Breastfeeding twins - any tips please?

[emmylondon]

Hi

I'm expecting twins due in April and was hoping to hear from those who already had experience of breastfeeding twins.

Did you breastfeed them at the same time, or separately?

Any advice/recommendation on expressing milk? Did you buy or hire the expressing machine? If hired, where is a good place to look.

So would be great to hear from other mummies who have been there :)

Thanks

Emmy

[bluesuperted]

I'm sure Fuschia has all the tips and will be along soon...

[Carrie]

Hi

Congratulations on having twins.

My experience was some time ago (my girls are 18 next month) but I normally used to feed my two at the same time during the day - one tucked under each arm.The way I did it I sat in the corner of the settee with a couple of very firm pillows stood on their side each side of me with one of those v-shaped pillows on the top to provide a "platform" at boob level for the babies. I had a drink, phone snack remote control etc on the arm of the settee so I could reach them easily and a pile of cushions on the other side. The twin who seemed the least desperate would be put on the pile of cushions then I would get myself sorted out with the squalling baby. When that one was safely latched on and calm again I could manage to scoop the other one up one handed from the pile of cushions by my side and get her latched on. Sounds like a lot of palaver but it really worked for me. Although there is no way of doing this disceetly and you can't really take all the cushions etc with you if you are going out!!

I did try expressing but quickly came to the conclusion that it was a step too far for me - so if I could not feed them at any time they had formula.

I do remember that when they were about 6 weeks old i went through a period when I appeared to be feeding constantly and was getting very depressed by it - a "helpful" health visitor said I was obviously not producing enough milk so should start bottle feeding them. Luckily I ignored her as turned out that babies tend to have a bit of a growth spurt around this time and laws of supply and demand mean that the babies have to demand first before your supply increases - a few days later things were back to normal (although I had gone up another bra size!)

I have to say breast feeding twins (although quite hard and tiring to begin with ) is magical - I will never forget the moment when one of them first noticed that the other one was there.

If you have not already done so get in contact with the Dulwich and District twins club - you should find their contact details if you google them.

[Fuschia]

Hi

I had fed one child already which was a help

You do need a good firm pillow to tandem feed... Ez to nurse or similar. Though I preferred to feed in my feeding chair With an ordinary feeding pillow, one at a time, I isn't find tandem feeding two newborns very easy

Twins can be quite small at birth.. One of mine didn't latch on till day 11

I had independent midwives who came daily... Without good hands on support it could be difficult to handle any initial difficulties. I expressed and we syringe fed (can get syringes in advance from chemist)

I used an ameda lactating double pump ..will prob sell mine soon if you're interested. Hands free bra also helpful.

Didn't really use expressed milk between 4 weeks and my return to work, though. Is useful to be able to pump in he early days so that partner can do feeds between 8pm and midnight, say, while you sleep. Too much reliance on bottles can cause nipple confusion though which isn't helpful if a baby is struggling a bit with bf.

I didn't get dressed or leave the house for 4 weeks...had good support from mr f and my sister. Worth planning lots of help round the house for the first month - 6 weeks.

I did all night times, cosleeping made it manageable. I had to work out how to arrange us, couldn't find anything on he net!

Mothering multiples Karen gromada (sp?) is a good book

It's manageable but is wise to line up help and support. If there jar any difficulties with latching, get help sooner rather than later.

Happy to chat by pm or meet for a coffee if you like

X

[Fuschia]

A battery operated swing can be a great boon to pacify one twin if they cry at the same time but you haven't cracked tandem feeding

[Carrie]

One other tip - if you get a single room in hospital (don't know whether they still do this for twin mums in kings but they did when I had mine) then rearrange the furniture and push the bed up against the wall - you have a much better chance of getting feeding established if you are not concerned that the babies will fall out either side - some of the staff will probably complain but stick to your guns

I was in hospital for about 10 days after the birth due to blood pressure problems and it did take a few days to get feeding established but with the help of Claire Kedves (who was their breast feeding guru and I think is still there) and one wonderful midwife who just took the time to sit with me one night until I got the hang of it - I came out of hospital a reasonably confident breast feeder.

