Twins?

[someonenamedleah]

Hi all! We were contacted last week that a potential bmom is very interested in us as potential adoptive parents of her twins! She's not due untill feb, but will probably deliver in Jan. That's certainly a ways away, and right now we're awaiting her medical records. I'm REALLY excited, but I'm going to hold it all in and I don't think I'll be able to let my guard down untill we're on a plane home with the babies:-)

That said, this question is a little premature, but I'm just wondering if anyone thinks it'll be possible to bf adopted twins. I bf dd with no problems and my milk did come in after our baby boy was stillborn. I had planned on attempting to induce lactation and I have read up on it. I'm afraid though, that the feeding demands of TWO babies will be prohibitive and frustrating with a sns. Especially because we're a very active family...what I loooved about bf dd (besides health benefits and bonding) was how easy it was. Bf was so easy for us (I know it's not so easy for others) and since we do like to be out and about all the time, it was great to not have to carry all that stuff around with us.

Any thoughts?

[Tigerchild]

Well, I don't see why you couldn't try at least.

But I will say, as someone who breastfed my twins exclusively (while toddler-nursing my DD at the same time)--yeah, one is easy. Two (or three, in my case) ain't always. Just saying. Though yes, I could see it being easier from the standpoint of $$ and washing bottles.

I almost never nursed mine together except as an emergency because I DETESTED the feeling of nursing both boobs at the same time (some people enjoy it, I soooooooOOOOoo did not). If you did it that way, I could see that you might actually have a leg up on adoptive nursing because you certainly could get the time in for demand.

And even nursing twins, I didn't feel like getting out and about with them, to be really honest--even though I took DD all over the place.

So, I would pursue adoptive breastfeeding if you want to, why not? But I would keep the expectations that it will make your life easier or like it was with your singleton in check a bit, in my reality (and that of many other twin mamas I know, especially those of us with other children as well) it's such a different experience "easy" is not a word that is probably going to describe your life trying to get out and about, no matter how you feed 'em.

[sbrinton]

With twins (not just adopted twins) there are a few challenges with breastmilk. One is the logistics of feeding two at once, which is probably hard when they are newborns and need a lot of support. The second is whether or not mom can make enough milk. And the third is whether or not the twins are born prematurely and have any feeding issues as a result.

To exclusively breastfeed twins, I'm guessing you would need to be able to pump upwards of 40 ounces a day before they were born. That may or may not be possible depending on how inducing lactation works for you. I know that after our youngest bio son was born, I was able to pump at least 80 ounces a day (exclusively pumping while he was in the NICU), which would have been enough to feed about 10 preemies. But I have no idea what type of supply I will have when we adopt and I try to adoptive breastfeed.

But all of that said, breastfeeding is wonderful for more than just nutrition. Every drop is good for the babies and even if you can only provide a partial supply, it is better than nothing. I imagine it would help with forming a strong attachment, support their immune systems...if it goes well, being able to breastfeed even some of the time would cut down on the insane bottle washing I've seen my friends who are moms of multiples do.

[RedOakMomma]

I exclusively bf our (bio) twins for almost two years, and especially at the beginning it was HARD. Very hard. I think you should definitely go ahead and try, but please be gentle on yourself. With another child to care for, I don't think it's reasonable to expect to exclusively bf two adopted infants...especially when you consider how much time you would spend pumping. With newborn twins, you just don't have that much arms-free time. Not even close.

We didn't use formula until our fourth child (dd, adopted). I was very happily suprised at how little hassle formula turned out to be. Granted, we didn't do much of the fussy washing, sterilizing, etc. etc. etc, but I think even with a little more washing/sterlizing it would have been fine. I mean, at first I thought formula was a total pain in the arse (and my posts said as much), but after a week or two of adjusting it was fine.

Best of luck with all of this...getting your supply ready, meeting and knowing this mother and children...it's a very exciting time for you!

ETA: I didn't mind nursing them both at once, but it did present a challenge of how to hold both of them, arrange them through nursing (they were low tone), get up and sit down, move one when one fell asleep, or do ANYTHING else during nursing sessions. It was also A LOT of time spent with my shirt up under my chin, which isn't exactly conducive to visitors or going out in public. Honestly, I spent most of that first 3 months sitting in the same chair, with a radio turned on nearby for mental stimulation and two babies either nursing or sleeping on me constantly. No exaggeration. Feeding/nursing/whatevering twins is anything but easy during those first months. Please, please, please be gentle and reasonable in your expectations.

