Megan Parker Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I counted my calories today just to see and I'm done eating for the day (well, I'm going to eat something now!!!) and I am at 1093 calories for the day, nursing twins, and burned about 200 running. Yikes! I feel like I've eaten a lot too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 calorie counting is not part of the whole30 plan. Are you hungry? eat more. Not hungry? don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Parker Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 I know that, but as a mom nursing twins I need a certain amount of calories to produce enough milk I was thinking my supply seemed a little low so I decided to add them up for the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyS Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I remember nursing twins!!! (Mine are 9 now. How did that happen???) You probably need to eat twice as much as you're eating. And then add another meal. At that point you could drop the calorie counting and just eat. I ate way more nursing than pregnant. Shocking, really. Hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Parker Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 I haven't really been hungry, but I have struggled since they were born to produce enough milk. I want to trust my body, but it seems like I'm so far off I need to do something to get my calories bumped up some.....I am doing this for me and to be healthy for my kiddos and I do believe it will make extra nutritious milk, but I also don't want to sacrifice my milk supply so I do believe I need to be somewhat conscious of my intake. How long did you nurse your twins AmyS?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glimmer Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I haven't nursed twins, but have just weaned my son and some simple things i did to bump my calories up while feeding were adding avocado to pretty much everything and snacking on nuts/dried fruit. I don't think dried fruit is whole 30 though? Perhaps you could add extra fats to what you are eating to get your cals up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin D Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 glimmer, I think you can eat some dried fruit (I did, at least) you just have to make sure it's JUST dried fruit and not dried fruit plus sugar. I know you're not supposed to count calories, but if your milk supply is low and you're concerned about it that would definitely be a place to start. When I was CFing and nursing my then 4 month old (who was EBF until she was 5.5 months old and starting eating solids) I was eating easily 2500 calories and constantly hungry. I really had a hard time gauging how much I needed to eat; I felt like I was pigging out constantly, but, dude, I was starving! I second the comment regarding eating more when I was nursing than pregnant. I ate waaay more. I know I've said this no less than 200 times on this forum, but you should make sure you're drinking plenty of water. I drank 60-70 oz. Do you know roughly how much you're drinking? Just out of curiosity, how do you know you're not making enough milk? And how many times a day are your twins nursing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyS Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I haven't really been hungry, but I have struggled since they were born to produce enough milk. I want to trust my body, but it seems like I'm so far off I need to do something to get my calories bumped up some.....I am doing this for me and to be healthy for my kiddos and I do believe it will make extra nutritious milk, but I also don't want to sacrifice my milk supply so I do believe I need to be somewhat conscious of my intake. How long did you nurse your twins AmyS?? If you are concerned about your milk supply, look at your babies' growth and their diapers. If they are gaining an ounce a day (I'm assuming we're talking young babies here, right?) or even a half ounce a day; and if they have enough wet and poopy diapers (I've forgotten how much, you can look it up on the La Leche League website), then you're doing fine. Most of us naturally produce enough milk for about four babies - it's just nature's way of ensuring survival. (To answer your question about nursing my own twins, I nursed my girls for 3 1/2 years. At which point I was about ready to throw them out the window, ha! I got off to a really bad start (won't go into my birth story but I'm glad we're all here and healthy!) and one child didn't even nurse for the entire first month - and so during the crucial supply-creating month I didn't get to do that supply-creating - and I still had enough milk for about 1 1/2 babies. So I supplemented some, and nursed constantly too.) You can't look at nursing in the way that the formula industry wants us to look at infant feeding. You can't look at what goes into the babies, because, well, you just can't see it. And you can't go by what you pump (if you pump) to determine your supply when nursing your babies. They are much better at getting the milk from you than any pump is. You look at your babies' growth, and you look at their wet and poopy diapers. If they are growing well and you're changing diapers a lot, you're good. Really. Promise. Pinky-swear. But you do need to eat twice as much as you're eating and add another meal onto that. And good for you for running!!! The first year I never got off the damn couch. Good for you, mama! Twins are one of the ultimate life experiences. I used to look at mine and burst into tears, I was so happy I had them (ten years of infertility before they came). Now they are nine and I feel even luckier. My friend whose twins are in college just beams every time she talks about them. Hooray twins! Also, you will sleep again! Some day... Editing to add this: you will want to nurse on their cues, not on a schedule. Really. Really really and for true. Again, don't go by what the infant feeding industry (hello formula companies) want you to do. It's not every two hours, or every some period of time. It's just not. Some days they'll be preparing for a growth spurt and in order to build up your supply they'll be nursing pretty much 24/7 (that's how they build up your supply for the next huge growth spurt, they nurse constantly - then your body responds by making enough milk for the growth spurt to come - seriously, nature is a freakin' miracle). Other days they'll actually nap away from you and you'll get a shower (another freakin' miracle with twinfants). Basically, if you're nursing twin babies, that's what you're doing. (If you are working away from them and pumping while working, you're doing plenty of pumping too, I'm sure!!) Just nurse. And eat. And, since you're able to do it, enjoy the running! