Did anyone try BFing twins...

sasky · April 2014

And either have a lot of trouble and eventually become successful, or end up formula feeding in the end (not that there's anything wrong with FFing!)?

I BFed DS1 for 7 months, but the beginning was very stressful. It was one of the hardest parts of those first few weeks. I put a lot of pressure on myself and I don't want to do that this time. I will make every effort to BF these babies. But I don't want to stress myself out to the point of sacrificing my mental well being.

Just looking for other experiences of difficulty BFing in the beginning and how you dealt with it. TIA!

CNYBride05 · April 2014

Yes! Major difficulties in the beginning due to immature latch and suck and retained placenta. 8 weeks of supplementing, pumping every 2 hrs round the clock and then able to kick the bottle and now, 8 mos in, we are EBFing (except for daycare days when they have bottles of BM) and I love it.

SV917 · April 2014

Yes. There are many breastfeeding MoMs here. Check out our BF & pre-BF weekly thread.

My twins are 5 months and we're still working things out but the first two months were so hard! My daughter was in the NICU for 6 weeks for blood sugar issues (she did receive some formula there), my son used the nipple shield for 4 1/2 months with an average feed of 45 minutes, my daughter has latch problems so I pump for her, and my son went over a month with barely gaining any weight - those are just some of the problems we faced, but I feel we are finally in a groove now. It helps to have a local support group and an LC or two. Online support here is good, too.

zazu13 · April 2014

4 weeks in and Ive had trouble with latch, supply, Nicu baby, me being very sick after delivery ... I've met with several consultants and tried shields, supply boosters, etc. I am exhausted from pumping and failed attempts. As badly as I wanted this To happen for us I don't think it's going to. Best of luck. I never expected it to be so challenging or emotional.

TheDairyQueenx3 · April 2014

We had a rocky start with NICU babies for a few weeks where the NICU upped feeds and I just couldn't keep up so they had to supplement, both babies tongue and lip tied, C couldn't latch at all with out a lot of help, failure to thrive ( later on found out my pedi wasn't using the WHO growth charts that they are supposed to for BF babies he was using the standard CDC), and trying to care for our toddler and nurse babies all day long with absolutely no one around to help me.

It has taken a ton of dedication and stubbornness to keep going. It's still a work in progress with the lip ties and now the constant nursing marathons but they say never quit on a bad day and here we are almost 5 months later with chubby little guys! My 2 and 3 pound babies are 13 and 15.5 pounds. My singleton I was only able to make it 6 EBF then to 8 months with 50% BM until he self weened. It has been a much different experience but as much work as it is I absolutely love knowing that I am able to do this every day! I went it with no expectations and just take it day by day

JTA2426 · April 2014

The first 8 weeks were pretty difficult. The twins were 34 weeks and Im a FTM. It was always my goal to bf them and I was very, very determined. No supply issues, as they were in the NICU and I was pumping from day one. I pumped every 3 hours without a single missed pump for 12 weeks or more, even if I breastfed the babies. The first 6+ weeks I breastfed one and bottle fed the other, then pumped both sides. That way I knew at 50% of the feedings how much they were getting for my peace of mind. (A bfed at 8&2, J at 11&5 around the clock). This worked well for us. When I felt like their latching and sucking was competent, I started tandem feeding. I had a wonderful LC that I called for advice who helped me a lot in the NICU.

At 9 months, the boys have never had formula (not that there's anything wrong with it, but I've worked hard for this and am proud!) so there's my success story and in a nutshell how I managed it. Good luck!

24karat · April 2014

Lots of difficulty to start (poor latch, milk supply issues, etc) but we are at eight months and I still nurse them. We had to supplement from fairly early and I was only able to tandem feed for a few months. I'm very glad it was able to work out for us for the short time it did.

yinyang124 · April 2014

We had issues, but I was able to exclusively breastfeed for almost 8 months. My duo were 34 week preemies, had typical latching and weight gain issues confounded by tongue ties. They also never liked bottles and ate small amounts frequently, so I basically had them attached to my boobs at all times. 98% of the time I tandem nursed them. I weaned them at 8 months straight to sippy cups.

