Feeding triplets in the first six months
Update August 2012
Now they also eat little bit of boiled banana and boiled veggies like carrot, cabbage, beans and cucumber.
Today (15-06-2012) my triplets started on cereals! :)
Feeding the babies is taking up the major part of the day everyday. We have kept a diary in which we write down each feeding's time and quantity each one consumed, each one's pooping time, colour and consistency of poo (Raman's is dark green, always. Chattu's is loose and Arya's is like tiny balls), if there is any throwing up then details of that, sleep timings, massage timings (we are still massaging with olive oil- bathing them has not started) and any unusual behavior like crying too much or sleeping too much. I think it is an extensive record of the babies' day, but I have no idea if there is any use doing it.
They used to have an average of 35 ml formula every 90 minutes in February 2012. Once (26th Feb) we had to use suppository on all three to ease stool passing. Not a very pleasant thing to do, and after using it, it takes a couple of days to get them back on track and poop on their own. In March(one month old) the quantity increased to around 90 ml every two hours. Next change came in May when they started drinking 125 ml (though they have only 60 ml or even less at times), but the number of feedings decreased to 6-7 times a day (the average quantity they drink per day is somewhere around 500 ml). They maintain the same quantities now. Initially feeding triplets was through needle less syringes and bondlas. See page. Then we started using feeding bottles from Avent. Very durable, and hygienic if sterilized after each use. (We immerse them in boiling water). The formula we were using was Enfamil, but now we have shifted to Nan Pro. Nan Pro-1 is for infants, then 2, 3 and 4 are available, 4 for toddlers of one and half years old and more. It claims to have enough Calcium, Iron and Protein required for the respective ages. And it does not fatten the babies up. We are not keen to give them cow's milk (cow's milk does not digest properly for babies below one year of age. Even when they become one year, I don't think I will prefer to give it to them because nowadays we do not get pure cow's milk, and what we get as cow's milk seems to cause allergies and mucus in kids).
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Father and grandfather feeding the babies |
Today we gave them cereal for the first time, for lunch. We gave Ragi cereal sweetened with jaggery, supposed to have a lot of Calcium and Iron in it. I am concerned about the Iron intake since they need about 7 mg per day at 4 months old (since they are not breastfed- if they were breastfed, then it will naturally take care of Iron intake till six months old, after which they will need 11 mg per day in their diet), but they may not be getting that much now. The brand for Ragi we use is Ragitone. Three tablespoons of the powder (for all thee babies together) mixed in the specified quantity of water and one-fourth portion of a jaggery ball powdered and added to it. It is boiled till it is semi solid. It is real sweet and jaggery is very good for health. It is good for adults too. We plan to increase the quantity in the coming months. On alternate days we are going to give them Banatone cereal which is made from raw bananas.
Now they also eat little bit of boiled banana and boiled veggies like carrot, cabbage, beans and cucumber.
Feeding Raman is most difficult. He likes his milk (Nan Pro), and sometimes cereal. He does not like to try different tastes. Chaattu and Aryakkutty eat without a lot of fuss.
