When Stacy and her husband found out baby number three was actually going to be twin babies three and four, they prepared. They bought two car seats, doubled the amount of swaddles and outfits they had, explored using clothe diapers, would a car seat + stroller combo be appropriate, and more! But one thing was clear: Stacy would breastfeed the twins.
Breastfeeding had come easily for Stacy’s two older daughters, but the twins struggled, which lead to several visits with dedicated lactation consultants.
Stacy began to notice that Izzy was much calmer and sleepier than Ace in those first few days, to the point where one late night, Izzy had gotten so lethargic that Stacy and her husband began to wonder if they needed to take Izzy to the ER! And then the phone rang.
"Your Baby Needs To Get To The Hospital Immediately!"
It was their doctor urging Stacy to rush Izzy to the Children’s Hospital! It turned out her sleepiness was not a result of jaundice as had been previously thought: instead routine newborn screening pointed to an initial diagnosis of galactosemia, an inability to process galactose which is in all dairy products, breast-milk and traditional formula. “Essentially she spent the first 6 days of her life accumulating excess galactose from the breast milk which made her jaundice, lethargic, and dehydrated!” recalls Stacy.
Izzy spent eight long days in the hospital recovering, and began drinking soy formula, as breast-milk was no longer an option.
“Just give them both formula- make things easy on yourself”, suggested a well-meaning doctor who knew Stacy had been struggling to breastfeed and was working with a lactation consultant.
As Stacy and her husband processed the events since Izzy and Ace’s birth, they made a decision, Stacy would continue to breastfeed Ace. This brought up new concerns for Stacy though- would Izzy feel left out? Would she be able to bond in the same way with a bottle between them, while she nursed Ace?
Feeding twins can be challenging at times, but Stacy has found an enjoyable way to include Izzy while nursing Ace. Izzy joins Ace in most of his feedings, as she snuggles close to both her mommy and her brother. As we planned Stacy’s session, we discussed ways to capture Ace nursing while including sweet Izzy in the photographs. As a mother to two girls, I was in awe of Stacy’s calm and nurturing way with the twins, as well as the beautiful way she has adapted.
-Caitlin Domanico is a regional photographer for A Beautiful Body Project based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA and specializes in prenatal, birth, and newborn photography. To learn more about Caitlin's work and to book a shoot, visit: www.caitlindomanico.com/
_1390672519.jpg)
