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BFing Question (sort of long- sorry!)

Mthurm17Mthurm17 member
in Multiples
This has probably been addressed before, so I apologize in advance (I'm a mobile bumper). Also, please no negative input. If you don't have positive advice, please don't reply, as this has been emotional enough for me already.

My twin girls are 9 days old. I had tons of colostrum in the first 1-2 days, then, Dried up and nurses encouraged us to supplement with a little formula after putting babies to the breast to bring their weight up. We have been doing a system of BFing, formula from the bottle and then I pump for 15-20 mins. Babies were somewhat latching and sucking early on, but then got worse. My milk has been in for a few days now and they still aren't nursing well at all.
I tried something new today (long story for the reasoning behind it), but I pumped and then gave the girls my milk in a bottle. I wasn't stressed and neither were they. It was the smoothest feeding we've had so far.
Is it crazy to think about exclusively pumping and bottle feeding twins? I want them to have my milk, but some days I cry after every feeding. I wonder if its worth the stress. Some times one baby will latch and suck and then Won't do it again until many feedings later.
Anyone else exclusively pump?
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Re: BFing Question (sort of long- sorry!)

  • megs2011megs2011 member
    I basically pumped and bottle fed them my milk for the first almost 4 months of their lives. We eventually went to EBFing when I knew they were going to nurse well and got my twin nursing pillow. Its not all or nothing. Any bit of your milk you can give them is awesome!

                              

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  • aug262006brideaug262006bride member
    No experience but I plan on pumping and bottle feeding ONLY. I have an 11 yr DD and a giant extended family that are going to want to feed them at all times so I figured it would be the best of both worlds. :) Good Luck.
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  • smscartozzismscartozzi member
    Have you considered having a lactation consultant visit you at home to help? I found that very useful when I had my son! It's just a pain because its pricey and some insurances don't cover it!

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  • Mthurm17Mthurm17 member
    We've seen a consultant once and I've been chatting with another on the phone. We gave an almost 4 year old DS and I just feel overwhelmed by trying to give him attention and trying many if the strategies she suggests. I really would like to keep things as simple as possible while my hubby returns back to work.
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  • rac717rac717 member
    Whatever works for you is the best, period.

    For what it's worth, it got a lot easier with BFing once the twins had more head control.  At the beginning it was a nightmare and impossible to do both at the same time.  So it may get easier but if pumping is what you feel most comfortable, go for it!
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  • SWA80SWA80 member
    I'm struggling with this too. My boys were getting bottles in NICU and while they are both latching well they just don't get as much from the breast so I'm still pumping after and it just takes forever. Right now we're doing half of feeds from bottle and half breast. I go back to work in 3 weeks so they'll never be EBF. I'm not sure it is worth it for me to BF. For me, it is more stressful than a bonding experience. I don't know why this makes us feel like failures.
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  • Stephanie2167Stephanie2167 member
    We would never give negative comments. You are doing great. Do what is best for you and babes. If you would like to try to get them yo the breast I would recommend trying with them once in awhile. Who knows, when they get a bit bigger they may just get it. Keep it up mama!


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  • tirsabeltirsabel member
    we did the same for the first 6 weeks -> attempt at breast for 10-15 mintues which was always a game of will they or won't they (and they were born at 36+wks) and then supplement with pumped BM or formula depending on the feed.  at 6 weeks my mom left and it was too much for me to do with my MIL who was unable to help much and they never tandem fed well because each really needed a different position my breasts did not bend that way at hte same time :)

