Kapi-Mana Multiple Birth Club

Breastfeeding Support

Hi I’m Lorraine Taylor. I am a community breastfeeding counsellor with La Leche (Lay-chay) League. I have twins myself and enjoyed a successful breastfeeding relationship with them. I have been involved in the Kapi-Mana and Wellington Multiple Birth clubs in various roles including new members, president and funding but particularly in breastfeeding education and support. I have run many breastfeeding information sessions as part of the Wellington Multiple Birth Club antenatal classes.

I am available if you would like to chat about breastfeeding. It doesn’t cost anything. Feel free to ring me, or email. I can point you in the right direction for excellent resources and experienced breastfeeding mothers who can offer support and a friendly ear.

Read these articles about Breastfeeding: How to Breastfeed Multiples, Breastfeeding after a Caesarian, Breastfeeding Books.

Contact me: Lorraine Taylor, (04) 233 6513 or email lorraine.aaron@xtra.co.nz

Steele - Wilson Family Profile

Our family consists of Jacqui, Geoff, Madison 5 3/4, Aydn 3 and Isabelle 3. We first found out we were having twins at a week 12 scan. My mum cried and I thought - I have to be organised. Geoff went to the pub for a few. I had terrible morning sickness and ended up leaving work at 16 weeks pregnant. It gave me lots of time to prepare. Once the morning sickness subsided, well partly. The rest of the pregnancy went well. I was put on bed rest for a week due to my blood presure going up. I was booked in for a C-section on the Monday but our wee man had different ideas. I remember waking to my waters breaking early the Thursday before. Off we went into hospital. They gave me a scan to make sure it was a bum not a head and then an emergancy came in so they stopped my labour and we waited. The C-section went without any problems. Aydn born 7.43 am 7lb 7oz and Isabelle born 7.44 am 4lb 15oz. Was a shock to know she was a lot smaller. She needed to go down to the unit. Only 4 days though until she could regulate her own temperature. After a week we were home.

My mum stayed for 6 weeks. I was so glad to have extra hands as Geoff only got 4 days off (made up at Christmas with a extra weeks leave). As I had a toddler, we were able to recieve the 240 hrs free home help from WINZ. That was great, as I had a cleaner. One less worry and I was able to focus on the babies.

Madison coped well and we only had one incident of ripping wallpaper. She started kindy when they were 4 months and that gave her time away. We tried hard to find moments when it was just her and us. At times I did feel she was missing some quality time with us, but we overcame this by just slotting in time. Life was very busy with a couple of stays in hospital due to winter bugs. I was a routine freak, though I think routine is so important as you get breaks needed and can rest (especially when they are small).

Jumping ahead to now, it is hard to believe the time just went by. We have been through the toilet training and all the bumps and bruises (though I'm sure we will get more). They are both loving kindy and also both do swimming lessons, and Isabelle has started pre-ballet. They have such different personalities but are so close. We have our fights, but they never remain in mind. It's always the moments of sticking up for each other, holding hands running off down the road and the laughter I hear that sticks.

I find it is one of the best things being part of the Kapi-Mana club as the support from others that have been through similar things is fantastic. From when they were babies with sleepless nights right through to toliet training. Aydn and Isabelle have made friends with so many others twins and singletons. I enjoy seeing how they play with their friends and the different interactions we have every day that shape the way to who they are becoming.

Bevan and Jodie with Meg and Toby

There they were – two little bubbles on the screen at our 7 week scan. My first thought was oh no – I had wanted a simple low risk single pregnancy, not a high risk multiple pregnancy. However over the following few months my thoughts turned to excitement and I felt extremely lucky to be having twins.

Everyone was very excited that we were finally going to be parents and the fact that we were having twins made it even more special and exciting. From very early on in the pregnancy, I looked obviously pregnant and seemed to get rounder and rounder by the day. We had friends who were expecting single babies at around the same time as our twins were due. They barley looked pregnant until the very end when the acquired nice little bumps. By the end of my pregnancy I was almost rounder than I was tall, and if I went out complete strangers would stare at me. I found the whole pregnancy very difficult and stressful. I was extremely anxious about our babies and was so nervous before each scan that I was almost sick. It never occurred to me that I would take two healthy babies home from hospital. Buying the double buggy was a huge deal for me. I couldn’t cope with the thought of having to take the buggy back to swap it for a single buggy if anything happened to one of our babies, so I kept on putting it off. In the end my sister in law bought the buggy for us when the babies were 2 weeks old.