[emmylondon]

Hi Carrie and Fuschia

Thanks very much for your comments, tips and sharing your experiences which are quite helpful. I would like to try to feed both at the same time as I'm planning to put them in a routine and I have a twin breast feeding pillow that I think can be a good platform like Carrie mentioned.

Im lucky that my mum will come over to support me, which will be a great help :)

Fuschia, when you were feeding them separately did you manage to establish a routine? Also, I heard other reviews that the Medela breast pump is one of the best ones, how did you find the Ameda? If you could PM me about the price and when you were thinking to sell it that would be great.

Thanks again for your replies.

Emmy

[Fuschia]

Mmm

I hate to say it but I think trying to impose a 'routine' too early is a death knell for successfully breast feeding ... It's feeding on demand in the early days which establishes the milk supply ... Ib

Not sure if these are your first children, but all the more important if so as its the early feeding which establishes prolactin receptors and will have a lifelong effect on your breasts and their productive capacity

Expect to feed probably for 15-45 mins, and then repeat before 2/3h have passed. Bf babies don't tend to go more than 3h from the start of one feed to another ... But in the first 6w it can be considerably less

[Fuschia]

First 6w with the twins I fed them probably about 2h out of every 3h in the day I was feeding

From

Early on they settled to sleep at about 7 and didn't get up till 7 ... Fed every 2-3h during the night

I usually fed them both together at night, sitting up in bed

After about 8w they were going 3h between feeds and I could tandem feed (though only at home)

I fed them

On demand ... But it tended to be about every 3h ... Separately or together according to their needs

They slept in between feeds

From about 6m they were in a pattern of 3 naps, dropped to two at about 9m iirc, and to one at about 17m.

They didn't really drop the nap till they started nursery at 3y 5m old

Hope that helps

If you have a calm and regular approach, make sure each day you shower, and eat regularly, get out for a walk (after first 2-4w) and set aside the time from 4pm-7 just to feed, feed, feed ... I think they will fit into a loose routine from about 5-6m without much effort

Below 4m, I think even the gina ford fans find it's pretty hard work trying to get babies to comply

[Spooner]

Congratulations! Having twins is amazing. I found breastfeeding the hardest part of it. Join the Dulwich twins club if you haven't - very useful to meet other twins' families and they do expectant parent talks. I managed tandem breastfeeding until my boyfriend went back to work at 6 weeks. I found getting them both to stay on without anyone else there to pass them to me absolutely impossible. I didn't have a double feeding cushion though and this would have helped enormously. My maternity nurse advised from very early on that she recommended twins mums purely express and then feed it in bottles. I really wish she hadn't encouraged me to give up on actually feeding from the boob as if you can crack this it is by far the best option - although it does limit you to the home mainly.

I ended up purely expressing for 6 months and giving them a combo of breastmilk and formula. It took up much of my time as you sit there expressing 6 times a day and then you still have to feed them plus do all the sterilising of bottles! It is sort of like doing both breastfeeding and bottle feeding in terms of workload. I rented a hospital grade Medela pump which was brilliant and had a most ugly bra with holes in that you could use to pump hands free.

If you end up bottle feeding, putting them in bouncy chairs is great as you can tandem feed. I was SO glad to give up the expressing after 6 months and still don't know if I would do it again. In my opinion the NHS is so pro breastfeeding to the point of being blinkered that you feel this immense pressure to give your children breastmilk. However, I found the midwives to be so busy that you don't learn how to actually do it in hospital so it is all talk and little support. If it isn't working for you get help early on so you can get the swing of it asap. Pay for a maternity nurse (not mine!) or if you can't manage that ask your health visitor.

Try not to worry or feel guilty whatever you do and if you manage to purely breastfeed your twins you deserve a massive pat on the back!

[emmylondon]

Hi Fuschia,

Thanks again for your advice and views , and thanks for describing your ?routine? with the twins!

It?s my first pregnancy although I have been working with children from 3 months to 6 years old for 14 years in my home country. I never breastfed or worked with babies under 3 months apart from helping family and friends but not for 24 hours per day.

I can?t afford a maternity nurse but will have my mum here to help though. I?m a very organised person so I?m not expecting to put a routine before breastfeeding has been established but for sure I will be looking to try it once it is possible as I will have to deal with everything on my own once my mum leaves here and my husband is back to work.

