Breastfeeding Twins

I know, I know. People are a little curious, and a little bit weirded out about breastfeeding twins. As in, how does it, uh, work. Who goes where? When? How long? Here are a couple of posts I wrote specifically about how we managed feedings for the twins. And in case you’re wondering, here’s us at 3 months, quietly and calm in the park. It can be done!

• The first two months
• Six month update

Breastfeeding is different for everyone. I started breastfeeding the twins in the hospital, then gave up after our first week at home. There were a few different reasons for this: my girls were inefficient eaters, my chest looked like a war zone, and I was really stressed out about it. So for the next two months, I exclusively pumped for the girls. At peak production, I came away with 4 ounces per side, or 8 ounces each session.

I didn’t take vitamins, but I did drink a TON of water – about 4 32 oz nalgene bottles a day. I also ate like a horse. That was no different from being pregnant, but it’s something to note. Healthy, frequent eating habits served me well throughout my pregnancy and first year of raising twins.

Then, something magical happened. At three months, the girls started to get a little better at breastfeeding. So I incorporated one breastfeed a day into our schedule. Soon that feed turned into two, then three, and by four months, we left the bottles behind and forged ahead with exclusive breastfeeding. This slow, grow into it method worked really well for the girls and for me. I’m really glad I gave it a chance.

Logistics

• I didn’t use the special Twinsies pillow or anything like that. I found it to be bulky and hard to work with. I simply laid one baby in my left arm, cradle style. Then I laid the other baby on the tummy of her sister, and held her cradle style or football style. I suppose you could call this the stacking method. 🙂
• As the girls got older (8 mo) I started feeding them separately when I could. This way we got one on one time, and they could no longer pull each others hair or ears and interrupt the feedings.
• At 10 months, if I had to tandem feed, i faced both of them towards each other and held them in my arms, which were supported by pillows. This felt a little goofy, but worked.
• At 11 months, the girls are starting to wean. We are down to three feeding sessions a day – morning, noon, and bedtime. I’m following their lead, with the goal of being fully finished and onto solids and liquids in a cup by 1 year. I’m confident that will go well since they are eating machines.