how to increase supply logistics wise with full time nursing twins

[mauri456]

I think my supply is OK.   But I think I  make just what they need....which isn't bad.   But I am wondering - if I worked with the pump to up my supply - would it help the nonstop nursing?  

Our days still them nursing every 1.5 hrs. They nurse for anywhere from 25 minutes to 45 minutes.  Evenings they are latched on from 5p-9p.  Nights arent as bad - they go 3-4 hrs.  So I am wondering if I took say a week and pumped after feeds, you think that would up  my supply to where they are more satisfied??

They are 14 weeks

[mauri456]

I am already taking herbs.... have tried marathon nursing, eating/drinking enough

[mauri456]

oh. should have added - pees/poos/milestones are ok.   pedi is "watching" growth... will check it agian in a month bc she wanted to see more.   their growth has slowed down from weeks 9 - now.

[herdingkittens]

not sure, but pumping on top of nursing twins may be more work than it's worth.  they may taper off a bit in a short time - i remember my twins going through growth spurts where i just sat around and nursed (or walked around and nursed with them in a carrier).

maybe a LC or LLL person can chime in on this one?

[Julia'sMom]

I think the amount of nursing your twins are doing is perfectly normal.  Their tummies are so small and the milk is digested quickly.  IN fact, I would have LOVED to have 3-4 hour spans at night at that age.  So, I'm not sure if increasing supply would lengthen the time between feeding.

That being said, I had problems with supply and ended up supplementing.  I will say that pumping can definately help, if you have the time.  I cut holes in an old bra so that I could pump hands free and then pumped while brushing teeth, doing my hair etc.  You could also while doign dishes or something.  Also, I found that taking More Milk Plus worked better for me than Mother's Mlik Tea or just plain fenugreek or barley.  I also found that a prescription, Reglan, significantly boosted my supply more than herbs.  I just called my midwife to get a prescription and it wasn't too expensive.  Note that you should also talk about possible side effects with your health care professional.  The other thing I was advised was to tandem nurse as much as possible and to sleep (ha, ha) as much as possible to increase supply.

Good luck.

[herdingkittens]

Originally Posted by Julia'sMom 

I think the amount of nursing your twins are doing is perfectly normal.  Their tummies are so small and the milk is digested quickly.  IN fact, I would have LOVED to have 3-4 hour spans at night at that age.  So, I'm not sure if increasing supply would lengthen the time between feeding.

Great point!  Yes, this was normal for us, too.  And I recall being up every hour or so for those first months, nursing.

Also, I remember a LLL person telling me to eat oatmeal for supply increase, which I did and it seemed to help.

[heatheresc]

I second the recommendation of oatmeal, but even more potent than that, try Brewer's Yeast!  I've seen a noticeable difference with my occasional use of it.  My sister has twins about the age of the OP's, and she was starting to get concerned that they just weren't satisfied at night.  After taking just 2 teaspoons of Brewer's Yeast (in a drink), she noticed a huge increase in her supply for days, and said the twins nursing sessions got shorter!  Brewer's yeast is available at any health food store, isn't that expensive, and doesn't have any of the side effects of an rx.  Definitely worth a try!!

[littlebearsmama]

I'm taking alfalfa tabs to increase my supply, along with mothers milk tea. My midwife usually doesn't recommend alfalfa tablets after giving birth as they can give you too much milk. However, when nursing twins, she thought it was a good idea. i have no problems with making too much milk, engorgment etc. My twins are three weeks and nurse constantly and their big brother who is 2 1/2 still nurses regularly as well, so I hardly have the chance to get full. I also hear that hops make more milk, too.

[mauri456]

thanks everyone!!  i;m going to try the oatmeal and the brewer's yeast.  

okay - another question - those of you that nursed your twins - i never feel full.  i never leak.  im never engorged.  (well when they go 3-4 hrs i feel engorged)  but otherwise- no, not at all.   i never needed breastpads with my daughter even though i had an oversupply with her (not huge - but could pump an extra 10 oz or so a day)  

normal?    

also - is there any benefit of continuing to take fenugreek/blissed thistle... ive been taking it since their three week growth spurt.  but... do you really need to keep taking it?  im nervous to stop but also tired of popping 8 million pills a day.   does it get to a point where its done what its gonna do?