Hi Spooner,

Thanks for your comments and tips!It's really nice to hear other people's experiences.

I understand that breast feeding twins will hold us at home but I?m quite happy to try my best to try establish it but also thinking to express milk for later on to offer dad?s feeding time and also maybe be able to stay a bit longer outside of the house hopefully.

Can I ask, where did you rent your medela breast pump?

[Fuschia]

I def would join the twins club

They have a lovely baby /toddler group where other mums will actually make you a cup of tea

Very friendly

One problem with twins is its hard to join in with nct etc because you can't really get your buggy into a cafe then eat cake and bf at the same time ...

[Spooner]

hi

I hired a Medela Symphony from Medela themselves - they are based in Manchester and a number I had for them is 08709505994. It was ?40 per month so pricey but I had already got through 2 of the Medela Mini Electric Breastpumps which now cost nearly ?100 each. Medela were very helpful and said if I was expressing the whole time that the mini ones were not suitable and a hospital grade one was much better. If you are actually breastfeeding much of the time then buying a mini electric one may be cheaper and suitable for your needs.

I definitely recommend some expressing so you can have the odd night when others feed your babies. Heaven!

It sounds like you are extremely organised already and a mum may well be much better and certainly cheaper than a maternity nurse.

Make sure you have lots of DVDs or series to watch on TV whilst you feed.

Best of luck with it all.

[sian]

Hi all advice here is excellent. Don't worry if you can't feed both together - it is managable. I had one who was a slow feeder and the other was a gulper who would finish his feed in a few minutes. They couldnt feed at the same time at all in the first few weeks or indeed very much after that. I also liked having time with one baby and feeding them separately gave me this. You do have to be able to screen out the noise sometimes from the waiting twin. Having a baby bouncer - are they still used helped.

Dont rush to express. Take advice from the brilliant Clare Kedves about the best time to do this. If you ask she may organise a special breastfeeding class for twin mothers. I am sure that she did that but that was `16 years ago...

I think the main thing is to build up confidence that you can do it. Get advice from those who will support you in your choice and ruthlessly screen out those who won't. I threw one midwife out of the house on a post natal visit when she - who had not had any children herself - said that I was silly to try breast feeding twins.

Defintely agree with Spooner re turbocharged expresser. All the very best. Let us know how you get on.

[Fuschia]

Is worth speaking to Clare kedves in advance about what support will be available

[MelissaVF]

Hi Emmy,

(I think we met via spring mums group) I think v important is that you realise that everyone's experience is different and just try to take things as they come. Breastfeeding the twins definitely the best thing to do but don't beat yourself up if things don't go completely smoothly, try to get lots of help from midwives/ health visitors etc and every day you do manage to breastfeed is great.

I never managed to feed them simultaneously, though lots of people do, I always fed one after the other (depending on which one more desperate. I did feed them in a routine which I didn't find caused any problems in terms of my milk supply, and for me it meant I felt some vague sense of knowing what was going to come next so I could rest/ rehydrate/ get on with other things in the time between feeds. In my personal experience it also helped the girls synch their nap times (phew). At nighttime too I would feed the one who woke up first and then wake the second one, which again I think got me more sleep overall.

I found the Medela Symphony (hospital grade - rental, I got mine via a website called expressyourselfmums) absolutely amazing and a lifesaver in terms of being able to share the night feeds with husband or anyone else able to help. I'm definitely going to get it again for number #3 - it's so efficient it only took me 20 mins to get enough for a feed for both twins. I didn't have any problem with the girls getting nipple confusion with bottles, but every baby is different. I did also get the entirely unsexy hands free bra for the actual expressing, and this too was great.

As everyone else has said just try and get lots of help in the early days and take it as it comes. Good luck!

x

[emmylondon]

Hello Ladies,

Sorry for my late reply but I?m getting quite tired when I get home after 11 hours of work. Some days so tired that the computer seems a big effort to me.

Thanks Fuschia I?m looking to join the Dulwich twins club and also Tamba. I did join the NCT starting next week and hopefully It will be good for me and twins.

