Breastfeeding Update

We have made it to my original 1 year goal.  This past year has been full of ups and downs with breastfeeding.  I really didn't like it at first and it was a huge struggle.  I now really enjoy nursing my boys.  When we decided to introduce solids at 6 months, I researched a lot about how to do that and how that would tie in with nursing.  We decided to go with baby-led-weaning.  A large component of that is to allow the baby to wean from nursing when they are ready.  So, that meant that I would be nursing past 1 year old, which made my new long-term goal to nurse until the boys weaned themselves.  Typically, a baby will wean themselves around 2 years of age.

However, Magnus has had other plans.  He has had 3 nursing strikes since the start of November.  The first one was 3-4 days in length, and I think was tied to a disruption of his schedule due to his Auntie visiting from out-of-town.  The second one was 1 1/2 days and was directly related to the mouth sores he had from hand-foot-and-mouth disease.  This last strike has been going on for 3 1 /2 weeks.  I have no idea how it started or why.  I've tried many things to get him back on the breast, but nothing has worked.  I've consulted with 2 lactation consultants and tried their suggestions, and nothing has helped.  He screams and arches his back when put to the breast.  The stress of trying to nurse him has started to impact our relationship, which is why I decided to rent a hospital grade pump and pump for Magnus to feed him bottles of expressed milk. 

So, I am now tied to the milk-bot (name my husband gave the pump) as much as I was when I started breastfeeding.  I pump after I nurse Ragnar and feed Magnus his bottle and then have added an extra pumping session at night after they go to bed.  It's had a huge impact on our routine since each pumping session adds about 30 minutes to our feeding routine.  I'm not sure how long I will pump and feed him via bottle.  We have our 1-year appointment next week and depending on how they've done with weight gain I may drop the pumping and move Magnus exclusively to cow's milk at meals.  I'm hopeful that he will eventually come back to the breast, but I'm not going to pressure him to do it.  I truly do not think that he is weaning himself, but that this is a strike as it was so sudden and so forceful and upsetting to him.  At the same time, I'm planning to allow Ragnar to nurse until he is ready to wean.  This will make our routine a bit tricky, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. 

I am having extreme guilt with the thought of not providing Magnus with breast milk while continuing to provide it for Ragnar through nursing.  I'm not sure which is worse- being unavailable to both of them for the 15-30 minutes it takes 3 times a day to pump and clean parts or to not provide pumped milk for Magnus.  Ugh.  Mommy guilt!

Happy Birthday!!!

My little babies are 1 year old today!  Magnus and Ragnar have brought so much joy to my life and were by far the best thing to happen to me in what ended up being a rocky year.  I love you baby boys! 

Best Gift EVER!

Ragnar & Magnus

Nursing Update

We are fast approaching the 12-month nursing mark.  We've had so many ups and downs with nursing, but overall, I've been pleased with it.  I've been able to give my boys a great start and many antibodies.  I am planning on nursing until they are ready to wean on their own.  I had hoped that would be around the 18 month or 24-month mark.  We are currently nursing at wake-up, after each nap and at bedtime.  Occasionally there is an overnight feed around 3 or 4 AM, but that is very rare these days.

I am afraid that Magnus may be starting to wean.  He is on another nursing strike.  This is his third one since the start of November.  The first strike I attributed to a disruption in his routine when my youngest sister visited for a week.  His strike lasted 3 1/2 days and then he slowly came back to the breast.  During that time and for a week after I ended up using a rented hospital grade pump to pump for him and keep my supply up.  The second strike was at the start of him getting hand-foot-and-mouth disease about 2 weeks ago.  He didn't nurse for 1 1/2 days.  He slowly came back to the breast and seemed to be doing fine with nursing.  The latest strike started Saturday night.  He has eaten at the breast both Sunday AM and Monday AM, but won't nurse any other times.  My freezer stash is almost depleted, and I can't seem to find time to pump during the days when they are awake to make up for using the freezer stash.  Only time will tell if Magnus is done, but it still makes me sad that we won't have that cuddle time built in each day.  Luckily, we are very close to the 1-year mark, and he can start having cow's milk. 

Ragnar loves all the extra breast-feeding time.  I've been having him nurse on both sides (normally they each just nurse on one side per feed then switch to the other side on the next feed) and he has enjoyed the extra milk.  He never refuses the breast and uses it as a comforter as well.  He nursed MORE during his bout of hand-foot-and-mouth disease even though he had MANY more sores in his mouth than Magnus did.

I'm happy that my boys are both growing well and are healthy.  But at the same time, I am sad that they are fast approaching toddlerhood and leaving babyhood behind them.  I've loved all the baby times and I'm sure I'll love the toddler times too, but it's hard to see them go.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a lovely first Thanksgiving with our boys.  They thoroughly enjoyed their meals.  Magnus' favorites were the roast squash, yams & apples, sausage dressing and monkey bread.  Ragnar's favorites were the smoked turkey, roast squash, sausage dressing and monkey bread.  They both loved their mini pumpkin pies too. 

Ragnar & Magnus - Thanksgiving 2011

10 Months Old

Ragnar & Magnus

Where has the time gone? Magnus and Ragnar are 10 months old. They are amazing. They are wonderful. They bring such joy to my life. They are curious and into everything they can get their little hands on. They are big eaters and are enjoying eating everything we eat. We did baby-led weaning with them, and I'm surprised by how much they eat and how well they are able to maneuver food into their mouth either with their hands or spoons. They love watching each other play and many days I hear them laughing and cooing at each other over the baby monitor during nap time. More than once, I have walked in to get them after a nap, and they are holding hands through their crib rails. Magnus has 8 teeth now and Ragnar has 2. Magnus definitely has curly hair, and Ragnar has straight hair that is wavy when wet. They both have amazing, piercing blue eyes. Their personalities are very well defined and very different. Magnus tends to observe and then dive into situations. Ragnar dives into most situations right away with both hands and both feet! I am so excited for the upcoming holiday season and to see the boys' reactions to all of our holiday traditions. I am so thankful for these boys and for the opportunity I have been given to be their Mama.

9 Months Old!

My babies are 9 months old!  They have been out in the world with us longer than they were in the womb at this point.  They are amazing, sweet, rambunctious, adorable, lovable boys.  Our days are filled with noise and fun and nights are full of cuddles and kisses before bedtime.  They are growing like weeds and are in size 6-month clothes (some 9-month sleepers) and are a few inches away from outgrowing their infant car seats.

Ragnar:
weight- 15 lbs. 14 oz
height- 28.2 inches

Magnus:
weight- 16 lbs. 12 oz
height- 27 3/4 inches