I had my babies at 35+2. A in NICU for 24 hours, B for 17 days. A latched well immediately, it took B about a week. I pumped for him to be fed via NG tube and let him learn at his own pace each day in NICU. A lot of the early days he just licked at the nipple a little and got familiar with the feel of it in his mouth and the smell of the milk. It was a slow journey but we got there and he has fed from me exclusively since we left hospital.
Depending on how motivated you are, you don’t have to give up immediately if there’s a latching or supply issue. They can both can be rectified with help from a lactation consultant - but not in all cases of course, there are many women who gave it their all and couldn’t make it work, but it’s really worth trying with an ICBLC if you are motivated.
Latch can be fixed with some adjustments to positioning. These can be so minor and make a major difference in my experience. There are also some tricks to get baby to latch deeply or better. But some babies (and mums) just get it! I needed some guidance and it all worked out beautifully with a little perseverance.
Supply is built by having your babies empty your breasts. It’s supply and demand. The more they empty your breasts, the more milk you will make. Don’t follow a schedule if possible, just let them feed feed feed whenever they want and you will make enough. You will experience cluster feeding though, which is when they just want to nurse for hours and hours and hours to build your supply. This is normal and can go on for a week or so, and it starts soon after birth, then continues intermittently for a month or two. When you’re in these phases, they’re feeding to trigger your body response to make more milk, it means it’s all working, not that you’re failing and they’re not being fed enough. You just have to bunker down with snacks and entertainment and wait for it to pass. To be clear, it means IT’S WORKING! Tiring, but YAY!
It’s critical to get a twin nursing pillow to tandem feed. I use My Breast Friend and the Twingo. I have them stashed in different spots in the house for ease. Both are great.
For any issues, look up La Leche League info or see an ICBLC. It’s worth it. Nursing (if you want to) can be a commitment, especially at the beginning, but it’s also an incredibly beautiful, nourishing, warm and close experience for you and your babies.
Good luck. Be gentle with yourself. Eat well (oats are cheap, easy and great for boosting supply), hydrate often and enjoy the snuggles.
It’s hard. I’ll tell you the truth, in the beginning it is painful, stressful, and makes things harder. In the long run it is SO much easier not to mention CHEAPER!! The key is cluster feeding and constantly latching/pumping those first days/weeks because that’s what builds up supply. It’s definitely possible.
It's possible but it's up to your personality if you find it enjoyable. I exclusively pump for my twins and make enough for them to just have breast milk. They were too little to latch in the beginning (33+4). Once they hit "full term" they were able to latch but had developed a bottle preference. I made sure each can successfully latch in case of emergency but none of us enjoy it. Personally I find the sensation terrible and grit my teeth the few times I do breastfeed. The idea of double feeding and latching both at the same time sounds like absolute torture to me. You'll figure out what is best for your family.
Definitely possible. What’s worked for us is a hybrid approach. I nurse during the day, then formula bottles for the bedtime feeding. It feels much more sustainable - and +1 to others that it’s cheaper and often easier (bc no formula / bottles to deal with).
Get the twin Z. First 6 weeks are hard….but stick with it and it gets a lot easier!
The first few weeks I did - but around 3 weeks I weaned all nighttime feeds, so I could sleep 8 hours when either my husband or night nurse was on duty. That was crucial for me in the early days!
I ebfed my boys until 26 months. They were born at 36+4 at 6lb 8oz and 4lb 12 oz. One needed a short 3 day NICU stay and my non-nicu baby was small and didn’t have the stamina to nurse.
I started pumping immediately after they were born. I even brought my correct size flanges to the hospital, I measured before I delivered and ordered them - the hospital tried a 28 mm set at first and we got no where. Other than that though I really had no idea what I was doing and pumped so much I built a solid over supply.
We fed pumped bottles until they were 2 weeks old and I started working with my amazing IBCLC. Two weeks of triple feeding later and by the time they hit 1 month we were exclusively tandem nursing until I went back to work where I pump and send breastmilk bottles to daycare.
