Is it Possible?

Breastfeeding twins.... is it possible? Is it possible to even EXCLUSIVELY breastfeed? What about if the babies have a NICU visit which I am sure is in our future? I had issues with breastfeeding my 3 children that were all singletons but we got through it with 1 having to change to formula, 1 I had to pump with and add Human Milk Fortifier. However, I am TERRIFIED of trying to breastfeed TWO but I desperately want to do this!!! What things make this easier? What pump is the best to have? I used a Medela backpack style with my other children.

 

Yes, it's possible! For some moms & babies it can be very challenging but others find their journey quite straight forward. A NICU stay does usually come with additional challenges, but again they aren't insurmountable.

My girls (who also shared a placenta) were born at 34 weeks. They spent two weeks in the NICU. We faced a lot of challenges in the first three months (nipple confusion, weak suck, mastitis requiring IV antibiotics, supplementing, nipple shields, etc) but did go on to nurse for two years. I think one of the most important things when considering breastfeeding twins (or a singleton for that matter) is that it doesn't have to be all or nothing - any breast milk your babies receive will be beneficial to them. You do the best you can & that's all you need to do.

Things that I found helpful were a good solid twins breastfeeding pillow & a hospital grade double electric pump (can be rented) for the first while when I was establishing my supply. The other thing that I wish I had had was a postpartum doula. I feel like many of the challenges we faced (especially breastfeeding related) would have been avoided completely had we had that exta support in the early weeks.

Do you know a good lactation consultant in your area? You may not need one but I think it's always a good idea to have a lead on support resources in your community BEFORE babies arrive.

 

I did! In this forum there are many, many success stories of women who've nursed twins. My babies were born at 35w5d and there were challenges in the beginning including an unwillingness to suck and latch. But we were able to work it out within 5 days of me pumping and nursing. I went on to nurse them for 14 months.

Given that you've had challenges in the past you may experience further challenges in which case Rachel's advice is sound- get a support system for nursing in place before the babies are born.

 

I had fewer problems establishing breastfeeding with my twins than with my singleton!

I did choose mixed feeding but tried to almost exclusively breastfeed them while I was on maternity leave (no more than one 2 oz bottle of formula a day). When I went back to work, we did have to supplement because I can't pump enough but they were still only getting 4-8 oz total most days of formula.

We are still going strong at almost 8 months and no plans to wean for now.

I agree with Rachel though that getting some help in advance is a good idea. It can be challenging. I felt like I spent the first 12 weeks with two babies attached to me all day long--they nursed constantly during the day (but did reward me with reasonable sleep at night unlike their older brother!). I had a good double-nursing pillow and it really is required. Tandem nursing was actually easier than I thought it would bea nd I'm glad I started doing it as soon as I was home from the hospital.

I can't speak to preemie issues though as mine were born at 38.5 weeks. My daughter did have latching issues (wouldn't latch on) the first 10 days or so but I worked with her a lot on it and found that tandem nursing helped her figure it out (her brother would get the let down and she's benefit from not having to suck very hard to get started and that seemed to help her learn how to stay latched on).

 

This is exactly what we did with my lazy son.

 

I also did mixed feeding and I bfeed my twins for 15 months. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. My twins were born at 35 weeks 5 days as well and one had a slight suck issue at birth, but neither were in the NICU. I ended up giving them formula at set times a day, first 5 bottles a day then I cut that back to three which they continued with until weaning. I prepared the bottles to the oz amount recommended for their age on the formula package but never pressured them to finish it. (sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't) and I breastfeed on demand around the scheduled formula feeds. That worked well for us. I don't think they ever didn't feed at the breast because they were waiting for the bottle to appear that way. When it came time to add in solids I did that just before the schedule bottle feed time.
There is a Success Story thread as a sticky at the top of this forum, I suggest you work your way through it while they babies are still on the inside, so you'll have read a lot of different stories about feeding twins and a lot of different ways to do it when they time comes to do it yourself.

 

Rachel gave some great advice: Line up a lactation consultant NOW, preferably one with experience with twins (I got really lucky and got a great recommendation from the Lactation Center at my hospital. My LC was a mom of twins herself!)

Also, if you do end up in the NICU, having to pump will actually help because you can take advantage of the huge amount of milk when your milk comes in and keep pumping. The supply will stay up because the demand will stay up. On a normal day I was pumping about 10-12 oz at each session.

It is definitely possible! :youcandoit:

 

Yes you can do it!!! My girls were born at 37 weeks. Emilia latched on right away but Daniela didn't and she had lost more weight then the doc's liked to see. When the nurse came to me and asked if I wanted to supplement with formula I said NO! She then brought me a pump so that we could see how much Daniela was taking in. I got a half ounce in that first pump (it was only 2 days after their birth so my milk hadn't come in yet) I was extremely upset!! I was also struggling with one cracked bleeding nipple. It was extremely painful to feed or pump on the damaged nipple. I felt like I was going to fail at the one most important thing to me. The pain along with seeing how little I got made me give in. Next time the nurse came by I told her I would have to supplement. I felt terrible at that point. With all the pain I continued to tough it out so that I could establish a good supply once my milk did come in. Was discharged and continued at home with the pain. Eventually I healed up, my milk came in, and both my girls are now eating well . And yes I did get help from a LC! She was truly a HUGE help! Just don't give up!! The first few days may be tough but be strong and you will succeed!

 

Similar experience here with my DD. She just could not trigger a let-down on her own for the first few weeks (sucking too weak), but her brother was a good nurser and triggered the let-down for both sides and stimulated my supply, so I mostly tandem nursed. DD learnt as she grew stronger.

It did take me about 3 months to establish my supply enough to stop supplementing DD. I really wanted to breastfeed but I was prepared to be satisfied with partial breastfeeding and some supplementing. My midwife was great about supporting breastfeeding but not making supplementation a source of guilt or pressure. The success with DS and the knowledge that every bit of breastmilk is valuable helpd me as we worked our way through this.

Once we were exclusively breastfeeding it was the best experience ever, worth every bit of effort.