Anxiety about when/how to breasfeed twins

Wantastickybaby

I'm hoping that those of you who already have twins can help with this question...

We're planning to use an arm's reach co-sleeper in our bedroom when the babies first come home.  

I'm having anxiety about night feedings...

Do I feed them in bed? (I'm hoping to breastfeed, but I plan to have formula and pump just in case.)  Do I feed them one at a time in bed?  If so, does the other one cry while she waits her turn?  Should I take them out of the room so that DH can sleep if he has to work the next day?   

I'm starting to wonder if it would be easier to skip the co-sleeper and have them in their cribs from the start - so that I could get up and feed them in their room and let DH sleep.  (I want him to be able to sleep as much as possible because he works with dangerous clients and needs to be alert at work.)

Also, where did you learn about pumping (when to pump, how to store it, etc)?  They have a breast feeding class I can take during my hospital stay, but I'm not sure how much it covers pumping.

Thanks in advance! 

ncsubride

www.kellymom.com has great info.

Danse

I can't be of much help because I have the same fears/concerns. We will not be doing a co-sleeper, if for nothing else, we don't have the room. But I have an oversized glider that will be in their room. I'm also going to get the EZ2nurse pillow for tandem feedings and am taking the class. It's my understanding that pumping will be covered in our class and an LC will be available at the hospital.

kblindgren

First of all, try not to get anxious - you will figure out what works best for your family.  Sure it might take a couple of days (or weeks!) but you will get a routine down. 

Here's what we did:
My kids were put on a routine - eating every 3 hours - from the NICU nurses and we just kept it.  We consistently fed one 1st (at 12, 3, 6...) and fed the other 2nd (12:30, 3:30...).  I attempted breastfeeding at the same time and if your kids can, I would definitely do that - that would be so much easier!  Mine weren't strong enough to BF, so I pumped either while feeding them or right after they were done.  DH got up at the midnight feeding and I took 3am, we both did 6am and then I had the boys all day.  That worked well for us because we still got 8 hours of sleep (or so) and we even had 6 hour blocks!  The BF class did not cover pumping for me, they just told me how to do it and gave me some handouts after I had the boys.  I rented a pump from the hospital (which is partly covered by my insurance - I'd check into that, because we pay $8 a month for a hospital-grade pump and the LCs said those help for establishing a milk supply).  We have since had to supplement with formula, but my boys are primarily drinking BM.  For sleeping, we had the boys in our room in a PNP bassinet until they exceeded the weight limit (2-3 mos.) and the day they went into their own rooms, we slept SO MUCH BETTER!  So, that's up to you guys as far as sleeping goes.  Also, it is mysterious to me how my DH never heard the babies wake up at night, while I heard every single peep .  Hope that helps!

JBSugar

When we first started I was EPing so DH would get up and bottle feed whomever fussed first and then the other.  I was downstairs pumping.  When I started EBFing, DH would get up and give them a bottle while I pumped and then I BF all the other feedings.  Now they don't do a middle of the night feed so I get up and pump while everyone else sleeps.  I would recommend learning how to tandem if you can because it SUCKS to listen to one screaming their head off while you are feeding the other.  If not, get the fussy baby first and feed them and then the other.  I like using pumped BM at night because it's faster and I could go back to sleep quicker!  LOL  If you want to talk in more detail, shoot me an email.  jbsugar411@gmail.com

na24

We have had them in their crib and I just go in the nursery to nurse them at night. ?So far they are being fed one at a time, because they're not mature enough to handle tandem nursing yet, but the goal is to work toward tandem. ?

I didn't know anything about pumping until they set me up with a pump in the hospital. ?I just figured I'd wing it and look things up as I needed to know. ?It has worked so far. ?Basically to start, you pump every two hours during the day, and can have a couple of three- or four-hour stretches at night to get more sleep. ?That builds your supply. ?They'll set you up with a hospital pump in your room while you're there, and you'll get to keep the accessories to it, so if you want to rent a pump afterwards, you already have the extra parts. ?

