Breastfeeding Twins

It has been hard for me to write due to limited time & feeling unsure about sharing my new mom struggles in this space. However, even while still trying to get pregnant I enjoyed reading these type of posts so I'm hoping sharing this might help another mom out there.

Oh breastfeeding... I felt so strongly about wanting breastfeeding to go well for a multitude of reasons. I knew it would be hard with twins. And it was. I knew that it would be worth it. And it is.

The first day they were born is a little bit of a blur now with being awake for 48 hrs before they arrived, the c-section, & duramorph in the epidural which resulted in a drugged & puking mama for 24 hours. But I know they latched pretty well at the same time as soon as we got into the recovery room & fed at least a couple more times that first day. Then the next day things changed. E became what we affectionately called 'hangry' & would thrust her head back and forth feverishly when trying to latch. She went from sleeping to hangry in seconds so it was really difficult to try to avoid. Thus began the practice of feeding them separately as it was just too hard to get them going together. O on the other hand seemed to be getting the hang of things. We saw the lactation consultant at the hospital & she gave us some tips (breastfeeding is not intuitive like you think it should be- at least it wasn't for me). I also started pumping after every feed to try to get my supply up & milk to come in.

Then that second night they were both down close to 10% from their birth weight & the nurse said the pediatrician would probably talk about supplementation in the morning. That was the night I kind of lost it. Breastfeeding 2 babies in a row one who is pissed the whole time & seems to hate it, then pumping for 15 min, and then changing them ect took over an hour. We would send them to the nursery between feeds overnight (a godsend- seriously people I love my babies but it was survival time). I think at the 3am feed that night when E would just not latch & was so, so, so mad I called the nurse & asked for formula. Then began the craziness that is breastfeeding, supplementing & pumping. For the next week I nursed them separately followed by my husband feeding them 0.5-1 oz of formula while I pumped. It was hell. Because there were 2 & they weren't on the same schedule I basically was feeding one of them constantly (or pumping). I don't think I slept for more than 1.5 hrs in a row for their first 10 days of their life. My husband kept telling me I needed sleep & that he would just feed them overnight one night so I could rest but I was convinced that I needed to breastfeed them every time they ate or we would fail. I honestly already felt like a failure & I was falling apart. When you are that exhausted for that long you think you have it all together but everyone around you is thinking "woah give that girl a bed or a drink or both." And they are right. My husband was amazing but unfortunately he cannot lactate.

Luckily I had somewhat planned for this chain of events. I had emailed one of the pediatricians that works in the breastfeeding medicine clinic at the hospital I work for during the pregnancy. She brilliantly had recommended making an appt with them when they were born regardless. Making that appt was one of my achievements on that first drug dazed day of their life & when it finally came it changed everything in such a positive way. 


Lesson 1- Breastfeed twins at the same time always. IT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL SURVIVE. 


So first thing she told us was the goal of the appt was to get them both latched at the same time and this would be the plan from here on out.  Since O was the good feeder at the time she would be in charge.  Every time she wanted to eat we would feed E too.  If E got hungry in between these times we could give a little bit of formula (we never had to do this).


By the time of our appt, E usually wouldn't breastfeed unless she was given a little bit of formula first- she wanted that instant satisfaction.  But feeding them simultaneously helped this immensely as well- when I latched O first my other breast would start leaking and thus E would get her immediate milk without much effort.


Lesson 2- Positioning is really important.


My back was killing me that first week.  Primarily because I was trying to breastfeed them while sitting on our deep couch without any extra support.  I had bought this: My Brest Friend Twins Nursing Pillow but it was really too large for them at the newborn stage.


She recommended I get this: My Brest Friend Original Pillow to use for now and save the twin version for later when they are larger.  She also recommended using pillows or blankets underneath either side of that pillow to prop it up and then using little blankets or towels under there heads as sort of pillows for their heads to prop them up to the breast.


Lesson 3-Supplementing is not evil.


I am a pediatrician. I knew this but I had immense mom guilt.  It was nice to hear her affirm- for a full term healthy baby the difference between formula and breast milk is small. Yes, there are wonderful benefits for baby, mother & financially but happy & healthy mom & baby is most important.


At this appt at just over 1 week of age they were almost back to birth weight & my milk had really come in a few days before!  Yay! So she recommended supplementing if they still seemed hungry- otherwise no need to keep supplementing.


Lesson 4- Listen to your husband.


So this amazing doc said, "You don't really need me. You've got this. But you do need sleep.  This is survival mode. I don't care if you don't feed them for 1 night or just get up once to pump.  It is not going to hurt your breastfeeding- you need the rest."


The hubby took over that night from 9pm-4am while I slept just getting up once at 12am to pump (I was too engorged not to).  Ahhh... what a night of sleep will do for a person.  Life changing how much better I felt the next day.


Lesson 5- If you are having multiples or have any breastfeeding issues at all see a breastfeeding medicine specialist/lactation consultant.


The consultants in the hospital are good but at an outpatient visit they have a lot of time to spend with you (our actual time with the doc was >1 hr).  They are able to go through the whole feed with you and trouble shoot and then you have their nurse line for questions/back up ect.


This appointment seriously changed everything for us. My husband talks about how the first month was hard.  It was, but for me nothing compares to those first 10 days.  The impact of that doctor's visit was immediate.  They were on a schedule from that night on and we haven't looked back.  And by schedule- I mean they still feed on demand just always together.  It has made our lives so much easier.  I am so very thankful that so much support exists for breastfeeding now days because in the end it has been hard but so very, very worth it.