Breast feeding twins

ashleighlt · July 2013

I will take any advice on bf twins. They are only a week old and both have a good latch however they fall asleep before they are actually full. I then pump and give them expressed milk to top them off.
My question is when did other MoM start tandum feeding? As of right feeding takes so long the way I am doing it and I'm losing so much sleep b/c of it.

BuckeyeNut05 · July 2013

I EP'd, which can be time consuming as well, but it worked for me so I could have my huband help feed them on occasion and get a break. I would just pump for 2030 minutes at a time for every time they ate to build a supply. It also helped because I could bottle feed them in boppies on the floor instead of trying to position both on a nursing pillow to tandem feed when I was alone.

txcyclist · July 2013

I started tandem day 2 in the hospital and when I came home jumped right in with tandem feeding at night. It's really not that hard with the my brest friend twin breastfeeding pillow. Just practice, it'll get easier.

Lil Kate · July 2013

I started in the hospital. Once u get the hang of it it's not bad. GL

ashleighlt · July 2013

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try tonight when my husband comes home to help hand them to me.

carrotcake06 · July 2013

I started in the NICU when they were a week old. I used a boppy there and needed someone to hand them to me, but once I got home, I nurse them on my bed using the twin breast friend pillow and can do it myself [theyre 3 weeks old].

When they get sleepy, I burp them. It was tricky to burp one while continuing to nurse the other, but they're still so little that I can pick them up w one hand.

I was doing the nurse, bottle feed w fortified BM, pump business in the NICU and that is awful and time consuming. I just BFed them once I got home, they gained, and the pedi gave me the okay to drop the bottle feed and pump part.

I'm BFing them in football now, but once they get bigger, I hope I can continue to tandem bc it's a huge timesaver.

yinyang124 · July 2013

I started tandem nursing the day they were both out of the NICU (4 weeks, 38 weeks gestational age). D needed a nipple shield, so it was a little tricky for a while. My biggest piece of advice is to try to catch them before they are crying of hunger. Everyone will be less frazzled, and you'll be able to get down the logistics of it better if you are not stressed. I used to sit on the bed with the boppy around me. Set them on either side of me. Latch the better latcher first, then carefully grab the other one to latch. It takes practice, but soon you will think nothing of it. I think tandem feeding is *definitely* the way to go with bfing twins. Good luck, mama!

brookith · July 2013

I started in the hospital and used the my breast friend pillow. I still use the pillow for tandem feeds. Have someone help you get them positioned, then practice on your own. I tandem fed all the time. Keep trying and it will get easier and easier!

Dragonfly1226 · July 2013

I started tandem feeding during the day when the girls were about a week old. They still required a lot of attention to stay awake for feedings - rubbing palms and soles of feet, blowing on faces, etc. At that point I felt it was just too much to try to do all that in the MOTN with two babies at once. Next I started doing their early morning feeding tandem (at around 2 weeks) and then the MOTN feeding when they were a bit more independent on the breast. Now we do all our feedings tandem and it is so much quicker! It is a good idea to get used to tandem feeding early on so it becomes routine. I also had to pump to supplement at the beginning and it was exhausting! Once the girls were gaining steadily and my supply was up I got to stop pumping all the time and it made life so much easier! Now I pump once a day after my morning nursing session to build a freezer stash. GL!

Dragonfly1226 · July 2013

ashleighlt:
Thanks for the advice. I am going to try tonight when my husband comes home to help hand them to me.

When I am alone I use two Boppy pillows. I set up one on either side of me with a baby in it. Then I can pick up the babies from the Boppy pillows to nurse. I also use the Twin Breast Friend pillow for nursing and I love it! It makes life so much easier.

Stephanie2167 · July 2013

I obviously have no experience, but I did watch a You Tube video (just searched "tandem nursing twins") and the one video I watched was really helpful. Give that a try. It seems like it will be a pretty big production in the beginning but once you get the hang of it, should get easier (I hope).

MuseumMaven · July 2013

My boys had a lot of latching issues so it was a long time before tandem nursing really worked for us. By the time they were really good at it they nursed so fast that I found it easier to do one at a time. But if they are latching well go for it!

As for keeping them awake, I did everything from tickling to stripping them down to their diapers. It gets better soon!

jessican08 · July 2013

I started tandem feeding right from the start in the hospital. It is really hard to keep them awake in the beginning but it does get better. I would highly recommend getting an appointment with a LC if you can. And also get a good tandem nursing pillow (I liked the mybreastfriend for twins). You'll probably need to bring it to your appointment b/c they don't often have twin pillows available. GL!

jessican08 · July 2013

Dragonfly1226:
ashleighlt:
Thanks for the advice. I am going to try tonight when my husband comes home to help hand them to me.
When I am alone I use two Boppy pillows. I set up one on either side of me with a baby in it. Then I can pick up the babies from the Boppy pillows to nurse. I also use the Twin Breast Friend pillow for nursing and I love it! It makes life so much easier.

This is exactly how I did it, too!

JodiAriel · July 2013

I did not consistently start tandem feeding until about a month ago when they could sit up to nurse. I was never able to get comfortable when they were littler and it caused me a lot of anxiety to try to get them set up. Also the sensations of both of them nursing at once then was overwhelming. I think I have gotten more used to it now.

Now they both sit up to nurse and when I tandem I could be done in 5 mins, it's awesome. I used to get annoyed with how long it took when they were little but now I miss that snuggle time.

Corleyrae · July 2013

I love my TBF pillow. In fact I use it more for single feeds then tandem. I started doing tandem when my help was no longer around to entertain a baby and only then if they both are crying.

Sorry rambling but at 5 weeks out I only do it once maybe twice a day.

SkyBee · July 2013

I started tandem feeding the very first feeding in ths hospital. I have just recently started feeding them separate from time to time because they eat super fast and I like the snuggle time one on one.

Heather1021 · July 2013

I started tandem nursing in the hospital, but needed to have the babies placed for me for a long time (though I managed in occasionally by 6 weeks). They are seven months old and I can do it myself, but it's still not easy!! I have carpal tunnel and tendonitis in my thumbs from the pregnancy, so it has been tough. They LOVE nursing though, and watching them look at each other and play with each other's hands is amazing now. Just keep trying it every day and good luck!!!

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