From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I wanted to successfully nurse my baby, and when I found out I was having twins, my desire was even stronger. I had a very difficult start, which included nipple confusion with one baby, very sore nipples, and two battles with mastitis. I bottle-fed and breast-fed alternating babies for about a month and a half. My mother had told me that she was never very successful with nursing, and that I shouldn't expect too much, but I did. At somewhere around 2 months I was fed-up with sterilizing bottles and I nursed exclusively from then on. I am very glad I was stubborn enough to stick with it. One of the best pieces of advise I had was to give it at least 6 weeks before making a decision one way or the other. During the 6th week, everything improved greatly. I started out simultaneously feeding them and alternating which baby got which breast, which greatly helped with my supply, since one baby was a stronger nurser. After about 4 months, one baby decided on one breast, and preferred to eat alone. It was time-consuming to nurse them separately, but they were my first babies, and I wasn't working. I nursed them for 13 months, and could have done it for longer! I think with my next, I'll let the baby decide when the time is right to wean. I feel that I would have been sad to see it end no matter when I would have done it. I am so glad that I was blessed with the opportunity to develop such a close bond with my babies. I would also be willing to help out anyone else with their struggles. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't--I'm proof that you can, even times two!
Janette McEntire's Story
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| © 1998 Paula Bobbett Last Update: November 28, 1998 | |