Moms who breastfeed twins???

Hey girls,

We are finally all home and I am trying to figure out the best way to feed these little guys.

In the NICU the nurses had to document how much they were eating so I mostly pumped. Sometimes I bf before sometimes not.

So now they are home. They currently bf about 10 minutes each (sometimes a little more) and then I supplement with a bottle that I pumped. It is a long process but I want to make sure they are getting enough.

I am barely keeping up with my supply for them. I read you could try to pump every 2 hours to build up your supply but the process already takes an hour and fifteen minutes at least. so I don't know if it would be possible.

They are 12 days old. How long should they be bfing for? or how much should they be drinking. Even when my DD BF for 15 minutes she will still suck down a 2 oz bottle.

Please share your schedules that worked for you if you dont mind!!!!

thanks so much!!

Message edited 1/26/2011 1:18:47 PM.

Re: Moms who breastfeed twins???

I mostly pump. From the beginning I have been pumping every 3 hours (when possible). When the babies came home, i would prop them both in a boppy pillow and give them a bottle. I was able to keep up with them becuase they were in the NICU for a month and they were monitoring their feeds so i had a lot of breastmilk in my freezer and in the freezer at the NICU. Now that they are home, it is getting tougher to keep up.

DD never really took to the breast. Only once in a while, but she gets too frustrated that nothing comes out right away so she just gives up. So she mostly gets a bottle of breast milk. DS took to the breast very well. So now, i just started putting him on the breast every other feed and every other feed i would give him a bottle. This so far seems to be helping with my supply because i am still pumping every 3-3 1/2 hrs. In the beginning, he was only BF'ing for 15 minutes. I would only offer him a bottle after that if he showed signs that he was hungry. The NICU nurses told me i would know if he wanted more and to only offer him a bottle if he does not seem satisfied. They also told me i might be feeding more often if i am just BF'ing. Now, DS will BF for about 30 minutes, sometimes more. I like to keep them both on the same schedule, so while DS is on the breast, DD is in a boppy next to me while i am holding her bottle.

I also have the My Breast Friend twin pillow for breast feeding. Which once in a while when they both are on the breast at the same time, it works wonders. Maybe see where they are after they have been on the breast? Only offer a bottle if they show signs that they are not satisfied. Maybe you can try bottle feeding every other feed and putting them on the breast every other feed to build your supply? So far this has been working for me and both of them have been packing on the weight. Whether or not they are on the breast, we go 4-5 hours between feeds right now. When your twins left the NICU, were they able to drink as much as they wanted, or was the NICU still only giving them a certain amount? By the time we left, the twins were able to take as much as they wanted.

ETA: they are both taking just under 4oz when taking a bottle. But they are 8 weeks old. At 2 weeks old in the NICU, they were not even taking 2oz yet.

Message edited 1/26/2011 2:38:28 PM.

Re: Moms who breastfeed twins???

here is the question - do you want to have them mostly nurse, or do you want to pump and bottle feed?
If you want to breast feed, then I'd cut out the supplemental bottles unless they are not gaining weight. There are two reasons for this:
1) The pump is not as efficient as the babies and will not build your supply like the babies directly nursing will. I was never a good pumper, I would have never been able to get enough to feed both of them. But by directly breastfeeding, I had enough milk, I BF for 15 months.
2) The bottle is SOOO much easier for the babies than the breast. They will suck down a bottle even if they aren't particularly hungry. They will also prefer a bottle over the breast because its the easy way to get the milk.

When mine were newborns, they would nurse for a lot longer than 10 minutes, I'd say even up to an hour.
Why do you think they are done after 10 minutes? Are they pulling away? Are they falling asleep? Or are you taking them off to give them a bottle? I would reallly try to get them off the bottle if nursing is if you want to do. If not, then no worries about continuing with the bottle - but you may need to start supplementing with formula if you can't build up your supply with the pump.

Re: Moms who breastfeed twins???

If you can and want to, stop pumping.

I exclusively bf and never pumped for my twins for a year. I pumped to bring my milk in and then never again. They make you produce SO much more from their sucking. It's hard in the beginning but SO worth it and it becomes so easy.

FM me with any questions!

Re: Moms who breastfeed twins???

thanks so much girls for all the advice what a difference a day makes. I think I was giving them the bottle bc I was afraid they weren't getting enough from bfing. I bit the bullet and just bf them and they did pretty well. Now they are up to 20-25 minutes each and I even was able to use the breast friend pillow and do both at the same time. I do find though that they sometimes don't make it the full 3 hours before becoming fussy again. hopefully as they learn to nurse longer this will stop.

Now one more question...should I still pump after their feedings to build up their supply? I have been but skipped one time in the middle of the night.

Re: Moms who breastfeed twins???

I pumped and feed them from the bottle for about 3 months, thats what worked best for me.

Re: Moms who breastfeed twins???