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Nursing twins?

post #1 of 3
Thread Starter 
OK, hit me with your best advice.

I've successfully nursed 4 children, each for 2 to 3 years, but I must admit the thought of nursing two at once is scaring the pee out of me.
post #2 of 3
Mine are only 4mo right now, and it's going really well! You can do it, especially since you're already an experienced and successful nurser.

It was tricky at first because they were so little (also we started in the NICU,so had to wean off the bottles) and just getting used to holding two was a challenge. As they've gotten bigger and sturdier, it has gotten much easier.

It has been key to nurse them together most of the time, so there is some time in between. A twin-sized nursing pillow has been a good investment, though I don't use it every time anymore. Double football hold, and I can even nurse and type.

The other thing that is different from a singleton is that you'll need to eat a lot more (I've read 3000 calories! I don't think I get quite that much, but supply has not been a problem) and drink a lot more water.

It's actually quite nice, now that we're done with the new newborn phase.
Yes, there are some challenges, (and I'm sure I'll run into new ones as my two get bigger) but ... You can do it! You can do it!
post #3 of 3
Honestly, I had an easier time with the twins than I did with my singleton, because the temptation to quit was just NOT THERE. I kept reminding myself that formula was financially out of the question, and that kept me going when we had a hard time.

We had our share of start-up challenges. I attribute them more to the twins having been a tad premature than to the fact that they were twins, though. DD2 had a weak suck in the first few weeks and wasn't transferring milk or gaining weight, and we wound up using an SNS to keep her going until she had some time to grow and mature a bit. DS was given bottles in the NICU, so we fought a little to get him back on the breast exclusively, but again, we got through it with some determination.

For me, the hardest part was the time commitment. They went through phases where they refused to nurse simultaneously, and where their sleep cycles didn't synch up, so most of the time it was easiest to nurse them separately, and it just took SO MUCH TIME in those early months, especially since DS was an all-day sucker. I felt like DD1 was being sort of neglected and the housework went all to pot for a few months. Learning how to tandem comfortably really helps with that. Another trick of mine was putting one baby on the breast, football or cross cradle style, and then putting the other one one my knee for face-to-face contact. Add in the toddler hanging over one shoulder, and you have me the human jungle gym. We spent a lot of time like that! I could even eat a sandwich while juggling all that.

Going out could be challenging, because it's so hard to tandem-nurse in any kind of discreet way in public. I liked to have another adult with me whenever possible, who could soothe one baby until I got through with the other.

But once you get through the early months, it's so much EASIER to nurse them. I can't imagine how on earth anyone manages to get any sleep at all with twins without side-lying nursing. And I can't imagine dealing with two separate one-year-olds throwing almighty tantrums, when you can't just plug them in and settle down on the couch.

Things that helped me: the EZ2 Nurse pillow (I think that's what it called), budgeting a LOT of extra money for feeding ME, educating the other people in my life about the demands of nursing and how they could help and/or adjust their expectations, and finding a health care provider for the twins who was really wholeheartedly supportive and committed to breastfeeding multiples, which took some hard looking.

Nursing was honestly the best part of having twins for me. I was STARVING all the time, and yet the weight just kept melting off me. And the high oxytocin and prolactin levels are like God's gift to twin mamas-- that rush of feel-good that comes with nursing saved my life on many, many days.
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