Breast feeding twins?

[PrincessScrumpy]

DD1 will be 3.5 when twins arrive. I bf dd1 until she was 8 months old. I really want to be able to bf twins but I cannot see how it'll work. I don't want to neglect dd1 by sitting feeding for hours on end (dd1 would feed for an hour at a time).

People keep telling me that I won't be able to bf twins but that is making me more determined to prove them wrong. Having said that, I've already bought a steriliser and 2 bottles just in case. DD1's bottles were sterilised in a small breast pump steriliser box one at a time as at 8 months it was easy enough to do. I feel like I'm already giving up - am I just being realistic?

Could I bf one and bottlef the other then switch each feed? Would that work or just confuse them?

Would love to hear from both sides. Not an argument of what's best, more how do you survive and what works for you?
Thanks

I b'f twins until they were 11 months but I didn't have an older one to contend with. I never really managed to feed them at the same time unless they were really hungry so it was quite time consuming. I'd feed one whilst the other was in a bouncy chair or whatever, playing on the floor etc then swap. I didn't switch between bottles and breast but I can't see why that wouldn't work - babies are much more versatile than we give them credit for. Good luck - its great that you're determined to try it!

Hello
When I was pg with my twins was in a v. similar situation - had breastfed DD1 till 8 months and had gone fine but she would feed for AGES (fine with 1st and quite nice to watch a whole TV programme) but couldn't see how it would work with twins. I did really want to do it though but got the bottles in just in case.
It went fine. DD1 was 18 mths and would have stories etc while I fed. At home I mostly fed them together on an EZ2 nurse pillow, but I would feed them seperately too. The trickiest times were when we were out alone as one would have to wait in the buggy while I fed the other.
They fed much quicker than DD1 - I don't know if this was just luck or if the fact that I wanted to move it along a bit made a difference. They would typically both be fed, winded etc within 15-20 mins.
I did get them both started on bottles very young too - they would usually have one a day in the evening though DTD had 2 a day for a bit when they were worried about her weight gain. I was glad I did it as they were both fine with bottles too and DH could feed them one night a week so I could get a bit more sleep!
The first few months with twins are so crazy anyway that the feeding didn't feel like that much of an issue - it all settled down a bit and they fell into a fairly regular feeding pattern which was easier to plan for. In the end I took them off the bottles at about 7/8 months and breastfed until they were just over one.
Hope that helps, if there's anything specific about it let me know and will try to remember. And congratulations - having twins is very special!!

OH, with the pillow I could have hands free to turn book pages etc. With a 3.5 yr old you could do stories, or stickers, or TV or word games, or get her to do 'exercises/dancing for you while you fed (my DD1 is just 4, thinking of things that would have kept her happy at 3.5)

My twins are nearly 2 and still feeding them, when they were very little I used an twin feeding vision at home, also I would always latch one on first in a rugby hold then pick the second one up usually of the sofa, mine also fed quickly about 10 mins every 2 hours, for the first couple of months.
I also had an inflatable nursing pillow from mothercare which wad great when out.
Another tip I picked up was using the change bag as s prop to the baby in the rugby hold and then picking up the second baby. Took a few weeks to master but it was so worth it.
I always kept my 2 to there own sides, they always fed on their side and always together. Again takes s few weeks to get them in sinc but makes life so much easier.
Good look with your two, I think there's a picture still on my profile of me feeding the Boys in the park with the inflatable pillow.

You can do it, I had a 2.3 year old and I am still breastfeeding mine at 15 months. Don't listen to people telling you you can't, you can if you want to.

I would feed them at the same time, so if one was hungry I'd do them both, which meant feeding every two hours but then I was free inbetween. I worked hard at different ways of feeding them both at the same time, it took practice but was a practical solution to getting the amount of time feeding down.

I could get them both on, then sort of hold them in position with my knees if I needed to do something else with dd2. Not comfy or dignified, but it worked.

Like largeglassofred one always has the right, the other always has the left. It was simpler and each sorted out their own supply and demand - but I did get lopsided at times.

Can you get your dd1 into a morning or afternoon playgroup? That will ease your guilt if you are not managing to do as much with her in the first weeks (I would recommend that whatever way you were going to feed).

On a trivial level, it is worth breastfeeding just because it amazes so many people who then think you are superwoman!

Thanks for all the support. I'm going to give it a good go but I won't be beating myself up if we can't do it. Does annoy me how many people have decided that I've failed at something I haven't even tried yet!

Princess Scrumpy, I am exactly like you, DS will be 3 and I am determined to bf my twins due in July.
Thanks for this thread, there are some great stories, good luck

I seriously dont know why people tell you bfing twins is impossible?! its actually beginning to tick me off - i have DD whos 5 and tandem feed my month old twins no problem.
I stopped using bottles as soon as they latched on and havent given them a bottle since they were 2weeks old. i find bottles more time consuming than breast.

I also keep each twin to his own breast.
My DD has lost time with me but thats not due to bfing, thats because ive either been changing nappies or cleaning or cooking. When i sit and feed thats when i can read to her, talk, role play etc.

If you have a partner or family or friends to help out i recommend you get them to take your ds to nursery a few times a week, if not just to give you a break but also to give your ds something else to focus on.
Congrats btw!

Your right Holidays. Feeding two with a bottle would still involve sitting holding two bottles, but then also the preparation and sterilisation.

There is no hands-free option is there.

i am glad mine are bfing - if they didnt latch on id be so stressed out just with the preparation of each feed!

