breastfeeding/pumping question - twin moms welcome!

amd1982 · February 2013

Hi ladies - i hope you're all well and congrats on your babies! i haven't posted here much since having our twins at the beginning of january, just because things have been so crazy. I did post this (similar) question on the multiples board, but only received a few response...also, my siggy didn't show up since i was bumping from my phone. so wanted to re-post here and see if anyone has suggestions?

so quick backstory - i am very lucky to have excellent milk production. at birth, twin 1 had IUGR and she was fed breastmilk from a bottle so she wouldn't exert energy on bf-ing. twin 2 was primarily breastfed since birth but did take some bottles. fast forward to now - i tried tandem feeding a few times. it failed horribly. both babies latched and sucked, but they both seemed distracted by each other and also fell asleep on the pillow. twenty minutes after putting them down, they were crying for more food and it took us a long time to get them back settled. they obviously were not getting what they needed. so i nixed the tandem feeds.

i loved breastfeeding but was getting very stressed not knowing what each twin was getting. and let's be honest - sleep for parents is important too. so i started bottle feeding both babies with breastmilk and things are working well. however - babies are growing, and now they are consuming between 3-4 ounces per feeding. i do have great milk production, but even with pumping every 2-3 hours, my milk stash is being used up really fast. I have formula in my pantry, but it kills me to have to use it. I never thought i'd be that crazy person who didn't want to use formula, but i admit, i've been spoiled with my supply. i've tried talking to LC's and all they seem to say is that my body should produce enough milk, i should be nursing, and that i need to pump at a minimum of 5 times per day. it's not very helpful.

any better suggestions??

LnR70707 · February 2013

Honestly, if you aren't pumping a minimum of 5x a day at only 4ish weeks post partum, your supply will tank no matter what you do. Pumping is a direct substitute for nursing....every time your babies eat you need to pump. I pumped every 3 hours around the clock for the first 3 months to keep my crappy supply up. It is also critical to pump at least once between 12am and 5am because that is when your prolactin levels are the highest.

amd1982 · February 2013

I'm sorry I did not write that correctly. I am pumping more than 5 times per day. It's just that as fast as I fill the bottles, they disappear.

4legsRbest · February 2013

The pump isn't as efficient as a baby unfortunately, so you may not be able to pump all that they need right now, but I know supply can be increased. Have you tried any lactation cookies or herbs? I often hear of fenugreek being used.

Do you ever try for a second let down when pumping? Even if nothing is coming out, let that pump keep going, that draws demand.

4legsRbest · February 2013

Also, Kellymom is a great web-site. Check out this link (they say to keep pumping for 2-5 minutes after the last drop of milk here).

https://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/low-supply/

https://kellymom.com/category/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/

ETA: I also wanted to offer words of encouragement - you are doing a marvelous job!!!

TJ1979 · February 2013

I'm sorry tandem feeding didn't work out for you. As difficult as BFing has been for me with a singleton, I can't imagine trying to do it for twins. So congrats on how well you have done so far! Yuo are doing an awesome job.

Robeano posted below asking for tips to increase supply for pumping, so you might want to check out her responses too. A quick summary of the suggestions she received are:
drink plenty of water (around 100 oz. per day)

eat plenty of calories, at least as much as during pg, if not more

eat oatmeal daily (real oatmeal, not instant)

make lactation cookies, the recipe I use is the first one on this page:
https://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/lactation-cookies-recipe-increasing.html

pump every 2 hours during the day and every 3 at night

power pump once a day for a week (pump 20 minutes, break for 10, pump for 10, break for 10, pump for 10)

take fenugreek, mother's milk tea, mother love more milk plus, etc. supplements

while pumping, look at pics of LOs, hold onesies or blankets that smell like them, and put a blanket over the bottles so you can't see how much you're pumping.

GL, I hope some of these suggestions help. And go easy on yourself. You're doing an amazing job. And if you have to supplement some with formula, it's okay. I understand you would rather not. I felt the same way. But it's okay if you have to. Hugs!

amd1982 · February 2013

thank you everyone for the support and advice!!

74dragonfly · February 2013

Here is my two cents. I breastfeed feed for 15 months. I didn't make all what my DD needed but I made 70. I'm damn proud of myself. Breastfeeding is not all or nothing. I'd keep trying and if you use some formula it is OK.

Mrs.AmyDylan · February 2013

Are you doing paced bottle feeding? My LC suggested making sure DH was doing that so he isn't just dumping milk into the belly when I'm out and he feeds her.

The video we watched said 2-3oz per feeding was normal. Perhaps they getting too much milk per feed? I've heard 25-27oz/day is normal for a bf baby.

Good luck!! You are awesome for working so hard to EBF!

LALASEPT05 · February 2013

I don't have good advice, because I could not find a way to make it all work. We had latching issues and so I could not tandem feed. DS was taking 45 minutes and DD was taking 20 minutes to feed and then they wanted me to pump shortly after that for supply and I just could not physically meet the demands. I was never able to supply enough to meet their needs and like you said the fact that I could not tell how much they were getting was difficult for me. Eventually I decided I would pump half of their supply which I did until I went back to work.

I think you could always try reintroducing them to the breast and maybe now that they're a few weeks older they will be able to latch and suck better. There are teas and supplements that people try and of course nutrition is important too. You have to be consuming a lot of water and a lot of calories to produce milk...another thing I just didn't have time to do. So maybe try to reintroduce to the breast along with making sure your nutrition is up to par and see what happens.

mdiblasi10 · February 2013

Everyone has given you wonderful advice, so I just wanted to say what a wonderful job you are doing!! Breastfeeding is hard enough as it is, but with twins - that is amazing! Good job Momma Big Smile

IBackBevo · February 2013

I had an IUGR baby who was never able to latch so always had to pump and never got a good supply established and it just seemed to get worse and worse even with supplements/medications. My suggestion might be to at least try breastfeeding each one a couple of times a day to keep your supply up because I think that no matter what you really need that baby stimulation to keep it up. I just don't think that no matter how often you pump that just pumping will do it...but that is just me.

Also, I tried fenugreek and it did help with my supply a little, but it gave me and LO horrible gas. LO spit it up like crazy.

I also got a prescription for Reglan (but then decided not to take it after reading all the side effects like ppd) and then got a prescription for Domperidone but only too it about a week before LO was pulled off of breast milk altogether for a milk protein allergy. I have heard alot of people get good results with Domperidone, but it did make my apetite go way up!!!

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