When we found out there were two, I knew that I still wanted to breast feed. My amazing cousin could do it, and plenty of twin mommies before me did it, so could I. Here's the thing, breastfeeding twins is not easy "oh my baby is hungry let me just whip it (or shall I say them) out and feed him". No no no, with twins this is much different. Especially if you tandem feed. We will get to that a little later...
I would tell my husband how important breat feeding was to me, and he is the reason I was successful at it. Ladies your hubby or significant other will be your biggest fan, and if you have his support that is huge! My hubby was the only one I really felt comfortable talking about breast feeding with, or other twin mommies. The reason for this is because feeding twins felt more invasive than feeding a singleton, because people had questions. Well how will you do it? Oh at the same time? How do you do THAT? Ok people my boobs, my body. You don't ask a singleton mother how she breast feeds do you? I felt very vulnerable I guess. With all of that said, I truly do not mind talking about it now with certain people. I'm a little shy about it still yes, because it IS very different from feeding one baby, and because I feel like a milk cow, but it's how I feed my precious sons. People have questions, naturally, because it is different. However, it is what is making my babies so strong and I am proud that I can do it, for a while when they were in the NICU and the fact that I had two babies to feed, I doubted myself. I told myself if I can at least pump and get them breast milk that way I would be stoked.
When my babies ended up in the NICU the only thing I could do to help them was get them breast milk. So I pumped, and pumped and pumped and...you get the picture. The day after my surgery the lactation specialist at the hospital came in and showed my husband and I how to use the pump. My husband was SO AMAZING, he hooked up the pump each time I needed to pump, he charted at what time I pumped, he set alarms so in the middle of the night we could wake up and pump, he cheered me on when I got only a small amount. I remember being so upset those first few days only a little bit of milk came in. Of course I learned that is normal but as a new mom I was worried. Then I started producing more, but got stuck for a couple weeks only producing 2 ounces on each side, and I thought there is no way that was enough! Again my supply built up after that. At the time I worried I wouldn't produce enough, but I kept pushing. My babies were in the NICU. I was in so much pain from my csection, the only way I could help my sons was to give them what God gave me to make them thrive. So I pushed onward with my husband cheering me on.
I started trying to breast feed the boys when we would visit the NICU. They were so tiny and had been bottle fed it was challenging teaching them how to nurse. Plus, I was learning too! So here's three inexperienced people trying something new, even with guidance we had to find our own groove. The NICU nurses would let me try for about 10 minutes and if that didn't work we would bottle feed (my breast milk). Preemies can get tired and overworked, and my main concern was getting them home so there were many times we resorted to the bottle. We also used something called a nipple shield. I saw this as a stepping stone to the real thing. It got them on the breast but simulated a nipple on a bottle. It helped, but I hated using it because it never failed that a baby would grab it and I would have to reposition it causing a baby to get upset and me to get frustrated.
CJ got to come home first. So I worked with him single breast feeding, I was also still pumping every three hours religiously to keep my supply up. I would practice the football hold with him because when his brother got home that is how he would be eating. It was difficult. When you have a hungry, crying baby it's hard to stay focused. I did what the NICU nurses said, gave him a time limit and if we couldn't figure it out we bottle fed. If he did latch on (with the shield) I would give him a bottle after to make sure he got enough milk.
To get rid of the shield I would start a feeding with it, and take it off mid feeding to "trick" the baby. It worked! I few times of that and no more shield! Yay! When my second son got home I practiced feeding the same way I did with his brother. He didn't really use the shield so that helped a lot. He was a good nurser from the beginning (for the most part).
Then tandem feeding came into play. If you plan on tandem feeding I seriously suggest a twin nursing pillow. I used "My Brest Friend" twin nursing pillow. It's huge, and so worth it. Tandem feeding was hard. I remember the boys were both crying and hungry, I was getting discouraged but not willing to give up. I told them "look guys, mommy is determined to make this work, so you have to try too". I reached out to my twin mommy group for support, and it wasn't two days after that, that the boys got it. What an amazing feeling! We did it! It took about two weeks to get it down to a science and even still my one son has a small latching issue at times but we always get it.
With tandem feeding you can't just nurse your babies in public when they are hungry. You have to find a descrete location to nurse. Unless you want to show the world your breast. Even if they latch well, having two on at a time is not something you can cover very easily. Yes you could do them separately and in certain situations that's what will have to be done, but feeding twins is so different from feeding one. The convenience of no bottles and never being stuck without food while your out is there, but unlike with a singleton you can't just feed wherever. It is something that makes me a little sad, but I'll talk about that in a different post.
My tips for a new tandem or regular breast feeding mommy:
1. Don't give up! Its hard but you can do it!
2. Know that in those first few weeks your body will only produce a small amount and that's because that is all your baby needs.
3. Lean on your support system, they will make or break you.
4. Ask for help! It's not easy! For something that is "natural" it is very difficult.
5. Pump to keep your supply up. I pumped every 3 hours even through the night, my freezer is full of breast milk instead of regular food. Ha!
6. If tandem feeding, invest in a twin feeding pillow. Mine has little grooves in it to hold the baby close to me. I also like it because while I'm trying to get one on it prevents the other from rolling off.
7. If you need to call a lactation specialist, they are there to help.
8. If nursing twins I highly suggest working with them one on one at first so you and babies can get it.
9. Be patient, it takes time.
10. Don't give up (did I already say this?)
I know it's not easy for everyone. In the end you have to do what is mentally and physically right for you and your baby. A happy momma makes for a happy baby.
Tandem burping! I'm getting the hang of this ;)
love this! good job mommy!
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