    since about 6 weeks i have been pumping and supplementing with formula.  (they never had exclusive BM) and we are still going that way.  funnily enough now that they are on solids, they get more BM than ever because I am still making the same amount of milk after gradually spacing out my pumping sessions.  this never worked for me, but i think many mommas will feed two in a boppy while they pump (hands free bras rock) or sometimes feed one and then feed the other while pumping. this works until they start grabbing for your pumping parts and then you figure out another system :)
    you're doing great. BFing/pumping was the hardest thing to figure out and do post delivery.
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  • RynleighRynleigh member
    I started out exclusively pumping for very different reasons. Over time, it became apparent that Simon was very into the idea of nursing and he latched very well, so after the first few weeks, it became a nurse on one side, pump on the other, situation. That worked until my milk finally started to dry up (hormonal reasons). It can be a lot of work to pump full time, but it is certainly doable and there is nothing wrong with it :) I exclusively pumped with each of my singletons, too.
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  • legaleagleslegaleagles member
    I haven't read all the posts...and I have BF twins yet, but I will tell you it took a long time for my DD and i to figure out BF. We went through many days of exclusive pumping in the beginning because was actually losing weight trying to nurse. I met with several lactation consultants and went to a BF support group...we finally figured it out initially with the help of a nipple shield. You are doing so great....and it's totally possible your babes will learn to figure it out...they're only 9 days old, I'd say keep trying as long as it isn't causing too much stress. If pumping and bottle feeding is working and your comfortable with it....lots of moms exclusively pump and you can totally do it. 
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  • elamplelampl member
    My twins are 9 weeks old and I'm currently EPing.  They were in the NICU for 6 weeks and I had no choice but now it just seems to be a good system for us.   I EBF DD1 and honestly find EPing and bottle feeding much less stressful.  I know how much they are taking and I can share feeding duties with my DH.  Sometimes I feel like I'm tied to the pump, but it's working out well so far.  Good luck!  I would say, go with what is working now, you can always change as long as your supply stays up.  I will say to rent a hospital grade pump if you're going to EP.  It is so much more efficient and gets more milk.  If your insurance doesn't automatically cover it, you can have your OB or Pedi write a letter to your insurance that its medically necessary. 

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  • Mthurm17Mthurm17 member
    Thank you all so much for the positive comments and input. I love all of the advice and we are definitely going to try BFing as long as I can assuming the stress of it doesn't get worse. I really appreciate everyone's help!
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  • ArndenArnden member
    It has definitely been done before. We did that for 9 weeks then I transitioned my girls to EBFing because I wanted to. I think you as a MoM should do whatever makes you and the babies happiest and least stressed. Tiny babies can be so hard... do what you as mom think is best for all three of you!
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  • LittleLady77LittleLady77 member
    The formula, BFing and pumping conversation can get touchy. There are studies out there that say BFing is slightly better, there is no difference between pumping or doing it straight from the boobies as far as the health benefits go. All that being said, I'm going to quote a beautiful post I hear from someone else: I know that BF versus FF is a sensitive topic and as someone who BF I probably can't relate to how hard it is to hear that formula is second best. But the important thing is that we are all giving our children the best that we can given our own circumstances. To me being a good parent, even a great parent, isn't about giving your child THE BEST of everything. You just have to do the best you can and do what makes sense for your family. I won't be sending E to the best schools or feeding him the best organic food. He won't be playing with the best toys and I'm pretty certain that I'm not THE BEST mom. I'm not going to beat myself up about that though. I'm not trying to be a perfect parent, just a good parent. It doesn't matter if breast milk is THE BEST or not IMO. FF doesn't mean you don't care or that you are settling for second best for your child. It's just not the best option for your family with all things considered.

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  • frank3jrfrank3jr member

    I started EP after dealing with repeated mastasis/breast infection and it was too painful to nurse. I was really stressed when we were trying to get the twins back to nursing and they weren't interested and I realized the important thing to me was they were getting the BM. We got into a great routine with me EP and are going strong now almost 6 months. Every now and then I feel a judged and my mom and grandma make comments every now and then, but having twins is just a whole different category. I'm able to get more sleep and friends and family love being able to help with such an important task. My husband has also gotten so much bonding time with them because he feeds them all the time and the twins and I have found other ways to bond. It saves a lot of time and easy to feed while on the road. You always know how much they are getting and only have to worry about your pumping schedule and never about when to pump so you can have enough for whenever the babies want to eat. I still wake up in the middle of the night to pump (to keep the mastasis away hopefully) but since I'm now the only one getting up, I only have to pump and go back to sleep and my husband can wake up and feed in the night if needed.

    Next time if we have one baby, I'm hoping to bf more but for now this works really well. EP gives you a lot of the pros of bottle feeding but all the health benefits of BM.

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