any tips for nursing twins

[highlandlassi]

Hi all. my babes are in hospital until tomorow, they are one week today!! i am trying to nurse them, but having a bit of a hard time with it. i am taking some herbal remedies to help my milk supply (fenugrec, blessed thistle, and utica urens) but with the babies being preemies they dont have the strength to suck for long, although they do have a good latch. so my routine is, breastfeed one baby at feeding time then give them breast milk in bottle from pumping, then top with formula, i do the same with second twin except the nursing part. then i pump. so i nurse one every other feed. i tried putting both to breast each feed but it took to long and was too tiring for them and me. even now i only get about 1.5 hours at most between sessions. so any tios or what worked for you? help!!!!

 

[vineyard]

Great thread! Hope you get lots of pointers that I can use when my little ones are born!!

 

[~KACI~]

FSmummy?? is breastfeeding hers, maybe pop her a PM

Good luck x

 

[vineyard]

If you PM her and get a good answer, will you pass on the information on this thread. I'd be interested in getting any pointers that I can.

 

[twinmom07]

First, your doing awesome!!!

I nursed my twins till 14 1/2 months.

My daughter did well and we had no trouble.
My son, was smaller, and jaundice. We did end up having to do the first almost 2 months of a supplement of a high calorie formula AFTER nursing 20 mins.

I left the hospital on a 3 hour schedule of 20-30 mins of nursing them together. I can count on one hand the # of times I did them separate. It took longer, but it did give me more time, when we got the hang of it. Other than those first days in the hospital (we stayed 3 nights with the c-section) I'm so thankful for that one nurse rushing me thru a tandem feeding as we were leaving.

They'd fall asleep and I'd have to wake them, rub their back, cool wash clothes.

I pumped after every feed for about the first month.
I dropped to every other, and eventually just stopped.
They, like separate nursing, had bottles little, maybe 10 times (other than my son who had the supplement, but even that he started to refuse and spit back up.)

Tips
know that they aren't starving
Keep trying
do what's best for you too
drink lots of liquids

When we got home, things took longer, but they were easier. I think just being at home, in your own element speaks volumes as to ease/comfort and just general 'stress' level... but not stress but it just is different.

At least for us my daughter was in the nursery first for a hole in her lung, then an infection, then phototherapy. So the nurses ruled the schedule. My son was in our room 1 night, so again, they ruled us.

* a fellow multiple mom thru my multiple moms club did exclusive pumping for her twins, until about 5 months of age, when her milk dwindled a little

 

[Helen]

Hi

I fed my two for 8 months.

I'd say get the hang of feeding one at a time before you move onto feeding them both at once. Use a pillow to rest one baby on and get someone to manoever the baby while you help them latch on.

Once you move onto the rugby ball hold I think there is a lot to be said for the cushion you use. I got a EZ2 feed foam cushion and it was worth its weight in gold. They're a bit pricey but I sold mine on e-bay and didn't lose that much on the cost.

I started expressing at 6 weeks(ish) first thing in the morning when my boobs were huge and I was reasonably well rested. My DH then used that milk to give them their 11pm(ish) feed at night. Meant I could rest if need be and he got to have a go too. Also, I think that the quality of that milk helped them be good sleepers from an early age. That said, I'm not going to be expressing this time so it'll be interesting to see if it's any different.

The other thing with the rugby ball hold and two of them was getting organised so that you had both babies within reach, plus a drink for me and towel in case they spit up. Once I got it sussed I found I could balance a plate on the cushion too and have a snack while they had theirs.

It's a bit tricky burping one while the other is still feeding so it's handy to have help around, at least at first till you get the hang of it. It won't be long before you're slinging them around with gay abandon!

I think you're doing really well. Prem babies will have additional challenges which I didn't have to face. I'm sure if you keep going with the same positive attitude in a few weeks all will be plain sailing.

 

[vineyard]

Great tips ladies!

 

[_Vicky_]

oohh ladies thats fab!!!! You reallly give me the confidence to know It can be done (if I had a penny for everyone that says it cant with twins etc)

Sorry to hijack highlandlassi but is rugby hold where you have them basically under each arm?

 

[highlandlassi]

thanks everyone. i cant wait until they get strong enough to nurse. i am noiw ony putting them to breast for a few minutes every few feeds. they just tire too easily and need to get there milk into them. i am pumping and am almost at the point where i am getting enough milk that i dont need to top them up with formula. the doctor said at about 6 pounds they will have the strength to nurse. i wouldnt even care if i was nursing them ev ery hour it would be so much easier than this...feeding, pumping, washing everything then star again. plus i know i can nurse them at the same time, i have tried the football/rugby hold and it works great, unfortunalty i can not bottle feed them at same time, as the choke on the bottle.
thanks again ladies!!

 

[Helen]

oohh ladies thats fab!!!! You reallly give me the confidence to know It can be done (if I had a penny for everyone that says it cant with twins etc)

Sorry to hijack highlandlassi but is rugby hold where you have them basically under each arm?

Don't listen to anyone who says it can't be done. It absolutely can.

And yup rugby ball is as you think.