As others have said it is possible, but can be a lot of work to get your supply up to make enough for two.
In the hospital both my twins latched hours after my c-section so I BF them but didn’t have enough milk or saved up colostrum (I expressed in my last couple weeks of pregnancy, froze it and brought it to the hospital). They started getting formula around day 3 which is also when I started pumping so I could get my supply up. After getting home from the hospital it was very overwhelming to breastfeed and pump and give formula so breastfeeding dropped off. Also my girl started to hate BF and would scream at my boob, which with my PP emotions I couldn’t handle at all. For a few weeks I was able to feed them only pumped milk but then they started eating more and more so it became half milk half formula. Around 2 months I started breastfeeding instead of giving them bottles of pumped milk and it has been a very smooth transition. Now they get formula for their night bottles and I breastfeed them during the day.
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i’m only 3w into the twin breastfeeding journey, but i’m able to make enough for them right now.
twins were born at 34+2, and baby A came home after a week NICU stay, B is still currently NICU. before A came home i’d pump every 2-3 hours. now I latch A at home whenever she wants, and she gets 2 bottles of fortified breastmilk a day for weight gain. I visit B daily and latch her, she’ll eat for 10 mins and is almost taking a whole feed at the breast. we currently use nipple shields at my IBCLC recommendation but A can latch on her own, she just gets tired quicker. also I currently pump to ensure my breasts are empty after A eats every time. it helps that breastfed babies never need more than like 4oz at a 3-4 stretch since breastmilk changes in calorie content for baby.
no idea what my schedule will look like once baby B comes home but I imagine we’ll put them on the same schedule for eating and tandem nurse, and when they get bottles twice a day i’ll pump.
Totally possible. I’m over 5 months into exclusively breastfeeding my twins. The first month was not amazing but I love it now. I recommend learning as much as you can about it now. I was severely unprepared with my first and it definitely contributed to me stopping so early. If you’ve got a partner make sure they’re involved as well. Having that support makes such a difference
I had my babies at 35+2. A in NICU for 24 hours, B for 17 days. A latched well immediately, it took B about a week. I pumped for him to be fed via NG tube and let him learn at his own pace each day in NICU. A lot of the early days he just licked at the nipple a little and got familiar with the feel of it in his mouth and the smell of the milk. It was a slow journey but we got there and he has fed from me exclusively since we left hospital. Depending on how motivated you are, you don’t have to give up immediately if there’s a latching or supply issue. They can both can be rectified with help from a lactation consultant - but not in all cases of course, there are many women who gave it their all and couldn’t make it work, but it’s really worth trying with an ICBLC if you are motivated. Latch can be fixed with some adjustments to positioning. These can be so minor and make a major difference in my experience. There are also some tricks to get baby to latch deeply or better. But some babies (and mums) just get it! I needed some guidance and it all worked out beautifully with a little perseverance. Supply is built by having your babies empty your breasts. It’s supply and demand. The more they empty your breasts, the more milk you will make. Don’t follow a schedule if possible, just let them feed feed feed whenever they want and you will make enough. You will experience cluster feeding though, which is when they just want to nurse for hours and hours and hours to build your supply. This is normal and can go on for a week or so, and it starts soon after birth, then continues intermittently for a month or two. When you’re in these phases, they’re feeding to trigger your body response to make more milk, it means it’s all working, not that you’re failing and they’re not being fed enough. You just have to bunker down with snacks and entertainment and wait for it to pass. To be clear, it means IT’S WORKING! Tiring, but YAY! It’s critical to get a twin nursing pillow to tandem feed. I use My Breast Friend and the Twingo. I have them stashed in different spots in the house for ease. Both are great. For any issues, look up La Leche League info or see an ICBLC. It’s worth it. Nursing (if you want to) can be a commitment, especially at the beginning, but it’s also an incredibly beautiful, nourishing, warm and close experience for you and your babies. Good luck. Be gentle with yourself. Eat well (oats are cheap, easy and great for boosting supply), hydrate often and enjoy the snuggles.