AlpacaBunny

We have our babies sharing a crib in our room.  At first I breastfed them at night in our bed, one at a time.  Usually I would just feed whoever woke up first and then hope and pray the other one didn't wake up!  DH would hold the other one if he/she started crying.  After about a month of that I decided ot just pump bottles to feed them overnight.  We each feed one of the babies and it makes the night feedings so much faster.  For me having DH help is really great, b/c I always have to go pump after we feed them (this is the milk I use for the next nights feedings).  If your DH needs uninterrupted sleep then it might be a good idea to feed them in their room. 

As for pumping, I asked the lactation consultant at the hospital.  Our hospital also has a breastfeeding support group that meets once a week and I go to that every week.  When you are in the hospital I'd ask to talk to the LCs and write down all of yoru questions ahead of time so they can help you.

hopewill

I feed my girls in bed.  When they awake in the middle night my husband retrieves them from their room changes them and hands them over to nurse.  By the time i go to lay the first awakening twin...the other one is scquirming and i grab her and change her and nurse her.  if she awakes before im done nursing...my husband changes her and loves on her until im ready for her...  if they awake at the same time...we each change one and i then i get my pillow out and nurse them both... in other words...we play it by ear i guess...it's not a huge deal.  it works out.

 i don't pump at all through the night anymore.  when i lay them down for bed at 7:30 i pump then..and that's it until the morning.

 STORAGE GUIDELINES FOR HUMAN MILK

These guidelines are for mothers who are expressing milk for a full-term healthy baby. Use clean containers, and wash your hands with soap and water before expressing. or pumping. When providing milk for a baby who is seriously ill and/or hospitalized, check with healthcare providers for instructions.

Where stored	Storage temperature (degrees Fahrenheit)	Storage temperature (degrees Centigrade)	How long
At room temperature	60 degrees F	15 degrees C	24 hours
At room temperature	66-72 degrees F	19-22 degrees C	10 hours
At room temperature	79 degrees F	25 degrees C	4-6 hours
In a refrigerator	32-39 degrees F	0-4 degrees C	8 days
In a freezer compartment inside a refrigerator			2 weeks
In a self-contained freezer unit of a refrigerator			3-4 months
In a separate deep freeze with a constant temperature	0 degrees F	-19 degrees C	6 months or longer

SAVE? OR DUMP?

Type of Milk	Save or Dump?	Why
Milk remaining in the bottle that has been offered to baby	Use for next feeding, otherwise discard.	Bacteria from the baby's mouth may have entered the milk during the feeding. This may lead to bacterial contamination if it sets too long (though as yet there is no research available).
Milk that has been thawed	Save in the refrigerator for 24 hours after thawing, then discard. Do not refreeze.	Milk that has been frozen has lost some of the immune properties that inhibit bacterial growth in fresh refrigerated milk.
Milk that has been kept in the refrigerator for eight days	Transfer to storage in the freezer, or discard.	Bacterial growth is not a problem, but milk sometimes picks up odors or flavors from the refrigerator or the container.

 

ImRonBurgundy?

We kept our girls in their cribs from day one. We tried having them in a pack n play in our room for 1 night, but neither myself nor my husband slept at all because we woke up to every little grunt and whimper.  My husband had 2 weeks of paternity leave, and so during that time, I fed them in my bed, one at a time, and he helped with holding the other one/changing her diaper/and then bringing the first one back to bed once i finished feeding her.  Once his paternity leave was up, I would feed them in the glider in the nursery (instead of bringing them into our bedroom).  Thankfully - around that time - I learned to tandem feed them, so the whole process went much faster, and then there wasn't a baby crying while the other one was being fed, which is so stressful when you're doing it alone.  It was really hard once DH went back to work since I was up all night doing night feedings alone - so during the daytime, I slept every time the girls were sleeping.  I think once my girls were about a month old, they were sleeping for 3 and 4 hour chunks of time (instead of 2), so the night routine got a little easier.  If you can get through those grueling first few weeks, during which your milk supply is building and the babies are learning to breastfeed, you can do it.  Definitely try to learn how to tandem feed as early as possible - that is a lifesaver!

I took a BFing class at our hospital, which was super helpful, and even better that DH came with me to the class, because he ended up being an enormous help because of what he learned in the class.  They didn't really cover pumping, but I just read my pump's manual and that answered it for me.  It looks rather intimidating when you first take the pump out of the box - but once you use it a few times, you'll learn that it's super easy.   

 Let me know if that answers it or if you need more help!  

Katie