Nursing twins

[Eames]

Hi all! Love the support on this board.

I am mom to 5 week old twin boys. They were born via c section at 37w1d at 7lb5oz and 7lb7oz, no issues at all, and came straight into the hospital room with me.

I started off latching them often, and had a baby on me almost the entire time in the hospital. Then things started to go off track the day they were circumcised, they were super sleepy and wouldn't latch, plus my milk started coming in and my breasts were getting engorged, making it harder for them. I had this issue with my DD too (4.5 years old) and we worked through it with an SNS. But I can't imagine trying to juggle that with twins. I started pumping and giving them bottles of pumped milk, plus using a nipple shield to get them to latch.

I still have a great supply and they've been fed almost exclusively pumped milk, and I try to get them on the breast once a day.

I would do more but it's just so so easier at this point (I am home alone with them) for me to pump while I feed both bottles. The whole process takes maybe 25 minutes every 2 to 3 hours. If I try to nurse, each will take maybe 45 minutes each, then I still pump after because they don't seem to effectively drain the breast using the shields, and I am paranoid about supply. Doing bottles has been better for my sanity, it gives us the ability/time to go out for walks, etc.

I know there are benefits to having them at the breast, like extra cuddles and it's good for my supply. Are there any twin moms that successfully transitioned to the breast? Like once they are older and have more head control, I know it gets way easier than pumping. We're just not there yet.

I'm not sure what I want to do... maybe I feel guilt since DD was almost EBF. Plus they natually won't have they one on one attention she did. I am considering dropping to one feed at breast per day, just so they don't forget.

Sorry for the long intro post, any advice or really just cheering on would be most welcome!

[vvvvvfee]

imapenguin can you help?

[imapenguin]

Hi! Yes! I had one twin who was born super tiny and couldn’t nurse for several weeks because she just wasn’t big enough and it wore her out. I switched her from bottles exclusively to nursing exclusively after about a month. I also had a 3yo at the same time, so I completely understand the time suck of juggling 2 babies and dealing with an older child who is used to being an only child.

Tandem nursing was the easiest way for me to feed both babies quickly. Even easier than bottles in my experience. I used the twin z nursing pillow (I still use it, now at 9 months old after weaning, so worth the investment imo) and that allowed both babies to work at once so my little one got the benefit of let down from her bigger, stronger sister.

[please hold, I have forgotten the specifics of your questions, brb]

Ok, so yes, it does get easier. Just like the first time with one baby, we all needed practice. I was also home alone with all 3 for the most part and my big kid for sure got the short end of the stick for a bit while I figured things out. And we did eventually figure things out and get into a good rhythm and quick feeds. They weren’t slow forever. And that pillow and tandem nursing changed things totally for me.

Twin Z Pillow + Light Green Cover + Free Travel Bag www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB65LDW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_rzqRCbCYF88WV

[Eames]

Thank you imapenguin! So encouraging.

I have the twinz, it's my favorite twin item by far! We use it to bottle feed, and an easy spot to stash them if we need to set them down. I have also tandem fed them but use the nipple shields, and feel like their latch is getting more lazy than before because it's hard to help both at the same time.

Would you try to keep tandem feeding, even if latch/position is not perfect, or try more one on one time until they are better at latching?

[imapenguin]

Apr 9, 2019 15:34:25 GMT -6 Eames said:

Thank you imapenguin! So encouraging.

I have the twinz, it's my favorite twin item by far! We use it to bottle feed, and an easy spot to stash them if we need to set them down. I have also tandem fed them but use the nipple shields, and feel like their latch is getting more lazy than before because it's hard to help both at the same time.

Would you try to keep tandem feeding, even if latch/position is not perfect, or try more one on one time until they are better at latching?

Yes! It is so good! I have a cousin due with twins at the end of summer, so I’m really excited to have someone to pass it along to!

I might work on the latch one on one when I had the time and tandem feed with the shield or bottle feed when I was short on time. Or maybe get one going really well on one side and then add in the other after a few minutes.