Bfing twins (while having 18m old DC) (pumping?)

[Wiggy29]

Is it realistic? I bf dc1&2 with no issues and lived every second (well, apart from when milk came in for first time).

It suddenly dawned on me that I won't be able to subtly bf in public as you can with 1 baby, that even feeding rooms in shops aren't designed to feed 2 (I'm thinking you'd have to be on sofa/bed)? With this in mind, I plan to bf for first 6 weeks or so then pump my milk using a double electric portable machine. My thoughts are that it will ease some of the burden as others can feed and it would be easy to pump in a feeding room/ the car/ at friends etc than it is to feed two. Any thoughts?

Having expressed for 2 babies (not twins) I'd stick to BF if possible. Pumping is fairly time-consuming, double pumping doesn't leave your hands free to deal with the children & by the time you add in cleaning/sterilising - it might not free up as much time as you hope. My double pump wasn't portable, so I was just stuck in the house too, pumping & feeding all day

I had to pump as both my babies were premature & couldn't latch on. It was just impossible to pump, bottle feed & try to breastfeed. I couldn't pump often enough (3 hourly) to keep my breast milk supply up & lost my supply.

Sorry that's such a negative reply & probably not what you wanted to hear. Hopefully someone will have a positive story for you.

There's a reasonable chance that they'll be prem with being twins so your experience is helpful. Do you think that if you'd had a hands free pump it would have made a difference?

I had an Ameda lactaline, which is a hospital grade pump. Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't pump hands-free - I needed one hand to hold in position & the other to use for adjusting the pump & dealing with the children. I actually found it easier to double pump at night when I had peace & quiet. I would try to pump after every feed but found they ran into each other, especially in the evenings. & I got behind schedule with the pumping, hence loss of supply.

I don't have experience of twins myself but my friend had twins and a toddler and she managed to BF. When out she fed one baby in a cradle hold and the other laid across their brother on the other boob, I was very impressed!

You can get double BF cushions which I think are a god send and I'd be tempted to get one and just take it everywhere with you!

Auntflosdy, that does sound impressive! Us women are so clever! I know I may not feel like leaving the house much at first but thinking about it now makes me feel totally claustrophobic! At least if I have options I'll feel better, even if I never use them!

Having done it I agree feeding twins is not something I would have wanted to do in public. After about 6 weeks I was expressing once a day (had lots of milk) in the evenings. This meant that if out I could BF one and whoever I was with could give the other a bottle. Otherwise I just did them one at a time but the problem with that was that the one that was second always seemed to realise and get stroppy!

I also had a toddler at the time and when at home feeding the babies on the sofa she always either needed the potty (should have kept her in nappies longer) or other attention - maddening. Got quite good at turning the pages of a picture book with my toe.

I had one of the cushions - good but very large so not that portable unfortunately.

Most people I know just feed one at a time when out. Feed one, lay other in lap/ pram. Swap.

With our small gap raisens were a lifesaver! When I needed to feed I bribed eldest to sit with raisens!

Feeding rooms in John Lewis etc are great as you can shut the door and little ones can't reach so they are safe to just wander around/ climb on chairs whilst you feed little ones

Once twins can sit you can feed them easily together by sitting them facing you with their legs down sides of your
Legs

Ah, you ladies are giving me hope! I may actually leave the house! Dh is so laid back and has a 'it'll be cool/ fine/ crazy fun' vibe, and while I'm sure that's true, I imagine some pretty bleak/ crazy/ exhausting days sat in house with 3 babies! Any other tips, feeding or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated. Dh likes to go with the flow but i'm the type who feels more confident when I have planned and prepared (even if I don't use any of it, comforts me in.lead up to feel 'sorted').

Another tip - get eldest eating all foods himself if you currently spoon feed. Otherwise he will have to just wait and will be another one miserable!

Also start putting him on toilet before bath times/ increasing to when you take nappy off before new one. Then hopefully you won't have 3 in nappies for long as by 2years he will be used to most the process so easier to train

I expressed for twins not 9 months - not through choice but because the little blighters wouldn't latch on. If you can breast feed it is a lot easier - when out and about I would feed one at a time if possible. I also had an 18 month old.

Best to try and time outings to shorter stretches with a feed before you go out.

If you do express stick to 3 hourly and no more than 20-30 mins pumping - anything more than that just takes too long for very little benefit. Double pumping much more efficient at let down anyway.