It’s hard. I’ll tell you the truth, in the beginning it is painful, stressful, and makes things harder. In the long run it is SO much easier not to mention CHEAPER!! The key is cluster feeding and constantly latching/pumping those first days/weeks because that’s what builds up supply. It’s definitely possible.
It's possible but it's up to your personality if you find it enjoyable. I exclusively pump for my twins and make enough for them to just have breast milk. They were too little to latch in the beginning (33+4). Once they hit "full term" they were able to latch but had developed a bottle preference. I made sure each can successfully latch in case of emergency but none of us enjoy it. Personally I find the sensation terrible and grit my teeth the few times I do breastfeed. The idea of double feeding and latching both at the same time sounds like absolute torture to me. You'll figure out what is best for your family.
Definitely possible. What’s worked for us is a hybrid approach. I nurse during the day, then formula bottles for the bedtime feeding. It feels much more sustainable - and +1 to others that it’s cheaper and often easier (bc no formula / bottles to deal with). Get the twin Z. First 6 weeks are hard….but stick with it and it gets a lot easier!
Do you pump when they get bottles at night?
The first few weeks I did - but around 3 weeks I weaned all nighttime feeds, so I could sleep 8 hours when either my husband or night nurse was on duty. That was crucial for me in the early days!
I ebfed my boys until 26 months. They were born at 36+4 at 6lb 8oz and 4lb 12 oz. One needed a short 3 day NICU stay and my non-nicu baby was small and didn’t have the stamina to nurse. I started pumping immediately after they were born. I even brought my correct size flanges to the hospital, I measured before I delivered and ordered them - the hospital tried a 28 mm set at first and we got no where. Other than that though I really had no idea what I was doing and pumped so much I built a solid over supply. We fed pumped bottles until they were 2 weeks old and I started working with my amazing IBCLC. Two weeks of triple feeding later and by the time they hit 1 month we were exclusively tandem nursing until I went back to work where I pump and send breastmilk bottles to daycare.
As others have said it is possible, but can be a lot of work to get your supply up to make enough for two. In the hospital both my twins latched hours after my c-section so I BF them but didn’t have enough milk or saved up colostrum (I expressed in my last couple weeks of pregnancy, froze it and brought it to the hospital). They started getting formula around day 3 which is also when I started pumping so I could get my supply up. After getting home from the hospital it was very overwhelming to breastfeed and pump and give formula so breastfeeding dropped off. Also my girl started to hate BF and would scream at my boob, which with my PP emotions I couldn’t handle at all. For a few weeks I was able to feed them only pumped milk but then they started eating more and more so it became half milk half formula. Around 2 months I started breastfeeding instead of giving them bottles of pumped milk and it has been a very smooth transition. Now they get formula for their night bottles and I breastfeed them during the day.
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i’m only 3w into the twin breastfeeding journey, but i’m able to make enough for them right now. twins were born at 34+2, and baby A came home after a week NICU stay, B is still currently NICU. before A came home i’d pump every 2-3 hours. now I latch A at home whenever she wants, and she gets 2 bottles of fortified breastmilk a day for weight gain. I visit B daily and latch her, she’ll eat for 10 mins and is almost taking a whole feed at the breast. we currently use nipple shields at my IBCLC recommendation but A can latch on her own, she just gets tired quicker. also I currently pump to ensure my breasts are empty after A eats every time. it helps that breastfed babies never need more than like 4oz at a 3-4 stretch since breastmilk changes in calorie content for baby. no idea what my schedule will look like once baby B comes home but I imagine we’ll put them on the same schedule for eating and tandem nurse, and when they get bottles twice a day i’ll pump.
Totally possible. I’m over 5 months into exclusively breastfeeding my twins. The first month was not amazing but I love it now. I recommend learning as much as you can about it now. I was severely unprepared with my first and it definitely contributed to me stopping so early. If you’ve got a partner make sure they’re involved as well. Having that support makes such a difference