First I am going to warn you this is kind of a random postpartum post. I am all over the place with different things that have been going on. But, hey I figure that is how my life is right now so I guess my post can mimic that!!
Wow, I can’t believe it has been 4 weeks since our little girls came into our lives.
McKayla and McKenzie are doing very well. They have become amazing at breastfeeding; I couldn’t have asked for anything better. McKenzie eats about every 3 hours during the day and every 3 -5 hours at night and McKayla eats about every 2-3 hours during the day and about every 3-4 hours at night. For their tiny sizes I think they are doing really well. I am pleased with how we are doing thus far.
It is not always easy having pacifier babies. Both girls kind of like them, but they don’t keep them in very well. I have no idea why. I know they are little and that happens, but for some reason I feel like everyone else’s baby takes pacifiers so easily. Neither of my older girls liked them at all. I don’t know if I need to try a different brand or simply give up. Right now we have the soothie pacifiers from the hospital. I just thought it would be nice to have something that would sooth them other then me; since there are two of them!
Tommee Tippee – Breastfeeding Bottles
Since they have become great at breastfeeding they haven’t taken their bottles as well. They only get one every once in a while or when we mix their vitamins with breastmilk (a trick we learned from the NICU nurses; I will talk about that in a minute). Anyway, the nipples they were using at the hospital were smaller and didn’t require the same sucking as breastfeeding (easier for their tiny mouths at the beginning). So, when we got home and they started breastfeeding more they didn’t like those bottles. However, we started using Tommee Tippee bottles and they have been fantastic. Both girls take them very well, without much spillage. We were noticing, before using these bottles, that they would let a lot of the milk drip out of their mouth. They were not getting the best latch on the smaller nipples. The Tommee Tippee bottles resemble breastfeeding better and have worked great for us.
How to Give Infants Vitamins:
With our first two daughters giving them their vitamins was impossible. It was a daily struggle and no fun. To be honest I think we ended up giving up and stopped giving them vitamins. However, the NICU nurses would give the twins their vitamins through a bottle. They would mix about a half ounce (15 ml) of breastmilk with one serving of vitamins. This has seriously been wonderful. No more struggling our girls take them. We always make sure to give them their bottle of vitamins right before a feeding to kind of wash down the funny tasting milk. 🙂
Life During the Day
Both girls are beginning to wake up a little more during the day and are able to stay content for longer and longer periods. McKayla is still acting a little bit more like a preemie/newborn and sleeping a lot, but McKenzie is definitely starting to stay awake longer.
4 Weeks Postpartum Weight: Same as last week 5 pounds more then pre-pregnancy.
These five pounds don’t bother me at all. I am wearing my clothes again and feeling great. Yes, I am a little softer then I was before getting pregnant, but I am totally okay with that right now. I mean hey I just had twins. I know once I start working out again I will get back to myself in no time. But, let me tell you right now I am not sure when I will be working out; simply because I have no idea how I am going to pull it off. I know once the twins are sleeping better I will figure it all out and let you know. I am thinking with four children the childcare center at the gym is probably going to be my number one way to exercise. The best thing is my big girls love going there. Sophia has been asking when we can go back to the gym for months now (I put my membership on hold in January because of restrictions given to me by my doctor.). Now Isabella is old enough to be in the same section as Sophia. The twins will also be together. I love knowing my girls will not be alone and I will get to workout.
Pictures from 33 Weeks to 4 Weeks Postpartum
4 Week Postpartum Measurements:
Hips: 36 inches (same as pre-pregnancy and last week) I am still wearing my Shrinkx Hips.
Bellybutton: 30 inches (2 inches above pre-pregnancy, but much softer) I am still wearing my belly wraps as much as possible.
Thighs: 20 inches (1 inch below pre-pregnancy)
I am feeling really good with how I look right now. Yes, my body is not the same as it was pre-pregnancy even though my measurements are just about the same, but I’m ok with that for now.
I want to say that it is not normal to lose weight this quickly and I don’t post my progress to make anyone feel sad I simply want women to know it is possible to get your body back. For some women it may take awhile for others it may fall right off, but you can get your body back!!
My body has done this with all three of my pregnancies. I do contribute the initial weight loss to breastfeeding. Some women say it didn’t work for them, but I truly believe that is what has helped me all three times. Since, I am feeding twins my body is burning a ton of calories to produce enough milk. Breastfeeding has so many benefits for you and your baby(ies). If you can do it I would definitely try for at least a few weeks or months.
I know to really get to where I was pre-pregnancy I need to weight train. That is what really helps shape my body. One thing I learned after my first two pregnancies is that while I am exclusively breastfeeding I don’t need to add in much cardio, but I do need to add resistance training. I need to get my muscle back and in no time my body will begin to transform.
Once, I am able to workout I will let you know what I am doing to build muscle. I will also fill you in on how I am going to fit exercise into my crazy life; once I figure it out myself.
I do want everyone to know we are all made differently and everyone is going to gain and loose weight in their own way throughout pregnancy and life, so please don’t be hard on yourself, simply do the best you can. One thing I have learned is that this is the only body we are going to get so take good care of it!!
In the Comments Below:
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If you have children did you have to find a certain bottle that worked for child or did they take to any bottle?
- Any advice on pacifiers? Should I simply forget about them or try a different brand?
I’m so glad to hear that things are going so well f
Oops! Hit “done” too soon!
Glad to hear that everything is going so well for you and your girls! My twins were 35 weekers and are now 4 months. Luckily, they always loved their pacifiers, except they would fall out of their little months every 10 seconds and they would start to cry!
