Advice needed for breastfeeding success second time round

[alanasmum]

I am currently 14 weeks pregnant with twins and want to have my best go at breastfeeding them when they are born.

I did not have much success breastfeeding DD. She was born quite small and would not latch on to me initially. The hospital ended up recommending that we give her some formula (to ensure she started putting on weight) as well as persisting with the breastfeeding. So that's what we did. On about day 3 we eventually got her to latch on with a nipple shield but by that time she was already used to the bottle. I persisted at home for a month but every breastfeed would be disasterous. She would easily spend an hour on me and then scream for more and I'd end up giving her a formula top-up. After 4 weeks I was absolutely exhausted from breastfeeding, bottlefeeding and expresssing, so I switched her to formula full-time.

So, I know that breastfeeding twins is a whole new ball game and I have been reading up on this but can anyone give me some general advice for successful breastfeeding, keeping in mind the difficulties I had with DD? I would really appreciate it as I am determined to feed for longer this time.

Thanks in advance.

[NibbleCurlynBub]

There is a wonderful bubhubber somewhere here who breastfed her twins for over a year. :yes:
She would have some FANTASTIC tips for you.

I will have a few but I have only fed one baby at a time.

Read up on the football hold. :)

In the first few days, boob your babies as much as you can. Whenever you can. Let them sleep on boob if you like. All the sucking will encourage your milk supply and if you keep them on a lot from birth, they will encourage a raging supply.

Keep in mind that milk doesn't come in until about 3 days after birth.
Before that, it is colostrum and there is very little of it. Bub doesn't need a top-up or anything, a small amount of colostrum is all they need.

Most of it comes down to the more you feed the more milk you make. :yes:

Eat well, rest properly and put lansinoh on your nipples every now and then so they don't get dry.

That should set you up for a pretty good shot at it. :)

ETA: And DON'T introduce a bottle at all. It will almost certainly set you up for failure. Not many breastfeeding mothers can recover their supply after introducing a bottle feed.

[meme]

join the ABA and go to a meeting in your local area so you get to know the counsellors and can find one you like and feel comfy with.
they have a booklet specifically about breastfeeding twins.
www.breastfeeding.asn.au

have confidence in yourself and your body.

think about a breastfeeding plan the way you might think about having a birth plan, what will you want to happen if they think your twins are small and need top ups? there may be alternatives to bottle feeds that you could look into now and plan ahead for *just in case* scenarios. like expressing and storing colostrum, or using cup feeds or nursing supplementers etc. if you research what practices best support breastfeeding you can include these in your breastfeeding plan.

check with hospital staff on breastfeeding policy and whether they have a lactation consultant. ask for them to support your breastfeeding.

prepare your husband or suport system of friends/family to support you. your husband or partner may need to know how strongly you feel and how you want him to support you, many men seem to find it hard to watch a wife struggle to breastfeed and suggest formula, instead he may like to be incharge of looking up information to help you overcome andy struggles, holding babies when you need extra hands, and looking after other things you normally do so that you can concentrate on establishing breastfeeding.

good luck with it.

[c38]

I suggest you find out if the hospital has a Lactation Consultant and make an appt to see them uring your pregnany and as suggested make a feeding plan. Joining the ABA would be good too, thy may also be ableto intro you to a BF of twins. If you have a local Twin club they might have some info and be able to give support as well.

[kimmymonster]

Hi congratulations on your twin pregnancy.

I would definately recommend joining your local MBA. Take breastfeeding classes look into getting a twin breastfeeding pillow I use the EZ 2 nurse twins pillow and find it fanastic you are hands free so can reattach one, burp one ect with ease.
Watch videos on breast feeding twins they give you some great ideas on the logistic of it all. The ABA should have some for you to watch.
If you want pm me I have been breastfeeding my twins for over 17 months now.
Good luck

[SuperGranny]

HI, I have fed twins for nine months. It was hard to get established but it was so worth it . I agree with speaking to others who have done this, and be surrounded by as much support. I tandem fed with no special pillows or anything. I also didnt burp, that is a strange aussie custom, never found it necessary. I didnt know i was having twins so I did nothing to prepare, but I had breastfed my first son, so I sort of knew what to expect. Good luck, and I offer my help anytime, Cheers Marie.

[bronny-jane]

well ive never had twins, but i have had bad time trying to breastfeed... except this time

before ds, the longest i bf was 2 weeks:yes:
ds is now 8 months old, still going well, no serious issues.. if you dont count the occasional nip.. little bugger has 6 teeth.. i think he forgets some times:D

all my issues with my unsuccessful breastfeeding time came down to attachment:yes:... i had no idea how it really worked.. and that bought on painful feeds, mastitis, and resentment... so this time i got on top of it from day one...

i watched a bfing dvd in hospital that showed how attachment worked.. i constantly was asking questions, and making sure i did it right... and after a few days of bad attachment:o... we got it... i havent felt any pain...except the nips:D... from week one..

i was so determined to bf this time.. positive attitude helps...

start looking at info on attachment now... research research research... if your determined you'll succeed:yelclap:

congrats on twins...so cute..im getting clucky..better stick a fork in my hand

[2bunnies]

Hi There
Congratulations on your twins, you are in for an amaazing time! I BF my twins for 16 months but to be honest it happened very easily for me, the big adavntage is the easiness of not having to prepare an army of bottles. I did have mastitis a few times and persisted through it, so i would say try to persist if you can. Don't be too hard on your self if it doesn't happen for you again though. Good luck.

[gentlemama]

Congrats on your pregnancy!
My advice for breastfeeding success is just to forget about everything except breastfeeding in the first little while. Don't worry about the housework - that's what family and friends are for! Keep your supply up, eat and drink well, allow the baby(s) unrestricted access to the breast. Plenty of skin to skin contact! If you ever need to feed them with something other than your own milk, use an SNS line, so the babies are still attaching to the breast for every feed. Best of luck. I wish you lots of breastfeeding success!

[alanasmum]

Thank you all so much for your replies. You've given me some great advice to go away with. I'm determined to succeed this time!