MoMs - please tell me all about breastfeeding!

Shanseur*

I breastfed DD exclusively for over 3 months and then would supplement w/ formula until she was 6 months.  BFing ended at 6 months totally. 

My question is.... did you BF them both at the same time?  Did you have enough supply?  I had supply issues with just ONE baby...so I'm wondering how this time around will go even though they say its based on supply and demand.  DD definately did not get enough from just me.  What holds do you use?  How did you latch one on and then get the other one on. if you did it simulataneously, with just one hand left?  Did you just pump and then give each a bottle so it was easier to manage?  DD was a lazy eater at first and I'd have to use one of my hands just to rub her back to get her interested again.  I want to BF so badly and will try my hardest, but I'm just wondering how this will really go.  Tell me everything about your BFing experience even if the question isn't here.  TIA!

SNL0605

did you BF them both at the same time? I didn't tandem feed the twins (feed both at the same time) until they "got it down" at around 3-4 weeks...then stopped tandem feedings at about 4 months when it became too difficult for me to hold them both at the same time...now I feed them seperately...Maddie gets the right breast and Zach gets the left breast

Did you have enough supply?  I had supply issues with just ONE baby...so I'm wondering how this time around will go even though they say its based on supply and demand.  With my first DS I too struggled with supply issues and was REALLY concerned that there was NO way I would be able to feed TWO babies...but I did (and still going strong at almost 10 months). A great deal of "supply" issues is honestly lack of education. I don't mean this to sound condiscending...it's simply just fact. The best way to make sure you make enough milk is to establish a good supply from the very beginning...you can do this by avoiding suppliments all together, making sure to feed on demand, avoid bottles in the beginning, and pump for 10 minutes after you complete feedings. It sounds like a daunting task but I promise it works!

What holds do you use?  For the first month (before tandem) I used the football hold...then when I tandem fed from 1-4 months I would football hold one and cross cradle hold the other...now I cross cradle them when I feed them

How did you latch one on and then get the other one on? This too took practice...let me just say THANK goodness for my DH. Once I got one on...DH would bring me the other and help get the other latched. After a couple of weeks of getting used to it then I was able to get them on without DH. Keep in mind- tandem feeding really works best once your DCs establish a good latch.

if you did it simulataneously, with just one hand left?  Im sorry, Im not sure what you mean by this.

Did you just pump and then give each a bottle so it was easier to manage? nope...avoid the bottle as much as possible in the beginning 6 weeks in order to establish a good supply. Whatever you get after pumping you can freeze to build up a stash in the freezer.

If you have anymore questions let me know (Im a lactation consultant)

ThisIzLove

did you BF them both at the same time? I was feeding them one at a time the first 3-4 weeks, then once they got the hang of BFing, I went to see a LC and got her to help me get started tandem feeding.  I had my DH help me get them setup and latch on and burped afterwards for about 2 weeks and then one day I just decided to try it on my own and I did it!  I've been tandem feeding ever since.  It cuts down feeding time literally in half (obviously!) if you can feed them at the same time.

Did you have enough supply?  I had supply issues with just ONE baby...so I'm wondering how this time around will go even though they say its based on supply and demand.  I was lucky enough to not have an issue with supply.  I had an oversupply in the beginning and was building up quite a freezer stash.  I had a dip around 7 months and was able to get out of it by taking Fenugreek.  Now I'm providing just enough for them, but struggling to get enough when I pump.  I don't get nearly as much as I used to when pumping.

What holds do you use?  Double football hold.

How did you latch one on and then get the other one on? I would sit on the bed and put each baby in a boppy on either side of me.  I used the EZ2Nurse Twin pillow and strapped it on me.  Then I'd pick up one baby and put them on the pillow.  Then I'd pick up the other and put them on the pillow.  Then I'd latch one and then latch the other.  Then when they were done, I'd take turns burping them, then put them back in the boppys.  It was hard to get the hang of at first but that LC really helped me out with that.  And practicing it gave me confidence that I could do it on my own.  I definitely could not do it without that pillow that's for sure.  It's specially designed for twin feeding, so it's perfect.  I highly recommend it.  I wouldn't have to hold their heads or anything while latched on, the pillow did everything for me.  Once they were latched I was hands free and could use them freely if one unlatched or something.

Did you just pump and then give each a bottle so it was easier to manage? I had to in the beginning b/c they hadn't established a good latch.  It was a PAIN and such a long process!  That's what made it really hard in the beginning.  But I stuck with it and it got easier once they became pros, which luckily only took about a month or so.

macchiatto

I wanted to EBF them but they were both taking so long and needinga lot of stimulation to keep eating (like you mentioned) and having latch issues AND still acting hungry after BFing for an hour that I ended up doing a combnation of pumping and FFing for the first month. Then my supply dwindled pretty fast and I had to go back on a med that's not BF-friendly so it only lasted a month and now they eat all formula. I did find the EZ2Nurse pillow really great though when I did tandem-feed them.

macchiatto

Oh, and I did what ThisIzLove did in terms of getting them both on the pillow and then latched on; that part did work well for me. (Well, other than the actual latch issues! )

Shanseur*

SNL0605:

Did you have enough supply?  I had supply issues with just ONE baby...so I'm wondering how this time around will go even though they say its based on supply and demand.  With my first DS I too struggled with supply issues and was REALLY concerned that there was NO way I would be able to feed TWO babies...but I did (and still going strong at almost 10 months). A great deal of "supply" issues is honestly lack of education. I don't mean this to sound condiscending...it's simply just fact. The best way to make sure you make enough milk is to establish a good supply from the very beginning...you can do this by avoiding suppliments all together, making sure to feed on demand, avoid bottles in the beginning, and pump for 10 minutes after you complete feedings. It sounds like a daunting task but I promise it works!

Ugh... that makes me sad.  I did exactly what you suggested.  I did not supplement at all until after 3 months....and that was only because DD was SUPER fussy at the breast one night so DH finally broke down and gave her a bottle of my stored BM while I pumped.  She ate 10 oz. that night and I only made 2 oz. after pumping for 30 minutes!  I also would pump after every single breast feeding for 10 minutes to amp up my supply.  STILL did not work.   It's sad.

tbonegrl

did you BF them both at the same time? I tandem'ed from the get go

Did you have enough supply?  I had supply issues with just ONE baby...so I'm wondering how this time around will go even though they say its based on supply and demand.  I had enough to supply both my kids, I am a milk bank donor, and I had to throw away 3000 oz that were not donatable.

What holds do you use?  tandem football

How did you latch one on and then get the other one on? With practice, I'd get one on, latch them, and then put the other on and latch. As they got older, they could latch themselves.

if you did it simulataneously, with just one hand left? ??

Did you just pump and then give each a bottle so it was easier to manage?We had to because our boys were 32 weekers. I pumped until they came home at 4 weeks. We started out 4 BFing sessions/day, 4 bottle feeding EBM/day and moved to all BFing. I went back to work at 6 months and they took bottles of EBM while I worked, and nursed all other times.

 

Good luck! I BFed my boys to 18 and 21 months.