Breastfeeding twins ... any experts around please?

[millie1]

DTs are 3 weeks now and exclusively breastfeeding. Putting weight on and doing very well .... except, I feel I've had one or other of them attached to me since 10pm last night with only 3 hours off in total. It's a bit early for a growth spurt (admittedly it could be) but tbh it's comfort sucking with them - they latch on, have a few mouthfuls of milk and go to sleep ... then promptly wake up when I transfer them to cot/carrycot. Am absolutely exhausted and am lucky if I get 3 hours sleep a night (this has been going on since birth). Sleep during the day is near impossible with two older children.

Any suggestions please. Have b/f my other two and know it takes some weeks to get into a routine so don't expect a miracle but do need some sleep. Try to start final bedtime feed at around 11pm ... last night I finally took one into bed with me at 4.30am (did manage one hour lying down during that time). Feel like my recovery from section is much slower and maybe due to lack of rest and also sitting all the time and not getting to lie and stretch out. If I feed lying down both they and I fall asleep and I don't feel comfortable co-sleeping due to soft mattress and being over-tired myself.

Have a Eze2nurse pillow but it's quite heavy and sore on my still-tender tummy. Am going to try to get hold of an ordinary v-shaped pillow in the hope that tandem feeding will speed things up.

Really just need a pep talk and some advice please

Thanks!

Thanks Mummyofbeautifultwingirls - so much good advice! You did really well building in such a good routine ... I don't think I could be that disciplined. I'm a real soft touch with the comfort feeding too ... I've had one baby attached to me doing just that for much of this evening although I eventually de-latched her and just let her sleep snuggled in to me. Thankfully, she's in her carrycot now . Her sister has, after two days, taken to the dummy like a duck to water and it's the only way I can get her to settle/sleep ... now that I don't like. Tomorrow we'll go back to my 'no dummies during the day rule' !

One question though ... what age were they when you started your routine, ie evening feed at 7pm with top-up at 10.30/11? I remember with the other children, that they were much older when I did this. Our twins are just a bit too young for a routine just yet but it's something to keep in mind for later.

Well from day dot I did the 3 hourly feeding thing but like yours seem to be, mine cluster fed ALL evening every evening and it was draining!!! (and the cold dinners were horrid!). I think the cluster feeding thing is good for them because it kind of stocks them up for the night; I used to think that I would rather they did it from 5 till 10pm than midnight to 5am!!!!!

I decided enough was enough and that I wanted to start eating hot food again when they were just past their due date (I too was a softie when they were still prem). They were 8 weeks "old" - or 2 weeks past their due date and the weight of an average newborn - when we put them to bed for he first time in the evening; before then we put them to sleep in the crib bits of their prams in the lounge..... or one or the other was attached to me/sleeping on daddy!!!

They took to it really well and seemed to have been crying out to go to bed cos as soon as I did this they settled well...actually, I am now having flash-backs to hearing them cry through the monitor whilst my mashed potato sunk down my throat like an unchopped pineapple..... but I think this may have been one of the "prem baby attempts" cos I can remember saying to everyone once I got to the 8 week mark why oh why didn't I put them to bed in the evenings sooner cos they have settled immediately.

I tend to think that these things should go on weight rather than age cos you can have an 8 week old that weighs double the amount of another and therefore differing tummy capacities IYKWIM?

Hi Millie1 - just wanted to say congratulations! You probably don't remember me but we had a brief msg exchange on double buggies AGES ago!! We talked about the Twin Zoom - remember?! What did you have and how was everything?? Sorry if you've already written this somewhere - I'm just having a very quick scan of this message board as I don't have quite enough time to have a good old read!! (you know what it's like!). ps I had twin girls on 8th April by planned C/Sec. One 'greedy' one at 6lb14 and one teeny one at 4lb. And there's still nearly 3lbs difference! Hope you're ok and enjoying your babes!! LOL

Anyone got any successful ways of supporting babies for tandem (only just learnt this is how you refer to it!) breastfeeding? My babes are 10wks now, and I am getting quite a lot of discomfort in my upper back; I think it's due to bad posture whilst feeding. I've tried so many combinations of cushions/pillows etc. (although I must admit, I haven't tried a V pillow yet), but nothing seems to get them high up enough(!) so that I can sit up straight and not slouch. I would really appreciate any pointers as I found myself thinking tonight that it would all start going downhill as I am suffering increasingly with my back. And I REALLY don't want to stop yet. I am doing mixed feeding (which I'm sure everyone would think isn't a good idea, but it works absolutely brilliantly for me), but I am so thrilled that I have also managed to bf two for this long! I didn't think I'd be able to do it at all.

Don't sit up straight. Lean back. Like this

Hope that helps. You can email me (addy below)

Mummyofbeautifultwingirls... we do what you did. Carrycots til our bedtime then everyone upstairs. I imagine we'll change it when they settle a little with feeding - I can't quite believe they'll be 4 weeks tomorrow! And boy, can I relate re the cold dinners - UGH!

Drovette ... Congratulations on your girls. They were good weights ... and my, what a big weight difference! Ours had a diff of around 12oz between them .. the bigger feels massive even now and the little one like a fairy although she's catching up. They're fantastic, aren't they? Prams ... how do you find the Zoom? We bought the Easywalker Duowalker and although it's only been used once or twice thus far, I really like it. One of the lighter doubles, easy pushed and comfortable. Carrycot was recommended but we didn't buy those and instead just line the seat with a blanket to make it softer .