You'll still be feeding the twins even if you don't breastfeed, and that would still be time you couldn't spend so easily with your older one. So why not breastfeed? Plus u won't have all that extra sterilising!!
I fed my twins, I used to do them together nearly all of the time unless i was out and about The EZ-2-nurse cushion is fab! I fed them until 13 mths as once I got past 6 mths, it was so straightforward that it seemed silly to stop. They went straight onto cows milk from a cup, no formula! The EZ cushion really does let u feed hands free. icould eat, drink, use remote etc. As someone else said you couldn't do that and bottle feed
Give it a go! the first couple of wks will be hard and you'll need a bit of help, but newborn babies sleep a lot and once they get a bit more efficient at feeding, you should have a bit of time in between feeds.

I've been told rumours of babies sleeping a lot - dd didn't - 2 hours at a time maximum with hour long feeds, but most sleeps lasted 30 mins so I didn't get to nap at all. My friend would ff in 10 mins so compared to my hour feeds she had a lot more "spare time". Having said that, I still want to bf.

Thing is every baby is different and just because her baby finished quickly doesnt mean yours will.

Hi. My ds1 was v nearly 3 when twins arrived. I breastfed them for 20 months (mostly) because I found it easier tbh. They were quick feeders though. In the early days dh did a formula feed around 11pm so I could go to bed at 8pm and get some sleep till 2ish when I took over their 'care'. I co-slept so made sleep feeding a bit easier. I also bought a good Medela pump (the double one) and used to pump sometimes too if I had a lot of milk so dh would give an expressed feed (especially to dd who had reflux, seemed better for her than formula).

They did take to the breast differently. Dd was a natural (despite being smaller). Ds2 was a bit more difficult and seemed to to take a few weeks to get the hang of things well.

When the 'early days' had worn off I was glad I was breastfeeding them as it was such a pleasure! I really loved it, and so did they, so it was well worth sticking with it.

There are lots of 'holds' where you can feed them at the same time, but mine both fed quite quickly (15mins or less) so I never had to do that.

Good luck! Hope it goes well...

Ha ha...laughing at myself here...my twins have been feeding on and off since about 7pm...its now nearly 11pm and i think they're nearly done???
But i also love bfing them so that helps keep me sane!

holidays, mine were like that in the early weeks too, seams along time ago now,

one thing I did do from about 8 weeks I think, was give them a expressed bottle at bedtime, 7 ish as I wanted to ensure they would take a bottle so I could have the odd evening out. Dp loved this, he said as he got to do the snuggles and food bit too, :-)

hallo, just wanted to add to the support and encouragement...my DTs are 19 now! but I bf them exclusively till about 5 mths and until they were 2. They had an older sibling nearly 3 when they were born. It is very tiring, but it's having twins that's tiring, at least if you bf them you have to sit down to do it!

Hello, I love this subject - had to add my tuppence worth! It's true - once you get into the swing of it, breast feeding twins is fantastic. It's really worth the struggle at the beginning for the ease later on. I breast feed my 7 month old twins on a pillow together, and they are so well behaved and love it. It's very rewarding. I was the same - I'm stubborn and only continued because someone said i'd never be able to do it!!!! I give them a top up of formula for their last feed at night which helps them to go through.. anything that works is the right thing to do so don't stress about giving top ups. I had to in the beginning as mine were premature and I hadn't enough to give them at first. It's worth all the effort!

I'm 26 weeks pregnant with twins and breast fed my son (who is now 3) until he was 8 months too so this thread has been so interesting and encouraging!

I feel very similar in that people saying it can't be done just spurs me on to prove everyone wrong!

Very true about bottle feeding taking as long, keeping you away from an older child as much as breastfeeding. That's a really good point and I'd not thought of that.

Kathy x

I'd like to add my tuppence in here too!

I thought that I wanted to feed my twins, but I was telling myself that if it didn't work, then I wouldn't. Little did I know how that attitude would change!

After a totally trouble free pregnancy, they arrived all of a sudden at 30 weeks (completely healthy, just small) so they were fed with expressed milk through nasal tubes. We started trying to get them to feed at about 33 weeks and eventually were sent home at 35 weeks - bear with me, this is relevant!

After a few weeks at home, things started to get a bit sore, then very sore, then excrutiatingly sore. After much agonising (physically and mentally) I called a lactation consultant who came in and diagnosed both of them with tongue tie. Once these were snipped, it made things so much easier.

Almost everyone kept saying to me, "just give them some formula" but I just couldn't. Silly really, when I'm sure that's what I'd suggest to someone else in a similar position. As with Kathyoi, it turned out that I was more stubborn than I had ever imagined. At times we were doing 24 feeds in a 24 hour period -a couple each were of expressed milk, although this lessened over time until I was fully feeding them at about 6 months (3 and a half months adjusted).

PrincessScrumpy, while I can't comment on having another child around, it certainly is possible to feed both and now, when people ask me - and then express amazement that I'm still feeding them now (at just over 1), I just tell them the truth, that it is just SO easy to do them together (with the aid of a feeding pillow) that it simply wouldn't make sense to stop now.

I had a mum of twins in my class who had said to me that it was perfectly possible, so as far as I was concerned, it had to be. For sheer convenience, it's well worth it.

Good luck - and sorry to hijack your posting like this!

Thanks Lowes. I was very firm about bfing dd1 and if they latch on as well as she did it'll be fine, but I think I will express to give myself a break - really gave myself a hard time with dd1. I'm more relaxed this time round.