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BF/pumping moms - a few questions

ghlghl member
in Multiples

I'm scheduled for a C-section and trying to be prepared for whatever obstacles I encountered when DS1 was born (also scheduled C) that had the potential to hinder my BFing efforts.  Last time, I didn't get to even try to latch him on until about 6 hours after he was born, it didn't go well so he was kept in the nursery overnight and given bottles against my requests, and I didn't even get to see an LC until 2 days to try to get pumping started. The only reason I think we were still able to successfully BF was that after that first day, I wouldn't let DS out of my sight and b****ed out anyone who tried to go near him with a bottle, and pumped around the clock in addition to latching him on.

I'm anticipating that shortly after they're born, they will get whisked off to the nursery and I will be sitting in recovery until kingdom come (it usually takes me about 2x as long for anesthesia to wear off than most patients.) At best, it'll be 3-4 hours before I get to see and hold them. On top of that, there's a much higher chance that the babies may need a few days or longer in NICU since they will be delivered a month earlier than DS was. I'm bringing my own pump so that I can start if they can't get me a hospital pump the same day. If I can't feed them myself asap, how soon should I try to start pumping? Will I need to pump more frequently or longer to signal the body that it needs twice as much supply?

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Re: BF/pumping moms - a few questions

  • LaurenSara518LaurenSara518 member
    I was able to start breastfeeding within an hour of the boys being born, but I will say if you are not able to, I would try to meet with a LC as soon as possible after. The LC I met with (although she didn't seem to know a ton about BFing twins in retrospect) really did help me with latching one at a time and told me after each feeding I should pump for 15 minutes. When not BFing, I ALWAYS pump for half an hour- this is probably more than most people do, but my freezer is literally totally full of milk and my babies are little chubbsters who I have been lucky enough not to have to use formula with. GL.
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  • ghlghl member
    Ultimately, my hope is to EBF and I have already expressed this to my MFM. The main reason I'm prepared to pump right away is if they are in NICU or any other reason that I might not get to try to BF them for a while, not able to latch, etc due to prematurity. I have placenta previa so it'll be a C-section regardless of whether I make it to my scheduled date or not. I'm also prepared this time to have a second support person with us so that if the babies are taken to the NICU, DH will stay with them, and one of my best friends will stay with me in the recovery room, and help me set up w/ pumping if I need to. At least this way, at all times, we'll know what's going on with the babies, DH doesn't have to run back and forth to take care of both me and them, and can reiterate that we want to BF.  I'm hoping that my hospital is as BF-friendly as they claim, but then the one I delivered DS1 at also claimed to be BF-friendly and instead it turned out to be very dependent on who your nurse was. LCs were scarce on weekends (I delivered on thursday night). Some of the nurses I had were great about helping us establish nursing, others just insisted on giving him a bottle anytime he wasn't with me and wouldn't bring him to me when I would ask. As a FTM, I had no idea how to fight back. This time, I want to be better prepared and a lot more stubborn about needing to know everything going on w/ our babies, esp when it comes to how they will be fed. I won't argue w/ medical necessity, but I also want to make sure whatever they do doesn't negate my efforts either.
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  • yinyang124yinyang124 member
    My boys were born at 34 weeks. I was not able to put D to breast until he was 3 days old and he did not latch and start feeding until he was 2 weeks old. J was put to breast 6 hours after birth but did not latch and start feeding until 1 week old. I pumped every 2 hours around the clock while they were in the NICU. They were both home by 4 weeks actual,  38weeks gestational age, and we've been successfully tandem nursing since then. If you have preemies, don't be surprised if it takes a while to get the hang of bfing.
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  • BananaPancakeBananaPancake member
    My boys were born at 38w via repeat section and they were in recovery and nursing within the hour. I had nurses all over me right away, getting them positioned and latched, and my hospital doesn't even strike me as very babyfriendly! Most hospitals try to assume you'll be BFing, so just let them know ahead of time and if the babies are good to go you should getthem back pretty quick!
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