[mauri456]

for the brewer's yeast - i have tablets.   i actually happen to have them. do you know if they are okay as opposed to the teaspoons (does it come in a powder??)

Originally Posted by heatheresc 

I second the recommendation of oatmeal, but even more potent than that, try Brewer's Yeast!  I've seen a noticeable difference with my occasional use of it.  My sister has twins about the age of the OP's, and she was starting to get concerned that they just weren't satisfied at night.  After taking just 2 teaspoons of Brewer's Yeast (in a drink), she noticed a huge increase in her supply for days, and said the twins nursing sessions got shorter!  Brewer's yeast is available at any health food store, isn't that expensive, and doesn't have any of the side effects of an rx.  Definitely worth a try!!

[heatheresc]

Hi Mauri,

I don't know if the tablets would be the same, but it can't hurt to try!  I will try to ask my sister about engorgement.  I don't think she felt engorged before, but I know she did after taking the Brewer's Yeast.  Not sure about what effect cutting back on other things would have, sorry.  GL!  You're doing a great job, working really hard to do your best for them!

[heatheresc]

Oh, and yes, the regular Brewer's Yeast is a powder.  Comes in a cardboard can usually, about the size of a formula container. =)

[~Adorkable~]

my twins are 4 weeks old and i have been pumping since day 1, they have trouble latching at first so that is what started it, now though they latch most of the time, they just don't seem to pull out all that they need and they don't drain my breasts completely, so i was quite worried about my supply which seem to go down a lot after i started nursing rather than pumping exclusively. 

so on the advice of my LC i breastfeed for up to 25-30 min, then give them a bottle of expressed milk (and pump at that time), when they get down to taking no more  than 1 oz from that bottle, i will then do the bottles only every other and cut it down like that. anything that i pump and is not going straight to the next bottle, i freeze for later,

the main goal of pumping is to drain my breast completely at each feeding.

the bottle is to help them get a good quantity of milk a tad faster and with less exhaustion, both thing help them have a bit more time between feeding, not by stretching them out farther, but by mostly just shorting how long in each cycle they are actually feeding.

our situations are different but i figured it might help to hear 

[mamaupupup]

Hi there,

My twins are now 4.  I nursed them, despite many difficulties, until they were 2.5 years.  Here's what I remember:

- I tandem breastfed as much as I could and then pumped to empty my breasts

- I drank a LITER of water after every nursing

- I took all the natural supplements you and others describe when I felt I needed help and slowly weaned myself off to make sure I could produce well without the supplements

- My husband and I actually went to the movies one night and I ate an entire box of black licorice.  I came home and pumped more milk (double) than I had ever produced before.  Wacky!  Needless to say, I enjoyed a lot of black licorice over those two plus years.  (You can also look into a more natural/non-sugar form of this!).

- I didn't actually enjoy nursing fully until my girls were 8 months old--it was tiring, exhausting, etc. And, when I realized how enjoyable it could be, I kept going and going and going!

Congratulations on all you're doing!  You can feel so proud!

Cheers!

[MamaRabbit]

about the leaking question:

I always leaked with my singletons.  With the twins I never leaked and never felt completely full as both sides were pretty much going all day long.  Sounds normal nursing at this stage.

[herdingkittens]

Originally Posted by MamaRabbit 

about the leaking question:

I always leaked with my singletons.  With the twins I never leaked and never felt completely full as both sides were pretty much going all day long.  Sounds normal nursing at this stage.

ahh, yes, i remember this too.  twins taught me that you can let down multiple times in a feeding - i never knew this before   we are expecting a singleton, and i am interested to be reminded what it was like to nurse just one (that is of course, assuming my twins don't jump back on the bandwagon when my milk comes in - they have not asked to nurse in over a week!).