Where can I contact Clare Kedves, please?

Thanks Spooner, I have been looking over net to hire the medela hospital grade ?45 first 15 days and then ?45 per month not sure if it?s worth to buy it or to rent it. For sure I will hire or buy it as many mums said great reviews about it.

Thanks for pinpoint the need of DVDS and series to watch while breastfeeding, It?s a great idea!

Thanks Sian, for your comments it?s always really nice to hear people?s experience, it helps for reassurance. My sister in law is going to lend us a baby bouncer and a friend of mine gave me a Baby hammcock (from NZ)

Hi Melissa, yes we met through the spring baby?s club! I know that only when the babies are out of my tummy and here in my arms that I will see and try things to find out what works and what does not work for them. For me it feels very reassuring to hear other twins mum?s experiences and to have other ideas to try out ;)

It?s great to hear that your twins didn?t have nipple confusion and that you managed to sync their sleep. Theres a chance that it may work for mine as well. At least I can try and not feel that I?m crazy on my own, that someone else tried and worked. It?s a possibility.

I will definitely get the medela and the "unsexy bra". I saw the bra in the net and now you are saying that was good, I will get it too.

Thanks everyone for your messages, two months to go :)

Emmy

[buggie]

If your maternity notes are anything like mine werethere's probably a page in them about the breast feeding workshop, I'm pretty sure the same phone number on there to arrange a place on the course can be used to contact Claire and her colleague Joanne (who helped me when Bugglet was born).

[iclaudia]

Congrats on expecting twins :) I bf mine for 6 months, never thought I'd manage it and probably spent more time Googling about that during pregnancy than anything else (well, maybe double buggies...).

I was lucky in that I gave birth to mine in Switzerland where the care and breastfeeding support is excellent. I can't recommend enough making sure you have easy access to someone who is expert and gently encouraging. In hospital I felt a bit bullied by all the nurses to get the hang of tandem feeding - found it a nightmare to start with although got to grips with it at home and that's what worked for me, for the first few months at least.

We used bottles from the start too and never had a problem with nipple confusion - not sure if I was lucky there but it did mean I never had to go through what is often an excruciating period where they won't take a bottle and you're trying to either cut down or stop breastfeeding.

I also pumped from the start using a pump rented from the hospital - found anything other than a high-grade one utterly useless.

[Dodie]

Hi... my twins are 11 months old today... hope your pregnancy is going well, erm... seriously, shouldn't you stop doing 11 hour working days!?

I found that when they were a couple of weeks old, I could breastfeed them both together in the rugby position. I did have a twins feeding cushion but found it much easier to have two big cushions and prop up the babies on these. At first, it felt like ALL I did was breastfeed! I didn't have any help, other than my lovely husband who did as much as he could but also had to work. It was very hard; the hardest thing was getting enough to eat and drink myself whilst also doing all the looking after babies, housework etc. I pretty much exculsively breast fed during the first eight weeks (but would give 2 bottles of formula at night). At 8 weeks, I started mixed feeding (breast feeds every 3 hours topping up with formula after each feed) and this worked best for me. It meant I could get a good routine going. From 10 weeks, I was getting a good daily and nightly routine going. I started putting them down to sleep in their cots from 7pm and within a few weeks they were sleeping from 7-7 with two feeds in the night (one at 1am and one at 4/5am). Routine was and still is everything to me. Keeps the whole family happy. You will find your own way with routine and breastfeeding, whatever works for you is just great. In terms of nipple confusion between breast and bottle, I never found this to be an issue and I've never yet found another person who experienced this. I only expressed right at the beginning to help get my milk supply get going. Otherwise, I just found it really, really tedious and didn't bother once my milk came in!

I would definitely join the Dulwich twins club. There is an expectant parents evening coming up in March (just being co-ordinated, date not set yet). It is only ?12 a year to join the twins club and the support you receive is fantastic. Whilst you are pregnant, you would be more than welcome to come along to any of the playgroups/friday meet ups to meet other parents with twins (ask questions about buggies, cots etc which I was desperate to know about!). I run the Bread of Life Cafe/park meet ups on 2nd and 4th Fridays - see website. Hopefully see you there some time soon. Good luck with everything.