My friend had triplets a few days ago...I just heard about it today. Two girls and a boy. One girl weighed 5 lbs and the other girl and boy weighed 4 lbs 10 oz. each. That is pretty amazing for triplets. I think she had them at 35 weeks. I saw her 2 months ago and she was already looking 12 months pregnant! Not a one of them have to go to the NICU, either! They actually get to go home with their mommy. She had to have a c-section, of course, but they waited until she went into labor to do it. I asked her if I could have one, but she won't let me.
wow, triplets...that'll be a lot of work i just got back from visiting my neighbor, she had a baby boy today. he is adorable...i love babies!
Oh wow! I hope she has help. I worked with triplet families when I worked as a doula and it was overwelming for the parents. The best help is a paid doula. Too much family makes for too much confusion. One person always wants to put them on a schedule, someone else feeds them one way, some people refuse to keep charts (you HAVE to keep diaper and feeding charts for multiples this young.) Have her look for a good post partum doula from a service agency. I hope she does OK. Are they getting any of her milk? I have worked with triplet moms with sections who were able to BF, they would feed two at a time, and let the third be held by someone else and suck on a finger, then that baby would be held, and other would change sides and the first would suck on a finger and so on. I hope she is willing to do this. Especially since triplets rarely get the one on one attention singletons get. Good luck to her.
I believe that her parents are coming down to help her out. She moved to Virginia Beach with her husband (Navy) from here (SC) so all of her friends that would help her out are like 7 hours away. But her parents live nearby. Unfortunately, Maggie, she is not going to nurse at all. She has her mind made up that it would be too difficult on her. I tried to tell her that she should at least try, especially in the beginning since they are so tiny, but she won't (very stubborn). I think it would help them out tremendously to at least get some so they will gain some weight, but I can't force the issue. I just hope that she doesn't stress out too much. BTW, did I mention that she has 3 older children, too?
Well, I wish her the best. Did she nurse the other three? Did it go well, or did she have an excuse to stop in the first few weeks? You can't make people do it. The Neonatalogist at the Teaching Hospital I work with very strongly encourages the premie moms at least pump in the early weeks. The death rate is just sooooo high for the babies who get no human milk, especially with really tiny premies. I think it is so sad when people won't even try. It actually is easier in the long run, because you can feed two at once, and don't have to bottle prop. There is nothing you can do. She will have more work on her hands when the ear infections, diarhea, chronic snot noses and coughs start this winter. MORE work than nursing trips. A house full of sick kids that could have been avoided or at least made less severe. What are you gonna do? Total bummer, IMO. I have seen womyn nurse under the most extreme situations, it is almost always a matter of just doing it! I am working with a mama who has a baby with a cleft palate and jaw deformity that will make actual nursing from the breast totally impossible. BUT, She has been pumping for months and intend to for at least a year. It would have been really easy for her to "get out of it" with the problems her baby has, yet she took the reins and did what was best for her baby. Pumping exclusivley for a year, IMO, is probably harder than nursing triplets, yet people DO IT! I have SEEN mamas (even those with other kids) nurse triplets. It is possible. SIGH. There is nothing you or I can do about it, Sug. It is just sad all these innocent babies will miss out on, just because she doesn't realize the HUGE difference human milk makes. She should have really fun winter.....Bummer.
She did nurse her other children, but she is very firm on not even trying. I tried to explain how much easier it would actually be, especially if she has to do it while her husband is working. She can feed two at a time, rather than just one at a time with the bottle. Thanks for your advice, Maggie. I really hope that she will hold it together. I'm kinda worried about her, actually.
Well, wish her good luck for me. Triplets sound like a lot of work, but a lot of kids can be rewarding. I hope to have a huge family. One of those families of, like, 8 kids that everyone thinks is Catholic but of course we wont be. (I'm Jewish) LOL. Hopefully not all at once, though.
Massaging! that will help them grow as well! If she wont nurse then have them be "held" or touched at all times...there is something about it that helps them grow.....
Absoluetly Munch! Supermultiples often do not grow well simply because they are not touched enough. This has been proven. They spend too much time in the damn car seats also (hell, you see this with single babies, too!) Massage is a great idea! I've worked with multiple moms who spent all day with babies in body slings. These kids grew like weeds. One of my triplet moms could actually sling all three of them at once, at least until they got big.
You all are absolutely right, I need to tell her that. My daughter came home from the hospital under 6 lbs. Since I had a c-section, the best thing was for her to just lay on me all day so I won't have to get up and get her to nurse her. She was born with skinny little chicken legs, and they plumped up to pork chops in a few weeks!!
Update: She decided to try nursing after all. She nursed the biggest from her breasts, and pumped for the other two...I guess they couldn't latch on good.. But, she is back in the hospital because she started to hemmorrage...send good energy her way...
Late heomorrage is common with multiple births. Especially if BF or pumping isn't started immediately. The uterus has MORE contracting to do, as it was much bigger than with a singleton birth. Breast stimulation helps the uterus contract. Let her know that she can continue to BF as well as pump while in the hospital, the meds given for heomorrage are not usually a problem (some womyn have a temporary decrease in supply, due to both blood loss and the ergot drug, but a good pumping regimen will help this problem a lot.) Blessings to her and her babies. I hope the babies are in the hospital with her. I have worked with rehospitalized mamas (one who actually also had triplets, and had a post partum uterine infection 7 days after the vaginal birth of her triplets.) and every one does better when the babies are there. She will have to have someone there all the time to care for the babies, but it can be and is done. I hope she heals quickly. The sooner she gets home, the better. Most heomorages can be successfully treated at home as soon as the crisis is over.
