Two breasts, two babies, it can work! And for us, it absolutely did.
Let me start by saying, do not take to heart any criticism you receive about whatever method you select to nourish your babies. That decision is yours to make. People will say you are crazy to attempt to breastfeed two. People will say you are selfish if you decide not to breastfeed. Think carefully about your family, your support system, your finances, your personal gut feelings about the process, and make a decision. Realize you also can change your mind at many stages, and that is also your prerogative.
Most will agree, when feasible, nursing is the healthiest option for your babies, for you, and most definitely, for your wallet. I will tell you here and now, although it is ‘nature’s way,’ it is a challenge.
If you decide to breastfeed your twosome, the undertaking will require both your physical and emotional determination. Have family and friends criticized you as stubborn and obstinate? Those traits will work in your favor.
Let everyone—your hospital, OB/GYN, midwife, doula, nursing staff—know if you intend to nurse your twins. Most will assume you are planning to formula feed twins, so be vocal. Ideally, your support team will get those babies to your breasts within the first hour after they are born. Getting the babies to breast early after birth eases them into the practice when they are at their most receptive.
Don’t be shocked when hardly anything comes from your breasts. Many new mothers–especially mothers of “born early” twins–get fearful in the first few days and quit nursing, convinced their babies are starving. From what I understand (I am not a doctor), babies are born with nutrition sufficient to survive for quite some time with minimal intake. Obviously, you aren’t going to do that, but that tidbit should reassure you tremendously when the first few days are full of incorrect or non-existent nipple latch-ons. Most hospitals have a lactation consultant on staff and she (maybe I am being sexist, but I have yet to hear of a male lactation consultant) will be there to help you. Use her.
Let me dispel one of the most common apprehensions about nursing twins: No way can one woman produce enough milk to sustain two infants. In most instances, that is incorrect.
The breast creates milk on demand. Twice the demand equals twice the milk. Likewise, babies grow (through growth spurts and all) and their demand increases incrementally, your breasts adjust and increase accordingly. If your babies aren’t creating enough demand, or if your babies cannot be directly breastfed right away because of prematurity, a breast pump can simulate demand quite efficiently. The milk you pump can be fed to your babies via whatever method works.
You are probably shrieking right now, “What about nipple confusion? Won’t my babies reject my breasts in favor of the bottles?” If you don’t use care in selecting a strategically nippled bottle, the babies may do just that. But believe me, the babies aren’t confused; they’re just lazy. Most bottles/nipples will automatically drip into the babies’ mouth even if they don’t suck. Those types of bottles are just easier and faster. Don’t blame your babies for wanting the easy route, it’s tough work being adored all day long. My feeling is, it’s never too early to learn life rarely hands you something for nothing. Get nipples that simulate the breast, forcing the babies to truly suck hard to get the goods. As you will find out, the babies need to seriously work their suction muscles in order to extract milk from your breast. (Surely my daughter will thank me in the future when she has finely-chiseled cheekbones from all her diligent nursing as an infant.)
Even if you wish to breastfeed exclusively, do express milk on occasion and let your husband (or grandparents or older siblings) enjoy feeding the babies.
Embarrassingly, I don’t remember the first time I nursed my babies. Surely it was within an hour of their birth. Needless to say, I was tired, and my memory is a little blurry. Okay, my memory of it is non-existent.
What I do remember about those early in-hospital nursing sessions was how comical it must have appeared to any lookers-on. Literally, my arms were raised over my head, in a referee indicating a successful touchdown pose, while the lactation nurses, at least one on each side, positioned and re-positioned our babies’ heads on my breasts. My arms had to be directly over my head to allow the nurses’ physical access and a clear sight line to get the babies latched on.
Latching on. Who would have thought it was tricky? Knowing that breastfeeding is ‘nature’s way,’ I always assumed babies put their mouths on the breast, and voila. Their hunger would be sated. The only tough part would be trying to get two babies onto the nursing pillow at the same time. If only.
Our twosome was so sleepy in their first days of life. We had to wake them every three hours for their feeding, and we had to wake them often during the feedings. As mean as it sounds, we had strip our babies to their diapers to keep them “cool” for nursing. The breast is warm; your arms are, too. Go ahead and add warm milk to the equation. Sleeping pill companies wish they could create a substance as potent. Naked they were.
When the little baby necks (and bodies for that matter) have little strength/control, the idea of nursing them anywhere other than our Queen-sized bed (with my back to the headboard) seemed unsafe. The looming precipice off to the side of glider or a rocker seemed way too dangerous to risk while attempting to coordinate two babies, a monstrously-big pillow, and my monstrously-engorged breasts. With the bed as our base, we had soft places to “land” or place a baby should we ever have a mid-nursing challenge (excessive spit-up, explosive poo blow-out, etc.) …and those times did occur. Some twin moms have managed a couch; I was too hooked on lots of space and soft surface to try the sofa option.
Once our twins were in football hold position (babies’ heads positioned in front of breasts with their bodies lengthwise tucked under armpits) on the tandem nursing pillow, we were ready to start. The “football-hold position” as it’s affectionately known, was the only effective nursing position we were able to implement. When I look back now on all my ‘breastfeeding research’ and the class I took in preparation, I get the giggles. Just about all of the illustrations of viable twin nursing positions were drawings, except for the football hold. There were photographs of women nursing seemingly comfortably using the football-hold position. I did see a few somewhat scary looking photographs of women employing alternate holds, but all parties involved looked uncomfortable, and somewhat smushed. If you find another position works better for you, fantastic! For me, I had enough challenges. Attempting to make the nicer-sounding “cradle hold” work, would have been a waste of precious time.
And no, you are not going to do some perversion of synchronized swimming and move both your hands (each cradling a baby head) in one fluid motion onto your breasts. Once one baby is on and happily sucking, then you can get the other one hooked on. Learning to take turns early is a valuable twin lesson. Don’t make the mistake of lowering your breasts into their mouths. Ideally, you are going to spend hours, weeks and months in this position. Even though it feels “easier” for you to move to them, don’t. Your back will have plenty of other reasons for strain the first year; don’t add nonsensical nursing contortions to your body’s list of things to do
In the hospital, we were blessed to always have the fleet of nursing experts at our beck and call. Wisely, ours suggested we undertake a nursing session or two in-hospital with no assistance. Even with the solo flights notched onto your nursing bra, once you are home, it is a little more challenging. With each dual latching and nursing, try to mentally pat yourself on the back. You won’t have a free hand to literally do it, but congratulate yourself. You are truly accomplishing something special for your babies’ health.
If you have idealized images of nursing your babies like an enthroned Mother Earth, please let go of those fantasies now. You will not be relaxing while nursing, all doe-eyed, gazing upon your offspring as some of the more propagandistic literature would have you believe. Sister, you’re going to be juggling, but for good reason! Try not to get discouraged with the challenges of the early days/weeks. Your babies will learn, and you will get more adept.
After two weeks at home, we made the decision to hire a highly recommended lactation consultant for an in-home visit. We felt it would be well worth the investment, and was it ever!
If these are your first babies, please don’t let the challenges of early breastfeeding make you feel inadequate and incompetent. It easily took us about a month, and the help of that at-home lactation consult, before I genuinely felt breastfeeding was working well each and every feed. Your body is doing something it could not practice for. Cut yourself some slack, and congratulate yourself for attempting—and hopefully succeeding at—a daunting, but highly worthwhile, goal!
Bernardo Strozzi’s “Charity” @VMFA
[*edited excerpt from Twinspiration: Real-Life Advice from Pregnancy through the First Year, c. 2006. Taylor Trade Publishing]
