How Did You Feed Your Twins?

ashleywebber

So since my twins are coming in a couple of months, I am starting to freak out over some things and one of the biggest is feeding.  With DS, I exclusively nursed for 3 months then switched to formula.  It was no big deal, I just put him on there, fed him, and moved on.  It only took 10 minutes and we were done.  It was really easy.

I am freaking out about trying to feed twins.  I know I want to do as much breastmilk as possible, but I am scared of feeding them both.  My questions are:

Did you breastfeed?

If not, how much was your formula per month?

If so, did you tandem nurse or nurse one and then the other?  Or did you pump and make bottles?

I am thinking there are a few methods, nurse tandem, nurse one and then the other, nurse one and bottle feed one, pump all the time and make bottles so they can eat at the same time, and then obviously do formula bottles all the time.  I am interested to know how you guys did it and what your experience was like.  Thanks!

LeapDayLinsey

I pump exclusively because I never got baby-to-the-breast comfortably.  Pro:  other people can give the girls bottles (like my husband at night) Con: lots of bottles to wash all the time!  It works well for me even though 17 weeks into pumping I am ready to throw my pump into the street and drive over it repeatedly! 

Inky75

I had supply issues, so we supplemented with formula from the very begining.  I tried to nurse, pump and bottle feed, but it got to be too much so around 2 months I switched to formula exclusively and was a much happier mom:)  We were using Enfamil Enfacare which is a higher calorie formula for premature and low birth-weight babies.  Its a little more expensive (about $15/can and a can lasts about 2-3 days) than the regular Enfamil which we use now.  At about 5 1/2 months we started cereal and now they get cereal and fruit in the morning and cereal and veggies at night.  They still get 5-6 bottles/day depending on when they wake up.  When we feed them, my DH will feed one and I'll feed the other.  If only one of us is there, one gets fed first and then the other.  I tried to bottle feed them both at the same time and its just too hard.  It only takes them about 10 minutes to finish a bottle so I can change and feed both in about 30 minutes. 

jbl126

My girls were formula fed from the beginning.  My milk never came in but I had planned to use formula. 

Since I had a lot of help there was usually someone around to help me feed the girls so they were fed at the same time.  There were days I was alone with the girls and sometimes I would feed one than the other.  But as I got more comfortable, then I would stick them in the bouncy seats and feed them at the same time.

They were on different formulas so i spent a lot.  Nutramigen was about $25 for a small can of the powder and we went through that every week and a half.  Ava was on Gentlease and that was $38 for a large can of powder that would last 2-3 weeks. 

In case you do decide to use formula you should sign up on the enfamil and similac websites.  They will send you coupons which was a lifesaver.

macchiatto

Did you breastfeed? I only BFed for 2.5 weeks and pumped for 1 month, and then it was formula exclusively. (We started supplementing at 3 days because I was desperate for sleep!) I have multiple sclerosis and needed to get back on my med for that ASAP or I would've tried harder to make it work longer. 

If not, how much was your formula per month? Over $300/month once they were drinking 30+ oz a day. They could really only tolerate Nestle GoodStart; none of the generics worked for them.

If so, did you tandem nurse or nurse one and then the other?  Or did you pump and make bottles? All of the above. Tandem nursing was my favorite. I could never get the boys to latch well (Alex especially) so that's why I moved to pumping after a few weeks. If I had been able/committed to making it work longer term, I definitely would've tried to make tandem nursing work. I loved how content they both were when we did it.

Haven1

I tandem nurse, and it works great. Thankfully both boys latched like champs from the beginning. I sometimes like to nurse one a time during the day just for the snuggle factor though. I do try to pump once a day to keep my supply up and build a freezer stash too.

Good luck!

jamie217

My girls were able to latch right away, so I tandem BF for the first week and a half and just supplemented the nightfeedings and pumped to get help.  Then it got to the point where they'd nurse for over and hour and then still need formula and Saturday morning it took me an hour and 40 mins to feed them because I was not making enough milk.

I couldn't handle that anymore, esp with the amount of visitors that we are getting now - I cannot wait until people stop coming - so I have been able to pump enough to give them two 3 oz bottles ea. per day, but there are times when I can't even find the time to pump because someone is always crying or I am in desperate need of a nap, so I don't know how much longer I can do that!  I feel a little guilty, but at this point I feel it's more important to maintain my sanity!

tiethenot

I pumped for a month and could not keep up my supply. One weekend I pumped 18 times  every 24 hours to up my supply and started taking Reglan. I decided it was not worth it to me (and my sanity) to kill myself over it. I switched to Similac and we spent $250/month on formula.

If you can make BF work, do it! Saves so much $. Ask you ped for free samples. They sent in paperwork to Similic and Enfamil and both companies sent me 2 CASES of formula which lasted 2 months. It was awesome. Ask them for the samples even if you BF. You can always donate unopened cans to a womens shelter if you don't use them.

SMILEYD

So far...formula and BM, pumped throughout the day and that is even working out entirely well. i cant produce as much as they both need so I dont know how much longer I will keep it up.

 Latching was not happening with both and one does but I dont have the time to sit there for 40 min while the other is screaming to eat.

 

trtlvr

Did you breastfeed?  Yes, from the start.  Although Summer was having problems latching for the first week.  We started supplementing both with formula in the hospital bc they both lost mre than 10%.  But they always feed on me for 20-30 minutes then we top off with formula.

If not, how much was your formula per month?  Since we only 'top off' we spend about $120 a month on formula.  We started with lots of sample cans.  I get the Similac at Costco for $28 for a huge container. 

If so, did you tandem nurse or nurse one and then the other?  Or did you pump and make bottles?  Tandem nursing is the way to go!  Although, I really like it when I have one-on-one nursing time for the bonding.  I've also been pumping 3 times a day for the past month to build supply and my freezer supply.  We started day care this week and so far so good!

Just know that everyone is different.  No one I know with twins was able to BF exclusively, so don't beat yourself up if you can't.  I've been doing it for 11 weeks now and don't plan on stopping.  But everyone is different

CateElizabeth

One of my boys wouldn't take the breast, so I BF one baby and pump after each feeding for the other one.  I have been able to do exclusive breast milk up until just now (4 months).  It is very time consuming BFing and pumping after each feed.  I am now BFing just 3 times a day, but I pump 7 times, including once in the middle of the night.