Breastfeeding Twins, Part I

A couple of people have e-mailed me asking about what it's like to breastfeed twins. I'm happy to explain, though my own experience is but one, and if you are looking for good information on what works for most people, you should really be consulting an excellent resource like  Karen Kerkhoff Gromada's book Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding & Caring for Twins or More . I think I break some of the "rules", but what we do works for us.

When the boys were born, they were 5 weeks early and in the NICU. They were on IV's, and then gavage tubes. Other than a little formula the first few days while we waited for my milk to come in, they have always been on breastmilk only. I started pumping 12 hours after they were born, and pumped every three hours around the clock. My milk came in on the third day, and the colostrum was given to the boys by gavage.

The pumping worked, but it about killed me. I was recovering from 14 weeks of bedrest at the time, and was trying to breastfeed every time the boys showed any interest. Every three hours was: try boy 1, try boy 2, then pump. This left maybe an hour at a time to sleep, and I was having trouble falling asleep, so by the time I nodded off, it was time to start all over. I was so weak that I needed a a wheelchair and then a walker, and anemic to boot. I remember waiting for the elevator (I was staying in a boarding room at the hospital because I was breastfeeding and there was literally no time to go home) and feeling like the floor was literally coming up at me. I was practically hallucinating. I was also crazy hormonal and crying much of the time. It was a hellish experience. DH joked that if I was in prison, this type of shcedule would be against the Geneva Convention. But: it worked. It really did - by the time we left the hospital together after 14 days in the NICU, I had a great milk supply, and both boys had a good start. They could both take a bottle or bf with a nipple shield, and did so readily. They grew well, and they are still doing great. I'll post again soon about how we handle it at home, but I do want to add that had any of the following been different, I don't think I would have been able to breastfeed them:

1. I have a spouse who is as committed to this as I am. That means that he often takes the night shift so that I can rest, making it tolerable to be breastfeeding constantly the rest of the time. For me, that made a HUGE difference. And yes, they do take a bottle of breastmilk then.
2. I was given Karen Kerkhoff Gromada's book Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding & Caring for Twins or More while I was on bedrest. It made it seem like bf-ing twins was a rational, doable goal.
3. The lactation consultants in the NICU were excellent, and also made bf-ing twins seem like a rational, doable goal.
4. I didn't realize that most moms of multiples don't bf for long, if at all.
5. The NICU itself was excellent. They have boarding rooms for bf-ing mothers and their spouses, and for stable babies who are taking the breast they actually have rooms with queen sized beds where the babies room in. This made a huge difference in our confidence level, and it meant that I could breastfeed them 24/7 until we went home.
6. I had the support of friends and family. I didn't have any obvious sceptics or naysayers in my life.
7. I had enough help to get the rest I needed, as well as help with the other details, such as housework, that weren't getting done beause I was spending 10 hours or more a day breastfeeding pokey preemies.
8. I'm lucky enough to be able to produce plenty of milk.
9. I was/am extra determined because the act of breastfeeding has been a very healing experience for me after infertility and a high-risk pregnancy, and I sensed that it would be.

Get the idea? That's a lot of stuff in my corner, much of which I can't take a bit of credit for. So while I'm happy, even eager to share my experiences, I do not want to contribute to the judgement of anyone who decides not to breastfeed their multiples or preemies, or can't. It's hard enough. That said, I'm so glad it worked out. I love nursing them and am already sad that these days will someday be past.

I have really enjoyed reading Julia's chronicle of her NICU stay and birth story over at Uncommon Misconception, as well as the backround info on Instafamily's triplets. Perhaps I'll take their lead, and tell the story of how our boys came to be (and almost didn't make it). Soon.

Comments

[Linda]

Yeah, I get people mailing me a lot, too, asking how I BF twins for 13 months. I have a post half written up about how I did it and here you are, doing it BEFORE me even though your 2 are younger than mine!

I agree, the #1 reason I was able to BF twins is because my husband and I agreed that anything less was unacceptable. We percevered (bad spelling, sorry) together. I'm sure he would have been okay if I had stopped, he wasn't forcing me to do it, but he quite happily changed diapers, made food, brought me water, did laundry, etc so that I could concentrate on BFing. It made all the difference in the world.

[instamom]

i also had a ton of support when i decided to breastfeed. our kids were in nicu for about 4 months and had been fed bottles for so long that they couldn't latch on well. I ended up pumping every 3 hours for 10 months! crazy! now when i look back, i don't know how i did it. i remember bringing a portable pump along when we went camping, and pumping in the stinkin' tent! I remember telling my mom that i was thinking of quitting (pumping) at 9 months, and she about knocked me off my chair with the reasons that i shouldn't...and she was right, but 10 months is a long time to have a plastic contraption sucking your boob into unrecognizable form every three hours!

[Julia]

I couldn't agree more with your assessment of what helps make breastfeeding work. I've told many of my friends that I think the single most important factor for me was that I assumed it would work. But, as you said, I have many friends for whom it didn't work and they're just as fantastic at mothering.

I'm glad to know you, and I'll be attempting to keep up with you and your boys. They're beautiful, by the way.