About a month ago, I got them WubbaNubs and they loove them! Like your, my twins were using the soothers from the hospital and the WubbaNubs have those soothers attached to them! They really help with hand eye coordination and since they are soft, it gives them comfort and something to hold on to. Plus, they have a little more weight to them so they are supposed to stay in their mouths better 🙂
I bought them at a local high end baby store, but they sell them at a ton of places now, and online!
Good luck and enjoy your beautiful family 🙂
Thank you!! 4 months that seems so far away yet, so close. 🙂
Pacifiers are great except when you have to put them back in their mouth every second. I have heard about the WubbaNubs I am going to have to look into getting a couple for them. They sound wonderful.
Thank you. Good luck to you too!!
You look so freaking amazing. Honestly, if I can look like that SIX MONTHS post partum, I’ll be happy! haha! I think you’ll find your groove eventually and you’ll figure out the whole gym thing. I have a feeling that 4:30 AM workouts will be my thing come November when I go back to work. Or I know if I haaaaave to go after work (I’d rather not because I want to spend as much time with my girls as possible) that my mom would be willing to keep them for an extra 45 minutes – an hour. She’s freaking wonderful!
Awe… Thank you. You always take good care of yourself I am sure you will bounce back quickly. 🙂
Moms are the best. I seriously don’t know what I would do without mine. I know your mom will love taking good care of your little ones!!
I think this was a great post – thx for encouraging the rest of us. I was in the best shape of my life before getting pregnant with twins and I’m hoping I can bounce back too! I did with each of my other 2 pregnancies, but they were singletons, so we’ll see what these boys do to me. Each time it did take me 6 months, but that was without really trying to lose weight, just nursing and caring for my kiddos. As for pacifiers, my oldest loved hers and it was a life saver…I’m hoping my twins like them too. I think it was the big green soothie paci, but can’t remember the name for sure right now. Just try a few different ones and see what they take. Sometimes trying even a week later might help. Good luck!
Thank you. It is always so difficult for me to write about my progress, I feel guilty because I don’t really have an answer for why the weight just falls off. But I simply want to encourage other women and show them there is hope. 🙂
I am going to get to the store tonight and buy a few different kinds and hopefully one will click!!
all 3 of my boys have never taken a bottle. so hard sometimes when i wanted to have a little me time =)
we’ll see how the twins do…. i want to make sure that someone else can help out with the feeding this time around.
you’re looking great!
I can’t imagine not being able to let someone else give my babies a bottle. You are a wonderful mom; I can’t imagine not being able to have any time to yourself. 🙂
I hope the twins will be different. These bottles really seem to work well for our girls who love breastfeeding.
Thank you!!
You look great! About the pacifiers, I think you should try some other ones. My babies have liked and disliked different brands. Some of the ones that work for us are the soothie as well as nuk and mam (but only Evelyn likes the mams) Another good one I think you should try is the gerber naturalflex. I think it’s the most like actually breastfeeding. My trio loved them in the beginning. Now as they are getting bigger they take other ones easier. But I think when they are so small, the ones that aren’t perfectly round stay in their mouths the best! Also we have some WubbaNubs for them that they are loving! Now that they are starting to grasp things well, these are awesome!!
We are going to introduce bottles soon I think, just for a night time feed, so Ill definitely have to try the tommee tippee!
Thank you. I am definitely going to take your advice about trying different types. I am actually going to go to the store ASAP. I have read that the nuk and mam are great. I haven’t heard about the gerber naturalflex but I am going to get some of those too. I think the store is going to think I am crazy when I buy all of these random ones. 🙂 McKayla is still so tiny and her little mouth just can’t hold onto the big soothies.
I really like the tommee tippee, you will definitely have to give those a try. 🙂
First off, you look amazing and have given me hope that I will return to my pre-pregnancy size after my twin girls are born (ID twins due by early sept). You have also made me happy I purchased a belly band:) I will for sure be getting the shrinkx hips as well. Is the band and shrinkx hard to nurse in? I have a maternity belt and I can’t sit down because of the pressure it puts on my stomach. I don’t even wear it now because of that. Just wondering if the same thing happens with the belly band. Also, we had great luck with the MAM brand of pacifiers with our first son and bought some for the girls. I never moved up a size from newborn because we didn’t plan on using the paci for too long and I hate to see beautiful little baby faces covered by those huge pacifiers!! I have friends who have used the hospital ones and didn’t have much luck either. The MAM brand is curved so I think it’s easier for them to grip. Might be worth a try. I hope you get some sleep soon. The girls are beautiful and I’m so happy you have them both home with you. I hope ours bake for a good amt of time and come home with or soon after we leave the hospital.
Thank you. Congratulations on your twins. They are such a blessing. You will love what a belly band and hip shrinker will do for your post baby body. No they are not difficult to nurse in. The hip shrinker is a little awkward at first, but once you get it into the perfect position it is no problem sitting in it and you won’t even notice the belly band. It is nothing like the maternity belt; I hated my belt too.
I will give the mam brand pacifiers a try. Thank you!! Sleep sounds like a distant memory. 🙂
Yes! Definitely give the MAM brand a try. Our little guy couldn’t really keep any other brand in his mouth and we tried them all, believe me! A lot of other moms who had babies that wouldn’t take pacifiers until they tried the MAM ones encouraged me to try them and they were a hit. Nine months later and I’m worried about getting rid of them now. It’s so helpful once they learn how put them in their own mouths 🙂
I still haven’t made it to the store, but I plan on going today. I am for sure going to get a few MAM. It is crazy to think how we work so hard to get them to like the pacifier and then we worry about getting them to stop liking them. 🙂