Gotta run ... DT2 being bathed and almost ready for milk!

Marslady - thank you! Haven't tried it yet, but maybe next time I'm feeding them in bed I'll see if I can manage it!

Hi Millie1 - well after waiting ages for the Zoom and finally getting it home - OMG it was absolutely gigantic!!! We were falling over laughing at the size of it with the two carrycots fitted!!! It was the size of a minibus! Absolutely hilarious! And very heavy. Probably quite good if your twins are adult sized!!! Anyway, that's gone back and we now have the iCandy Pear, which is lovely. Hadn't seen your one though - just looked on the internet at it - it looks brilliant. I wish I'd seen it before! If you have time: what are its good and bad points? Would you recommend it?

Hello

Mummykiwi LOL about never-ending growth spurt! I know the feeling...

Mine are pretty much OK going from 11pm to 5am now which is when DH gets up anyway so I feed them while he's showering and then he changes them while I go back to sleep - fab But one tends to wake earlier with a pooey nappy, I change her with one eye open and a tiny reading-light.

DH does the swaddling, he has some technique that gets them straight and tight like sticks of rock and they sleep like ... er ... babies I do them and they are all lumpy and they wriggle their little arms out houdini-style within minutes, thrash around and start crying. Sigh. A nice tight swaddle really does seem to comfort them.

Ha - I replied to messages on page 1 and totally didn't see page 2!

Drovette for tandem feeding I sit on my sofa and put the sofa backrests down flat either side of me which are pretty high and firm, and I have a pillow behind my back for support and one on my lap, and am leaning back a bit to get the right height as Mars says. It feels a bit perilous manoeuvring them off afterwards as they are so high up so I mainly do it when DH is around to help.

My back is knackered too - I'm doing some yoga stretches to loosen it out and tone up the muscles for better support - apparently pilates is v good for that. My doctor said while BFing you still produce relaxin so your back stays flexible which makes it easier to pull/stratch it in a not-helpful way when BF-ing. Good back support, not hunching over and exercising the back and abdomen muscles are the solution apparently - none of which is easy while BF-ing and after CS!

Mars that's so lovely! Anais just loves lying on top of me like that, feeding or just cuddling. It looked all wrong at first her being face-down, I didn't think she'd be able to feed like that, but it so works. And no back-ache

I used to express milk and have one feeding from me, whilst the other was in the car seat feeding from the bottle, that was if I was short of time, otherwise i would feed the hungrier one and then swap.At night which ever one woke first got fed and then i would wake the other one, so at least the night times were kept under some sort of control, eventually i opted to breast feed / formula, so when one got formula the other got Breat fed, it was much easier than trying to tandem feed,which I never got to grips with althought the midwife in hospital was keen for me to learn.My twins are 10 now, all the hard work when they were small is a distant memory, it gets easier and they are such good fun now. Enjoy every moment it seems endless when they are small but it goes by in a blink.

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Millie just wanted to add to the others to say you are doing brilliantly. Breast-feeding twins really is so exhausting.

I remember desperately trying to find a way to feed them both lying down - the only way I found is I think what you're doing. I called it "Batman and Robin" hold (which was hysterical to my sleepdeprived brain).

I would lie on one side with one babe feeding lying next to me and the other "flying" on my rib cage with me holding onto them behind them - they'd manage somehow to latch on! I just got so sick of having to get out of bed and sit up in the night when I so badly wanted to lie down!

I was really bad at just letting things go - I found it really depresssing for the house to be a mess and to not get outside every day.

They do eventually settle down to a routine I promise! But I found it hard to get out of the house as much as I'd like as I tandem fed and it got them into a routine.

Keep with it you're doing brilliantly!

Hi All ... this thread has popped up again so I'll update you! I'm laughing at your Batman and Robin description Hattyyellow!

The girls will be 9 weeks on Thursday and are thriving. They are getting better at night - generally have them in their cots at around 12.30am (DH had the bright idea of putting one in her carrycot and it's worked a treat - other sleeps better in cot). DT1 generally wakes between 3 and 4am and DT2 has been known to go to 5am. I tandem feed at bedtime but during the night I just throw the bedclothes off and they come in with me. Gets troublesome in the morning when they're both in with one lying on either side with me wedged in the middle, turning back and forth. Not doing so well at daytime naps and tend to be unsettled during the day - will only do maybe 20 min stretches in bouncy seats before they start crying. Not quite sure what to do except persevere.... I can't feed them all the time! Although now that I think back over today, they were unsettled all morning, slept for an hour or two before lunch, same mid afternoon and have been asleep now for 2 hours so that's not bad at all!

We've had a few trips out ... took much longer than usual as we had to build in multiple feeding stops but gives an excuse for lots of coffees and cakes!

Best go feed them and get to bed now!

Well done you!

It does continue to get easier though.

Thanks for this post, millie. It's full of some great ideas. I've saved it for when I have mine (still far away in oct, but also have a toddler) and also need to make some notes to look at. Have been stressing a bit about how am going to cope. That bfing position with baby lying on top looks very cool, Mars! And want to express once a day for ds to do a night feed, but may be more hassle than it's worth...