[cHoCoLaTe*MuNcHk...]

Hi all,

My twins are due in late April and I plan to bf them. I bf DS for 2.5 years, never used a pump or bottles and I always had ample supply for him so hopefully I have a similar experience this time. My question is, with the twins, should I invest in a pump & bottles? Will I need it?

Suggestions from mothers of twins would be fantastic

This post has been edited by cHoCoLaTe*MuNcHkIn: 02/05/2013, 09:55 AM

[domestically~cha...]

My twins were 35 weekers so were born without a suck reflex and tube fed. Having my own pump was priceless.

[fibilly]

I fed my twins for 12 months. It probably depends on the gestation of your babies - mine were 37.5 weeks so attached ok but I used a pump to build supply. I didn't buy a pump but I did rent one for about 4 months, so I probably should have!

If you get a pump, id recommend a double pump, cause the last thing you want to do after feeding newborn twins is to sit around pumping for longer than you need to. I didn't have bottles when I left hospital but I had to comp feed in the beginning so had to rush out the day we came home from hospital and buy bottles. If I were you I'd have some just in case.

Good luck with your pregnancy and birth of your twins!

[Twolittleducks]

I joined my local AMBA group and hired from them a hospital grade breast pump and twin BFing pillow at a nominal cost. It was a life saver.

Our twins were born at 34+6, without a suck reflex. They were tube fed for the first 2.5 weeks and taught to suck. To do this, we used a dummy while the expressed breast milk was put through the nasal tube. This taught them that their tummies would fill up when sucking. We also placed them at the breast whenever I was there while they were tub fed. After awhile they were able to latch. We weren't able to take them home until they could both do four full breast feeds in a row and take four full bottles overnight. Hopefully you will be lucky and your babies will go close to term and only have a short hospital stay, but it's a good idea to prepare for an early arrival.

The reason the pump was so useful was that I needed to pump overnight while the twins were still in hospital to bank the milk for them. When they got home, prem babies in our experience are very sleepy. Ours had to be woken to be fed and due to the small weights of our two, we were on a strict feeding schedule. We tandem fed (I wouldn't have survived otherwise) and had to pump regularly in the early days to keep boosting my supply. Especially important if you want to avoid bottle top ups, which we still had to do.

You can demand feed twins, but it is exceptionally hard work, even more so with an older child.

It is possible to have a long BFing relationship with twins. But it's good to be realistic too. I would look into hiring a pump from your local association. If you don't end up needing it, you can return it no dramas.

Best wishes.

[lucky 2]

Hi there,

I have moved your topic to the Twins forum as I suspect you may receive more responses to your questions.
The link remains in the Breastfeeding forum.

Kind regards,

lucky 2
Moderator

[LeggyBlonde]

I second the recommendation to join the ABA for the discounts. I hired a hospital grade pump from them for 6 weeks I think (Medele Symphony) then bought a Medela Freestyle.

I think your need to pump with twins, but that is just my experience obviously.
I both pumped and breastfed for 13 months.

They were breastfed all day long, and had EBM in a bottle overnight courtesy of a stellar DH. He needed less sleep than me, I am grateful for that.

MY EXPERIENCE ONLY, but regular and frequent expressing in the early days (double pump essential therefore) was so beneficial to supply. I always had a supply in the fridge and freezer, and got to sneak out for little outings in the first few months occasionally, which was lovely for me and DH. I was certainly lucky in that I could express 200 mls or so a side, in 10 minutes. I will admit expressing was more time efficient than breastfeeding, but I loved breastfeeding and I am certain the fact that we did so much enabled everything else to happen (ie the supply continuity and the length of the BF relationship).

Also, as we settled into the evening routine of breastfeed, bath, bed, we always topped them up after the bath with as big a bottle of EBM as they could handle and that worked a treat in extending that first big sleep block at night. From a fairly early age, 10-12 weeks maybe, they were only demanding one feed overnight, then 6 or 7 am...

[cHoCoLaTe*MuNcHk...]

Thanks lucky2 i wasnt sure which forum would be best

Thank for your responses ladies. Pumping, storing etc is all new to me so your stories are helping me to get my head around the whole thing. I'd rather be prepared and have some idea than having no clue at all.

Getting up and feeding one baby during the night was ok and DS was regular with his feeds at 3 to 4 hour intervals but this time the EBM in a bottle concept sounds good

I'll check out the Medela website too. That seems to be the brand that everyone recommends.

Ill also chat to a midwife at my next hospital appt too.

[LeggyBlonde]

I will also add, read and note the ABA's brochure/guidelines for expressing and storing milk.

https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-info/br...ring-breastmilk

Particularly the fact that disinfection (sterilisation) isn't necessary for full term healthy babies.

I did exactly what they suggested with my pump gear, rinsed it and put it in the fridge in a ziplock bag, washed it once a day.

Even bottles need only be washed in hot soapy water and rinsed. You can save yourself a LOT of time doing this and time saving is what twin mums need!

[Sally08]

My twins had a similar gestation and start as Twolittleducks's twins and had a nasal gastric tubes for feeding. They were in hospital for 3 weeks and so I had to express to maintain supply. DH and I went in to the hospital every day with my bottles of EBM.

I used the Medela Symphony for expressing which was the same brand that was used at the hospital. I think it is best to hire it as it is very expensive to buy. I would pump 3 hourly for between 15 to 20 min. It was suggested that to maintain and increase supply the most important expression was the one between 1 am and 5 am as that was when Prolactin (lactating hormone) was at its peak.

This post has been edited by Sally08: 09/02/2013, 11:03 AM

[*mylittleprince*]

Hi

I'm currently exclusively breastfeeding my 4 month old twins and I fed by DS till 17.5 months until he self-weaned. I've only pumped about 5 times since they were born and more for comfort and just to have some milk frozen on hand.

I wouldn't go buying a pump or bottles until you are sure you need them. Our local multiple birth association hires the pumps for really cheap!

Good luck.