Bevan and I really tried to enjoy our last few months together as a couple before becoming a family. In the last few months we made an effort to do lots of things that we soon would not be able to do. At one of our pre baby meals the waitress informed me that I was going to have that baby very soon. "Actually" I smugly replied "I have over a month to go, and I am not having a baby I am having babies". Two hours later I was in hospital, recovering from an emergency caesarean section. Toby was small, but apart from low blood sugars he was well and was allowed to stay with me. Meg was obviously as shocked as I was by the events of the last hour and didn't realise that breathing was a requirement of her new life. She had to be admitted to the neonatal unit for respiratory support. Our hospital experience was very good despite both myself and Meg being unwell. Bevan stayed in hospital with us the whole time which I found very beneficial and would recommend to anyone having twins. We were discharged home after a week in hospital.

The next couple of months saw us on a very strict routine. Each time the babies woke we had an hour to change, feed, burp and then return the babies to bed. (I wasn't going to have over tired, grumpy babies). They would remain in bed until the next feed, 3-4 hours later. Visitors were told when they could and couldn’t visit and nobody was allowed to stimulate my babies at the wrong time. At each feed one baby was breast fed and the other was propped up in a tri pillow beside me and given expressed milk in a bottle. This meant I had to express every 2 hours during the day and every four hours at night – but it worked for me and it meant that the babies got enough sleep between feeds. They weren't wasting energy crying while the other fed. Meg and Toby thrived on this routine; they grew quickly and seemed mostly happy. My years of experience, as a neonatal nurse had payed off. Life was good, life was easy – we felt like the luckiest people alive and could not have been happier. We loved seeing our babies do everything together – all the activities of daily life were done with their sibling right there. They slept at the same time, fed at the same time and bathed at the same time. Occasionally they would sleep outside in their buggy snuggled up together. Our friends had their single babies and I truly felt sorry for them, having twins was so special. Our only concern during those first few months was Meg who at every feed would cough and splutter and need to have a moment to catch her breath. This was later diagnosed as reflux.

At the age of 10 weeks our babies slept through the night for the first time. Life changed dramatically for the worse on that same day and we have struggled ever since. I no longer had new born babies; I had older babies who didn't like my routine. Meg's reflux started to become more of a problem. The choking continued and one episode was so severe it required an admission to hospital. I remember feeling very guilty during this time – Meg took up so much of our energy and attention that poor Toby was just left on his own – either in his cot or buggy. I felt he would end up as a wild child – left in the bush from birth, having to fend for himself and suffering from the effects of neglect. So far he hasn't shown any signs of being wild and looking back now it was a time when Meg simply needed us more. Starting solids at 7 months made her reflux even worse and at that point she was started on medication. After a week on medication we had a different baby – she could smile.

Even though the babies slept through the night I quickly realised that for me to make enough milk for two babies I had to continue to express over night. When the babies were about 9 months the Plunket nurse reminded me that formula was not poison and instead of getting up each night to express I could give the babies a bottle of formula each day. I stopped setting the alarm clock at night and had about a months worth of full nights sleep. At the age of 10 months the babies started teething and the night waking started again. We are still not guaranteed a full night sleep today.

During the pregnancy we joined an antenatal class for twins. I am not sure how much we learnt from that class but we met our neighbours and another couple who were expecting twins around the same time as us. We still see each other most weeks and it seems that someone else has always had a night as bad as us; someone else is also struggling to look after two babies as once and someone else has had to cope with two sick babies at once. They get the twin thing and that support has been so valuable. I am not sure our friends with their single babies really understand twins.

The same night our neighbours' twins were born the fence between our properties blew down, the next day we kind of propped it up to the side of the fence and to this day that is were the fence remains. I guess this is an indication of how busy twins are and how low down on the list of priorities fence fixing is for both families.

As the babies grew the bond between then seemed more apparent, I loved seeing them crawl after each other, play peek-a-boo with each other behind the curtains and the constant giggling between the two of them. The babies are more interested in each other than any other person. They really seem to care about each other and if one wakes from a sleep earlier than the other they really seem lost without their twin. When reunited the squeal of delight is so cool. They hardly ever get something just for themselves – they often come out with two books, two teddies or two biscuits and will give the other baby one.

Life has had to continue with twins and our other commitments haven't stopped. My husband competes at an international level of waterskiing and we own our own business – both these other things require considerable amounts of time and effort. We have been so busy over the past 18 months that sometimes it feels like it hasn’t happened. It feels like I have just found out I am having twins, but somehow the pregnancy is over and my precious newborn babies have turned into the most delightful little boy and girl who have their very own unique personalties, likes and dislikes. When I was pregnant I really wanted same sex twins – but now I love having a boy and a girl and although I think the difference between boys and girls is difficult for us I am sure that growing up alongside someone who is so different to them will benefit them in the future.