, if I’m Super Woman then why do I feel like I have no idea how to take care of my own children? I’m starting to think that normal is whatever is going on with your baby right now…barring any medical issues, they’re creating their own “normal” and you’re just along for the ride. I think that every new parent has some moments where they wonder if having kids was a bad idea. That’s normal too. All of the non-normals that stacked up during my pregnancy and the first 7 weeks of Tenley and Ethan’s life have added up to being my new normal. Difficult, but normal. If you’re a first time parent just take a deep breath and relax. I hear that it’s all going to be worth it! Also, if you’re a new parent of a single child, I envy you…try twins. If you have more than two, I’m so proud of you, anything you’re doing that’s keeping you alive at this point is amazing in my opinion…and it’s normal. |
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