Solanda's Journey: Breastfeeding her Twins
Who knew that breastfeeding twins was going to be one of the hardest things I have ever done? Yet, with the help of the Breastfeeding Center, the trajectory to this desire of mine as a mother of breastfeeding my twins would become more manageable. I breastfed my first and second babies until they were almost two years old - why would I not breastfeed our twins?
The Breastfeeding Center was fantastic to work with during such straining months of our family. The staff and my IBCLC, Maureen, were key in me exclusively breastfeeding the twins. Their genuine care and responsiveness all along were the foundation I needed.
Our twins were born a couple of weeks early. With that, little did we know it would take us ten weeks to begin exclusively breastfeeding.
After going back and forth with nine lactation consultants for breastfeeding, I would always go back to Maureen. Even though Maureen was miles and miles away, her knowledge, compassion, and resourcefulness surpassed all others. I never felt judged or discouraged, only supported and cheered on to continue breastfeeding our twins.
During the twins’ first two weeks of life, they went from latching sometimes to not latching at all. It was heartbreaking. We started working with Maureen and she helped us notice that not only one but maybe both twins had tongue ties. She was right! Once their tongues were released we went back to practicing eating at the breast.
Seeing they had a nipple aversion, we used nipple shields, did skin-to-skin, babywearing, and ended up using supplemental nursing systems until the twins were able to transfer full feedings. Nursing, pumping, and bottle feeding twins was a full-time and overtime job, adding to the juggling of care for our five and two-year-olds. My husband and I were drained. Maureen helped me sort through feelings of guilt and make self-care a priority. She continually reminded me of the importance of reaching good iron levels, due to the major blood loss I had during delivery. She helped us brainstorm ideas and ensure the wellbeing of my older two by organizing reliable child care and a support system for meals and housekeeping.
Two days before I stopped supplementing the twins, I said to my mom, “maybe the twins will just need to have some formula every day and that is okay. I finally feel okay with it.” During that conversation I surrendered to the fact that maybe I was not going to reach my goal, maybe I wasn’t going to make enough milk for them. And boom! The next day they hardly took any formula from the SNS. Two days later, I started my journey of exclusively breastfeeding them.
Meet The Parent(s)
Solanda is originally from Ecuador. She has a bachelors degree in Public Health from BYU and is an advocate for holistic health and health at every size. She is the Founder of GoBe Kids and created the Snack Spinner with her husband (and best friend), Joseph to add fun to parents’ and kids’ lives and empower littles to choose from a variety of foods parents provide.
Meet the IBCLC, Maureen Lopina
Maureen enjoys working with babies of all ages and has warm client relationships. She never forgets a face or name, even when her families come back with toddlers! Maureen has been serving families for over 30 years, including 13 years as a childbirth educator and 25 years as a La Leche League Leader. She became an IBCLC in 2002. She has trained staff from hospitals in DC and Virginia in becoming “Baby Friendly,” and advocated for breastfeeding at the local, state, and national level, but Maureen is most passionate about supporting new parents as they grow their families. A mother to 3 breastfed children, it is a joy and an honor for her to support families at this special time in their lives.