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitmao Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 You might also be so busy that you don't realize you're hungry when you are. I was bad about that one when my daughter was a newborn. I could go all day, get to 5 p.m. and realize I hadn't eaten yet. Probably good you added up your calories because now you know you need to focus on getting more food! Hey, isn't that nice to know you need to go eat more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayla2010 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 If you are concerned about your milk supply, look at your babies' growth and their diapers. If they are gaining an ounce a day (I'm assuming we're talking young babies here, right?) or even a half ounce a day; and if they have enough wet and poopy diapers (I've forgotten how much, you can look it up on the La Leche League website), then you're doing fine. Most of us naturally produce enough milk for about four babies - it's just nature's way of ensuring survival. (To answer your question about nursing my own twins, I nursed my girls for 3 1/2 years. At which point I was about ready to throw them out the window, ha! I got off to a really bad start (won't go into my birth story but I'm glad we're all here and healthy!) and one child didn't even nurse for the entire first month - and so during the crucial supply-creating month I didn't get to do that supply-creating - and I still had enough milk for about 1 1/2 babies. So I supplemented some, and nursed constantly too.) You can't look at nursing in the way that the formula industry wants us to look at infant feeding. You can't look at what goes into the babies, because, well, you just can't see it. And you can't go by what you pump (if you pump) to determine your supply when nursing your babies. They are much better at getting the milk from you than any pump is. You look at your babies' growth, and you look at their wet and poopy diapers. If they are growing well and you're changing diapers a lot, you're good. Really. Promise. Pinky-swear. But you do need to eat twice as much as you're eating and add another meal onto that. And good for you for running!!! The first year I never got off the damn couch. Good for you, mama! Twins are one of the ultimate life experiences. I used to look at mine and burst into tears, I was so happy I had them (ten years of infertility before they came). Now they are nine and I feel even luckier. My friend whose twins are in college just beams every time she talks about them. Hooray twins! Also, you will sleep again! Some day... Editing to add this: you will want to nurse on their cues, not on a schedule. Really. Really really and for true. Again, don't go by what the infant feeding industry (hello formula companies) want you to do. It's not every two hours, or every some period of time. It's just not. Some days they'll be preparing for a growth spurt and in order to build up your supply they'll be nursing pretty much 24/7 (that's how they build up your supply for the next huge growth spurt, they nurse constantly - then your body responds by making enough milk for the growth spurt to come - seriously, nature is a freakin' miracle). Other days they'll actually nap away from you and you'll get a shower (another freakin' miracle with twinfants). Basically, if you're nursing twin babies, that's what you're doing. (If you are working away from them and pumping while working, you're doing plenty of pumping too, I'm sure!!) Just nurse. And eat. And, since you're able to do it, enjoy the running! Yep this is the best advice ever! Following your babies cues is the best, you will know if they aren't getting enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonicaRenee144 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 If you are concerned about your milk supply, look at your babies' growth and their diapers. If they are gaining an ounce a day (I'm assuming we're talking young babies here, right?) or even a half ounce a day; and if they have enough wet and poopy diapers (I've forgotten how much, you can look it up on the La Leche League website), then you're doing fine. Most of us naturally produce enough milk for about four babies - it's just nature's way of ensuring survival. (To answer your question about nursing my own twins, I nursed my girls for 3 1/2 years. At which point I was about ready to throw them out the window, ha! I got off to a really bad start (won't go into my birth story but I'm glad we're all here and healthy!) and one child didn't even nurse for the entire first month - and so during the crucial supply-creating month I didn't get to do that supply-creating - and I still had enough milk for about 1 1/2 babies. So I supplemented some, and nursed constantly too.) You can't look at nursing in the way that the formula industry wants us to look at infant feeding. You can't look at what goes into the babies, because, well, you just can't see it. And you can't go by what you pump (if you pump) to determine your supply when nursing your babies. They are much better at getting the milk from you than any pump is. You look at your babies' growth, and you look at their wet and poopy diapers. If they are growing well and you're changing diapers a lot, you're good. Really. Promise. Pinky-swear. But you do need to eat twice as much as you're eating and add another meal onto that. And good for you for running!!! The first year I never got off the damn couch. Good for you, mama! Twins are one of the ultimate life experiences. I used to look at mine and burst into tears, I was so happy I had them (ten years of infertility before they came). Now they are nine and I feel even luckier. My friend whose twins are in college just beams every time she talks about them. Hooray twins! Also, you will sleep again! Some day... Editing to add this: you will want to nurse on their cues, not on a schedule. Really. Really really and for true. Again, don't go by what the infant feeding industry (hello formula companies) want you to do. It's not every two hours, or every some period of time. It's just not. Some days they'll be preparing for a growth spurt and in order to build up your supply they'll be nursing pretty much 24/7 (that's how they build up your supply for the next huge growth spurt, they nurse constantly - then your body responds by making enough milk for the growth spurt to come - seriously, nature is a freakin' miracle). Other days they'll actually nap away from you and you'll get a shower (another freakin' miracle with twinfants). Basically, if you're nursing twin babies, that's what you're doing. (If you are working away from them and pumping while working, you're doing plenty of pumping too, I'm sure!!) Just nurse. And eat. And, since you're able to do it, enjoy the running! This is awesome advice. Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky Rynkiewicz Dodson Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 hey! another twin mama here. mine are 23m and still nursing. you can reliably produce milk regardless of diet as your body will just take from itself to produce food for your babies to a certain extent, of course it is optimal to maintain a healthy diet while nursing, just that our bodies are designed to make milk and take from whatever stores we might have in the absence of nutrition. i mean, eat and eat healthy, just dont freak out if your calorie count is low every once in awhile. ...are you staying hydrated enough? are they going through a growth spurt? you didnt mention how old they are, perhaps your milk production is just regulating and you perceive that as a depletion? the above advice on hunger cues and output is very good. nice to meet other twin mamas in here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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