Breastfeeding Twins

[boobyisbest]

My gorgeous twins are now 20 months old and are still breastfeeding. Breastfeeding still remains one the more rewarding parts to my busy day and is definitely our "bonding" time, as life in our house is very hectic. Whilst not breastfeeding was never an option, I really can't imagine how much harder my life would have been had I not, nature's way is truly the most convenient way to go!

[Tanstar]

Congratulations!! !What a wonderful achievement for you and a great start to life for your twins! Welcome to BB too!!!

[Lulu]

Hi Boobie!

Welcome to BB. Wow BFing twins.....it always conjures up images of a Ganesh type woman with extra arms serenely suckling her babes.

Maybe I'm weird....

[cookiemonster]

Oh Wow, congrats!!! 20 months for twins is such an excellent achievement!
Welcome to BB!

[MantaRay]

Congratulations BisB. That is fantastic news, well done. And thank you for sharing that. A friend of mine from the ABA is pg with twins and determined to bf. I will let her know of your success.

[**Helen**]

Oh that is just great news to hear. I am hoping to bf and while I do have quite a few problems with bf, I managed to bf DS for 11mths, so am hoping to be able to when the twins come along.

[Barb Glare]

Good on you BisB. What a fabulous, positive story!
Helen, when are your babies due? Many women worry that they won't have enough milk for 2 - but that is very rarely the case! Our bodies make milk for two just fine. There's no doubt the sheer workload of having twins is considerable, regardless of you you feed them - mums of twins do an incredible job.

B isB - do you have any hot tips for mums of twins?

Barb

[**Helen**]

Thanks Barb, they are due Dec 13th, but due to be born at the latest 2 weeks before that. I have just brought a pro-breastfeeding twin book which will arrive in the mail next week, so I look forward to reading all of their ideas and tips.

[**Helen**]

I have been reading the book that I purchased, and it is absolutely BRILLIANT!!!. I dont think it forgets to mention anything. It mentions problems that some mothers may have that can affect milk supply and how to be patient and overcome these. It goes into the nicu unit, explains all the different feeding methods, different needs for different ages, expressing etc. I am in love with this book and would highly reccomend it. It has made me feel secure in being able to successfully bf the twins. It also talks about HOM's as well.
"MOTHERING MULTIPLES Breastfeeding & Caring for Twins or More"-Karen Kerkhoff Gromada, 3rd revised edition.

I brought it from a twin website, if anyone wants anymore info I can pm you the website.

[hannahfroodoo]

Haha! Helen - I just saw this thread and thought I would recommend 'Mothering Multiples' and then as I scrolled through, saw that you already have it!

I had lots of problems BFing DD - managed to stick it out to 12 months but the first 3 months were very hard. BUT BFing my twins has been virtually plain sailing. The first 3-4weeks were a bit painful but nowhere near as bad as last time. Now at 3 months, we have reached the point where it all gets easier - feeding is faster etc etc.

Anyway, just wanted to add my encouragement - it really IS possible and is so rewarding to look at your TWO happy, healthy, chubby bubs and know that YOU have done it!!

P.S My biggest BFing friend is my pregnancy body pillow. I wrap it around myself and it gives good support for both babies to feed in football hold. Better than the expensive twin feeding pillow I bought!

[**Helen**]

Thanks Hannahfroodoo, have been reading over things in the book again and am feeling more confident.

[Sequoia]

Well done! A friend of mine has twins and she fed them until they were 15 months old, longer than she fed her other two children, I think that is amazing!

SG
xo

[Bee84]

Congratulations & hats off to you. Thats what I call Stamina.
Hope I can go the distance

[boobyisbest]

Hi you definitely can go the distance, but I have had to let other things I thought were priorities take a back seat. My twins are 2 in a couple weeks and still enjoying their breastmilk. I can definitely see that they are happier and healthier because of it and recover from any illness very quickly, so it has soooo been worth the effort!

[big_bird]

Well done on the 20 months!!!

My twins are 7 months old now and are now on 50/50 BF and Formula. I express and bottle feed the milk as I had them at 27 weeks, so didn't get to BF them for the first 10 weeks and I think that my boobs got used to the expressing.

For new mums with twins, just don't put too much pressure on yourself... and if you have them prem, just remember that your body hasn't had the full term to get built up and you need to work harder if it comes in at all.

Hope that this helps some of you out.

[**Helen**]

In the end I was inable to successfully BF. I have pcos which doesnt help. I was on all sorts of medication and natural lactation drops, plus expressing all the time, but I just could not get my supply to increase at all. However there are plenty of success stories, like mentioned above, plus the lady who had twins 2 weeks earlier than me at 31weeks gest had heaps of milk.

[ellen21]

hmmm that sound so fascinating congrats for the twins i just hope even i get a pleasure of having twins

[tk1999]

Just going off topic for a minute...

Helen, just wondering how PCOS affected your BFing attempts? I have PCOS and am hopeful that I will be able to BF my bubs when they arrive - are there things I should be looking at now?