[osker]

What a wonderful thing it would be to even be able to nurse them once or twice a day each! I worked for a mom who gave birth to twins and had a hard time nursing them both. She was dedicated and when her son couldn't latch on enough to eat, she decided to pump for him... She spent the first six months nursing her daughter, pumping the other side, and bottle-feeding EBM to her son! She pretty much spent six months sitting on a sheet-covered sofa with some form of feeding, preparing for feeding, cleaning up after feeding, etc going on.
That being said, she loves the fact that she did it and wouldn't have changed it for the world.

[aja-belly]

i don't have a whole lot of time to write a long response, but i HAD to respond!

i have exclusively nursed my daughter (newborn adoption) and our twins (bio) so far. it think some people probably could do it. i imagine it would be alot of work - like all or your time. it's a big goal, but as long as you go into it with an open mind about what your results will be i think it is great. any breastmilk is of course great. and even nursing with none or little breastmilk is great, too. there are a million posts on the multiples forum about breastfeeding if you wanna go read.

feel free to pm or e-mail me if you wanna discuss either adoptive bf or twins!

[someonenamedleah]

Thank you all so much for your insight! You have really given me a lot to think about...I am glad so many of you have had experience in this, since I don't know anyone who has bf'ed twins OR an adopted baby.

Thanks!!!!

[SundayCrepes]

I tandem nurse my bio toddler (now preschooler) and adopted newborn (now toddler.) It was a lot in the beginning and I had no help. The lactation consultant wanted me to pump in between feedings to build up my supply. Yeah, right. When? Each was nursing 8 times a day. At first I was excited about nursing them at the same time. That quickly lost its appeal. Mainly because my toddler wanted to play with the baby and I was usually trying to get the baby to sleep. I did eventually find the best position that worked for that age group was me on the side, baby lying beside me, son behind me and leaning over. I even did that using the lactaid when I needed to supplement the baby. However, my son and I both came to dislike that position. For the most part, I avoid nursing them together. He's almost 4 now and it's just not fun.

One of the benefits of nursing them both was that they NEVER shared a cold. Not in 13.5 months. I always have my son nurse after the baby and only on my least productive side so I'm not sure how much milk he even gets. It seems that, whenever one of them is sick, they inoculate my body and I produce antibodies which the other gets before they can get sick. It's been great to not have them sick together.

Go for it with these twins. They need the antibodies in addition to everything else you can give them. Remember you can get donor milk at www.milkshare.com. Do you have a lactaid? They're much nicer than the medela sns for most people. However, for twins I wonder if the sns can be used to supplement both babies at once (It has two tubes.) I'd say check into that if you think it would work for you.

[Polliwog]

Originally Posted by mybabysmama

One of the benefits of nursing them both was that they NEVER shared a cold. Not in 13.5 months. I always have my son nurse after the baby and only on my least productive side so I'm not sure how much milk he even gets. It seems that, whenever one of them is sick, they inoculate my body and I produce antibodies which the other gets before they can get sick. It's been great to not have them sick together.

It could be, or it could be that they aren't "catching" each other's germs. I've never breastfeed either child (one adopted, one being adopted in a few months) and can't remember a time that they've both been sick at the same time. They don't get sick very often, though.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by Polliwog

It could be, or it could be that they aren't "catching" each other's germs. I've never breastfeed either child (one adopted, one being adopted in a few months) and can't remember a time that they've both been sick at the same time. They don't get sick very often, though.

Except, with them both suckling on the same breasts, you'd think they'd have the perfect opportunity to expose each other.

[organicpapayamama]

totally doable. my brother and I are adopted and while we are not twins were are only 2 months apart so it was almost like twins. My mother took meds to increase milk supply and pumped ahead of time to get her milk supply up. (not she has never had any biological children) and by the time we were both home she was indeed able to bf both of us. my brother ended up having some sort of allergy or something and ended up needing a special type of formula but my mom most certainly had the supply for two little ones. good luck it sounds very exciting!

[TWINMOMMD]

I think you should at least try but don't get down if you can't. I had twins and just couldn't keep up with their demands!! Best of luck!! ((hugs)))

[aja-belly]

hey, i remember this thread! i see from your sig that you do have twins now.  one of my twins is also named cassius.

hope the first year hasn't been too hard. twins are so much fun and that first year goes so fast! the second year was way easier on us. mine turn 2 next month.

[Smithie]

You got the twins! Hooray!!!