To breastfeed twins or a new baby with twin toddlers to care for aswell you can only do so with reliable support.
My support comes from my husband, David.
My Support x
David is without doubt the most wonderful person I have ever met.
He runs his own business and works every hour that he can.
He takes being the breadwinner of our family very seriously.
He takes his role of husband and father very very seriously.
He takes pride in providing for us and being the head of our family.
It is a job he loves but one that is not easy, not by any means.
David and I met in 2007. We had a rocky start to our relationship but we knew from the start that it was the real thing and that we would be together forever. Within months we were planning our lives together and talking about children.
Because we were told we would need IVF we decided that children would come before marriage.
Throughout five cycles of IVF David was a wonderful support to me and he put up with my hormonal tears, rages and every possible emotion inbetween. When I threw things he just cleared them up quietly and we got on with our day.
He does not put up with me being awful for no reason but when he knows that my rage or tears is a front for something else he tries to take it in his stride and is always warm and loving.
He is an incredibly sensible, sensitive, intelligent and calm person and he always knows what to do. He knows what to say, if anything, and he knows when to go away. All of these qualities made him the best possible birth partner when I had both the twins and Matilda Mae.
I love David because he is everything I am not. He is everything I need in a partner and he makes me a better person. I am in awe of him as a Daddy and know that without him our little family would fall apart. I love him more than anything in all the world and that love is being strengthened everyday as we share our children.
We have been through some really tough times these past few years but he never lets things get him down. He sees the positive in everyone and everything and relishes the challenge of any situation.
I love breastfeeding and I am very fortunate in that I find it quite easy in that I seem to produce a lot of milk. But emotionally I find it really hard. I struggle with the sleep deprivation of feeding a small baby and I can become very down or worse for David just really horrible to be around.
I have been horrible to David on many occasions through our conception and parenting journeys and I am so so so thankful that he has not given up on me and he is still here. I really do love him so very very much.
David is my best friend. He provides me with the practical and emotional support I need to be able to breastfeed our three children and for so long.
You cannot breastfeed twins alone. It just cannot be done, especially in the early days. You need help with positioning the baby, you often need someone to bring you something as you cannot get up once the position is assumed. David used to help with positioning for tandem feeding. He was so patient as I got upset when things would not go right or things were not going as I thought that they should be. David would wake up with me for all of Esther and William’s feeds. Sometimes just to keep me company, sometimes to entertain one baby whilst I fed the other, sometimes to change their nappies. Before he went to work in the mornings he would set us up in the nursery with everything I might need in arms reach and I would stay there all day and feed the twins until he returned. Those were of course the early days but the early days with premature babies last a long long time.
When I decided that I had enough David took the lead in weaning the twins. He made me sleep downstairs and he had the sleepless nights of offering them water through the night until they realised that there was going to be no more milk. He is a dedicated and determined man and everything he tries seems to work.
David supports me in that he makes sure I am eating and drinking enough when pregnant and when nursing our children.
David is my support in that he does everything that he can to ensure that I have the time I need to feed the baby.
This times it means that he is doing much more with Esther and William at the moment than I am.
Fun with Daddy
He has also taken on the lion’s share of the housework.
And he never ever comments or complains.
He is a wonderful father and a fabulously kind and generous, loving husband and most days I feel that I do not deserve him. But he is mine and I am grateful for that every day though I know I should tell him more.
If you are going to successfully breastfeed for a long time you need to have people on your side. People who want you to suceed and will help you to get through the toughest, darkest days and for me there have been quite a few.
You can get breastfeeding support from many places that I am sure you will read about through the Scavenger Hunt this week but for me there is only David.
He just knows me enough to know how to be supportive to my needs and the needs of our children.
It can be the littlest things – a cup of tea, a squeeze, a smile.
He just knows.
He is also not afraid to tell me what to do. And sometimes I need that too.
Breastfeeding has many positive aspects to it but it can be lonely too. When I am thinking properly I know that David is there for me no matter what. I should not ever feel alone but many days I do. Today has been one of those days but it was all my own silly fault.
Support is vital for breastfeeding.
Support and success go hand in hand just like David and I!
For more breastfeeding stories and support check out these bloggers!
Really Rachel
Tales from a Cornish Blonde
Pobbing Along
My Gorgeous Boys
Life, Love and Living With Boys
Petrah
believe it or not but my health visitor Ruth has been fantastic. She deserves a medal!
Sounds like your husband deserves a medal too!
Thanks for the great post i didnt get much local support with my little girl other than a leaflet during pregnancy and i have had the exact same leaflet this time around too so expecting things to be the same once bump decides to arrive. However i am very lucky just like you to have an amazing husband who offers me help and support in anyway he can and is constantly praising me for how well i am doing and knows just what to say to make me feel great. I have loved reading all of the different blogs in this pregnancy and i have picked up some great advice and tips from everyone that i wil be using this time around just cant wait till she arrives now 🙂
My daugher (3) is a great supporter she tells everyone that her brother only drinks mummy milk, she attends the breast buddies group I run and knows everyone by name, fetches drinks for them. When at home she fetches stuff for me if I’m feeding.
In the early days it was my partner, I had a difficult time first time around and a few times said “lets just try a bottle of formula” out of pure desperation and lack of knowledge. he would say “lets just take it a feed at a time, you can do this, you know its what you want to do” and that was enough to get me through the rough stages till I got some proper support and advice.
Now my circle of mummy friends are my biggest support, its great to have people you can talk to open and honestly… peer support is a wonderful thing! My top tip all last week was to find your local support/peer supporters/breastfeeding group before baby is born so you can get to know them, this makes it much easier to contact them after baby is born; faces to names and voices. Its good to know you have support from people who you know and are familiar with and that you trust.
My biggest supporter is my mum and on many occasions I have asked her some pretty odd questions to which she always comes up with an answer. Sometimes I think as you said its not even about advice it’s about someone standing behind you cheering you on, encouraging you and doing other jobs to enable you to feed. I can’t even imagine feeding twins and the tole that takes on you, one baby is tough enough at times, so good for you that you have done it!
My mum and dad are my biggest supporters as my mum breast fed me and my 5 siblings, although I was 18 when I had my first I believe I breast fed as to me it was the normal thing to do as my 3 younger brother were born when I was in my teens so breast feeding was like a natural part of life for me whereas the bottle seemed strange.
My biggest supporters have been my husband and my mum. Mum was an LLL counsellor – very handy. DH has listened to everything I’ve told him about bfing, and will always defend me. He used to stay awake with me in the early days (nights!) when it was tough, and he left me snacks and water when he went back to work.
My mother-in-law didn’t bf, but she has been really supportive and interested in learning more about it. That is encouraging.
My husband, he became very pro breastfeeding after learning the benefits at a NHS antenatal class and is very supportive of whats best for me and baby
Love this post, sounds like he really is your rock, I must get around to writing my experience of breastfeeding, I’ve been meaning to for months-this has given me the kick up the bum to do so!