Solids, Work and Sleep Deprivation, Oh My!

Since I last posted about life at Chez Exile much has happened to take up my time and keep me from posting on this blog.  Max and Nathan had their four month birthday yesterday and I still can't believe that it's been four months since they were born.  The boys have had two ped appointments since my last update where the doctor continued to be very happy with their growth and development.  While they are still hovering somewhere around the 15th percentile for weight, Max and Nathan are both growing at a steady and healthy pace.  After a couple of discussions with the pediatrician (first with one of the partners and then with their actual doctor) it was determined Nathan does in fact have reflux and we finally started him on baby Zantac a few weeks ago.  Thankfully, he has responded to the medication remarkably well and he has finally become a much happier kid as a result of daily dosing with said Zantac.

I also officially resigned my position at my firm a week or so ago.  The crazy partner surprised me by not getting angry with me when I told her that I was not going to be coming back.  In fact, she seemed pretty supportive of my decision to stay home with the boys instead of trying to balance work and babies.  Thanks for the helpful comments some readers left suggesting that I simply tell her the truth about why I wasn't coming back, because I think that by doing so I left them on very friendly terms that won't come back to haunt me in the future when I try to get another associate position in this town.

It's still pretty exhausting trying to keep up with the boys, and we are all still working on getting into a groove of some kind.  Twice a week we trek out to my parents house and hang out with my mother, who has been a huge help since the babies were born.  My mom also makes the trip into the city twice a week to help me out as well, so I usually only have one weekday where the boys and I are alone.  M has been trying to strike a better balance with work so that he can spend time with the kids and help me out as well, but that hasn't been so easy. 

I'm still breastfeeding both boys exclusively (much to the horror of most of M's family and some of his friends too.)  Both boys still wake up twice a night on average for a feeding, sometimes together and sometimes at completely separate times.  While I'm still pretty sleep deprived as a result of my frequent wakings during the night, I still don't regret my decision to breastfeed the boys.  At least I don't have to deal with bottles and formula and all of that nonsense.  The pediatrician has given us the nod to start solids when they reach four and half months, although M has been pushing to start them sooner.  I think he has started to believe all of the nonsense family and friends have been spewing that they will sleep through the night better once they start solids, and that they will start growing faster too. 

The pediatrician had some very good reasons for telling us to wait until the four and a half month point, and I don't see any reason to rush into solids when we don't even know if the boys will play along anyway.  So far I've been winning the argument to wait on the solids, and since it's only a few more weeks anyway I think M has given up on arguing with me about it.  Any advice out their on the logistics of feeding babies their first solid foods?  I'm convinced that most of the cereal or whatever will end up on them instead of in them so I'm debating whether I should strip them down to diapers, or maybe wrap them in towels before we get started.  I'm also starting to worry about how we balance nursing with feeding solids too, because I've read that breastfeeding moms often get mastitis because of the decreased demand that results from introducing solids.  Anyone know if this is really something I need to worry about?

Comments

[MotherLawyer]

Good to hear from you.

The solids and sleeping thing is somewhat true, but then the teeth show up or they learn to crawl or they whatever and it all goes to hell again. I'm just saying . . .

I didn't give any solids till 5.5 mos. and then was soundly rejected. Two weeks later another try worked much better. I think solids are best approached with low expectations. If it works great, if not relax and try again. Thin cereal, that drips off the spoon, made with my milk, is where I started. Practice is the point at first, not nutrition. Unless they just go crazy for solids out the gate you'll have a period of transition for your milk supply to respond to their lessening demand and shouldn't have mastitis problems. Actually it's milk before solids till at least nine mos (some folks say 12), so solids will just be practice for quite a while. You can always pump a little if you start to feel engorged and help yourself that way, too.

As to the messiness factor, I personally think that you can control the mess to a degree if you choose. Small bites, slow feeds help with that. My DH makes the biggest mess trying to shove huge bites down the poor boy's throat. The babysitter and I can both feed with little mess b/c we give him small bites and wait for him to open his mouth for the next one. The mess factor is also highly influenced by the child's attitude about the spoon, if they want it for themselves you've a big mess potential. If they want to sit back and be fed like a sultan, walla, no mess LOL! Fortunately, for now, I've got the Sultan.

I'm so glad you like BF, it really does rock once you get past starting! I'm super impressed that you are doing it with twins.

Glad the job quitting went well.

You are a better woman than me, staying home, I just cannot do it!

[Erin]

So jealous that you're going for the full-time mom thing. Leaving a good law job isn't easy, but then, leaving your babes at home with someone else isn't either.

Looking foward to more updates on the babes!

[Linda]

We started solids at 6 months (almost on the dot~such first time parents!) and skipped over the gross cereal and instead mashed up a very ripe banana. I thinned it with some breastmilk and they SUCKED it down. (Cereal is important for the iron, so we did eventually mix fruit and cereal.) We used the book you can find here: http://www.myfreshbaby.com/ It was very helpful with the best order to introduce foods and, more importantly, good food combinations for later on.

I had no issues with mastitis or clogged ducts in relation to food. You introduce food so slowly that your milk supply has time to adjust. We did one or two "meals" a day for a long time and I think my kids were 10 months before they were eating 3 times/day. Remember that breastmilk is still the best food and the solids are just a supplement.

Also, GO YOU for exclusively breastfeeding this far. I will never regret nursing my twins until 13 months, even though it was difficult at times.

[Felicity]

Hello. :)

Im a lurker, I hope you dont mind me posting?

I too tried my Twins on solids for the first time at 6 months.. almost to the day as well! lol. :) I gave them avocado mashed with breast milk, as well as banana and breastmilk, like Linda. They also slurped it from the spoon, and I have a photo of two VERY messy little faces!

I breastfed my twins until they weaned themselves at 2 years, and never had mastitis. You will possibly find, as I did, that they will still prefer breastmilk to solids, and the reason they start on solids is because the breastmilk just doesnt fully satisfy them.. but they still drink as much as ever. My twins very, very gradually swapped breastmilk for solids, and by the time they weaned they were only having one drink a day, all dictated by them. (I demand fed.)

Good luck, and enjoy your beautiful twins! Its a wonderful journey. :)