PurpleIris30 · April 2014

They were born at 32 weeks, and I pumped every 3 hours (sometimes more frequently during the day) while they were in the NICU. We introduced some breast feeding when they were 34 weeks GA (?? I can't remember for sure.). It took them a while to be able to master the suck/breathe/swallow thing and to stay awake for a full feed, but my larger twin was mainly breastfed by discharge. The smaller twin struggled more with breathing and went home on oxygen. We were eventually able to transition to all breast and no bottles, and they are still EBF at almost 6 months. It took a lot of time practicing breast feeding and pumping in those first weeks home.

ceechie · April 2014

I had mine at 37 weeks. I hemmoraged, so big supply issues and immature latch. Then thrush when we came home from hospital. My goal was to work on it for a month. We supplemented when it wasn't working. Slowly but surely, when we hit the month mark it was almost all ebf. It was hard and I cried daily those first couple of weeks. But now the girls are 9 mos and only supplement when dh takes a feeding at night.

seawater · April 2014

Mine were born at almost 34 weeks and I had the same problems a lot of other ladies have posted. It was a ton of work but we are now at almost 5 months of BF. It was a lot of trail and error and a lot of support from a lactation consultant. We're still figuring it all out, but it is doable. If you have specific questions the ladies on the breastfeeding board are incredibly helpful and encouraging. Good luck!

twinmama920 · April 2014

Mine were born at 37w no nicu time but difficulty with latching. It was very challenging. My milk didn't come in until end of day 5. Had to supplement with formula for a few months. I would bf then pump then bottle feed. Didn't pump enough so they got formula. Honestly the first 4-5 months were difficult. Very draining but I stuck with it. So glad I did! I eventually got down to pumping only before bed and then got back to only bf. My boys just turned 18m and we still nurse 3-4 times a day. They love it and so do I! Good luck!

TommysGirl56 · April 2014

I'm going through the struggles right now. I had no idea it would be so hard. I BF both my singletons for 1+ years and figured this would just come naturally. Well, during 3 weeks in the NICU, we did many weighed feeds. Getting preemies to latch on was really hard, and when they did, they were only getting 3cc during a session. Over time, that improved, but not to where the doctors wanted. By the end of our NICU time, I was nursing each baby and then giving fortified expressed milk in a bottle to each to make up the difference in what the minimum feed needed to be. Then I would pump afterwards. The routine is similar at home, except I go with an ounce on each bottle since I can't do weighed feeds here. Breastfeed, bottlefeed, pump, repeat. It's tedious and tiring right now. I am very determined to make this work and come out on the other side just BFing on demand! For the past week or so, I have been tandem nursing and that definitely helps with all of this...so I see things improving some now at almost 6 weeks of age!

CaliCarly77 · April 2014

I EBF for the first 2.5 months. Josie had horrible latch issues and at 8 days old finally just refused to latch. I pumped and bottle fed her twice while I was totally crying. I couldn't imagine feeding Lexie then pumping, then feeding Josie every 3 hours. I had never even heard of a nipple shield but by the end of the day I had one and cried happy tears when it worked. We worked for two weeks to get her consistently using the shield, then off of it. I went to lactation class and worked one on one once with a lactation consultant. Thanks to Josie's hard work with me, we breast fed exclusively for 2.5 months. I cried a lot (extremely emotional) when I weaned but it was time, and I am so glad I was able to give them the breast feeding benefits that I could. They are 3.5 months and they are EFF. (I should note, they didn't do well when we tried feeding some EBM and F, so we thought that could be an option but it wasn't - lots of gas and discomfort).

CaliCarly77 · April 2014

zazu13 said:

4 weeks in and Ive had trouble with latch, supply, Nicu baby, me being very sick after delivery ... I've met with several consultants and tried shields, supply boosters, etc. I am exhausted from pumping and failed attempts. As badly as I wanted this To happen for us I don't think it's going to. Best of luck. I never expected it to be so challenging or emotional.

This is so true - before they were born, I never cared whether we BF or not...then had horrific emotional melt downs when I had challenges with Josie, AND when I stopped - I spent a whole 3 days home during the day with the girls sobbing uncontrollably when it was time to wean. Definitely reach out to people - I called my mom and friends and sobbed on my husband and it was good to have the support.

Zazu - you are doing a good job - as long as your little ones are fed, that is all that matters!! There is no reward for being frustrated.

Jenn06L80 · April 2014

My girls are in the nicu. They were born on April 3. My days consist of attempting breast feeding, then supplementing down their NGT or with a bottle, then pumping. It is exhausting. However when I have a good day like yesterday when J took 26, 15, 45, and 39 from the breast it encourages me to keep going.

Today is tough. The girls are sleepy and wouldn't breast feed much. So I pump and milk goes down the tube.

However I look at how far they have come in just over a week and it does give me motivation.

megs2011 · April 2014

Mine were in the SCN for 4 weeks and very weak. They had a hard time nursing at first. I didn't really start nursing every feed until about 3 months. Z was on high cal breast milk so she needed it from a bottle so we could mix the formula in while she was gaining weight. I was nervous that we were not going to be able to BF. It was rocking when I started EBF at the 3 month mark but I pushed through and ended up nursing till 14 months. You do what is best for you and your babies. No one is going to fault you in whatever you choose to do.

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