Problems nursing twins

[Mama~Love]

I have boy/girl twins that are 2 weeks old now, born via C/S after both flipped breech while in labor (induced with Pit at 39 weeks), which I'm sure is causing these problems. My girl twin refuses to latch on. I've tried different positions, a nipple shield, with no success. She did OK in the hospital, but once we got home she didn't want anything to do with it. My boy twin nurses fine, but isn't gaining any weight. I've been formula feeding the girl, and she's gained almost a pound since discharge. My boy only gained 1 ounce. He's still way below his birth weight too.

I have a pump in style pump, but can only get 1 ounce combined out of both breasts when I pump. I don't know what to do, I'd love to breastfeed exclusively, but that's not going to happen now. I was not prepared for this, I've never had a problem breastfeeding before. I feel like I'm running out of time to get this figured out.

I have not seen an LC, as I don't know of any around here. I do have an appointment with WIC later today, I'm hoping there's someone there I can talk to. I don't have any support from DH In this, as he'd rather just formula feed as it's easier (yeah, not really).

I'd be happy just to be able to pump & bottle feed, instead of using formula, but I can't even get anything out with the pump.

[Jennbee]

When I had trouble getting my babies to latch, a LC suggested I express a little bit of breastmilk, then let baby have a taste and hopefully they would try to latch on. Is your son nursing from both sides? Are you taking anything to help increase your milk supply? Right now I'm using fenugreek, blessed thistle and domperidone. I have medical issues too though and am not sure if they are working to their full potential. I was also told to use the breastpump after the baby nursed to stimulate the breasts even more. It worked a little bit for me, but not to the point that I was with my other nursing babies.

[rinap]

Kudos to you for trying. This is a tough time. You're doing great.

If you want to get your supply up, you should rent a hospital grade pump for a bit. And I'd suggest asking the hospital for recommendations on a lactation consultant. Or your pediatrician.

I pumped and fed the first month almost exclusively, and for nights through three months. Sometimes twins need a little extra time to figure things out. But feeding the babies (however it's done) is the most important thing. And you're doing that.

[mylilmonkeys]

I had trouble with supply in the beginning, too, and it totally shocked me because I have tandemed with a toddler and newborn with several of my children.  I found that I was not drinking nearly enough water with my twins.  I also added a lot of oatmeal to my diet.  I would eat two bowls a day until they started gaining well.  I've read that it needs to be regular rolled oats, not quick oats or the instant packets.  I know your little girl is struggling with latch, but you might want to try feeding them together.  If you can get your son latched and the milk flowing, then work on getting daughter latched (extra hands doing this might be necessary).  Alternatively, pumping the other side while son is latched can be a great way to produce more for the pump.  I have always struggled to pump, but I couldn't believe when I pumped a full 4 oz bottle in minutes when I nursed on the other side.  

Sorry, I'm a little all over the board with ideas.  You might find you are more successful getting your babies to latch well if you are in the bathtub.  Another idea is that they are not too old yet to try self-attachment.  Video: http://breastcrawl.org/video.shtml fast forward to 2 min mark, and note that this might take 30-60 min to accomplish this.  I noticed a marked improvement in latching after doing this with one of my twins.  The other didn't succeed, but after noting that time stated in the video, I'm realizing I didn't wait nearly long enough!  There is a lot of information at that website, too.  

Also, do you have a good twin nursing pillow?  I found mine invaluable in the first weeks.  I had a few other thoughts, but now they are gone.  I'll post back if I remember them.  Darn twin-fatigue! LOL

[rinap]

I have a my brest friend twin nursing pillow that I like a lot. Though even so I don't do a lot of tandem nursing: I find when I do (it's great when both girls are starving) I have to top each one off afterwards. But even when just nursing one baby it can be very nice.

[Mama~Love]

Thank you for the great advice! I went to WIC today, and I got my DD to latch on while we were there ! I was so happy! Their BFing counselor will be stopping by tomorrow to see how things are going. I got some other great advice, tips, & encouragement from them too. They said that the babies might be a little slow to catch on to things because of the C/S & the drugs involved. At least they said it wasn't too late to get them nursing full time. I do have the My Brest Friend twin deluxe pillow, I haven't used it yet. I think I need to increase my water intake, and I've been eating oatmeal a lot too.

I'll update how things are going .

[rinap]

Awesome news.

[mylilmonkeys]

  You can do this!