Breastfeeding Twins!
Congratulations if you are a new mum to a set of twins. I have seen a number of twins in the past 3 weeks as and you all seem to have similar challenges, I thought I would answer some twin related questions.
Is it better to breastfeed one baby at a time or should I try to feed both in one go?
This is really up to you. Depending on how little your babies are will usaully dictate this anyway. If your baby is are young – 36-38weeks, you may find that you need to spend a little time with each baby, so that you can compress the breast and keep him or her awake during the feed.
Many mums will feed one baby at a time for the first week or so, then once the babies have learnt to gape widely when latching, they move onto tandem feeding.
Should I be topping my babies up with formula?
Usually the answer would be no. However, if the babies were taken to the NICU after delivery where they were given formula, many mums feel they need the safety net of a top up. Remember that your body knows you have had two babies and will prodcue milk accordingly, you just need to stimulate your supply adequately in order to meet your babies needs.
Would it be better for me to express and use breast milk as a top up instead?
I would say so. If you are finding that your babies are too little to feed well for a prolonged time, you may be better able to drain the breasts and increase your supply that way, whilst the babies gain strength. I would usually encourage mums to breastfeed both babies at one feed, and then express and bottle feed at the following feed until the babies are able to focus when nursing.
By offering expressed milk, your body begins to produce enough to meet your babies needs and there is no need for formula top ups.
Why does my baby not suck when he goes to the breast – he just falls asleep?
When babies are not able to grasp enough breast tissue, there is not enough pressure on their tongue to stimulate their sucking reflex. Use compression to create a manual let down, as this will simply deliver milk into your baby’s mouth which should start him or her sucking. If your baby is very sleepy, you could try using nipple shields. Just ensure that they are the correct size for your nipple and not too big for your baby’s mouth.
I hope this helps a little. Get in touch if you have any questions or need a little more help.
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4 Responses to Breastfeeding Twins!
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Hi there,
Congratulations on having 2 little babies. I am sure they are keeping you busy. Feeding twins can seem a little daunting, but as soon as your body understands that it needs to produce milk for 2, everything becomes a lot easier. Let’s quickly look at how you can begin to do this.
1. It is always a good idea to bring the feeds closer together, so 2-3hourly rather than 4 hourly, when trying to increase your supply.
2. Feedingmore frequently means that you don’t need to give the babies as much formula.
3. As formula takes longer to digest, the more formula your babies have, the less hungry they will be when they are offered the breast.If you would like to discuss this a little more, give me a call on 0906 400 6213 between 9am-10am Monday – Friday. Calls cost £1.50 per minute from BT landlines. Mobiles and other networks may vary.
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Hi,I have twin girl and a twin boy 3 months old.since they were born are 35 weeks they have been taking top ups ,initially ebm but then I had severe kidney infection and was not producing enough so started formula top ups
both are weighing ok at the moment but it’s very confusing howuch to increase top up with time.up to 12 week they were at 120 ml after every 20 -30 min on breast with 6 feeds
now they have reduced feeds to five but don’t demand fir more milk.am very upset as I dint want them to loose weight at all.
Also can u help me how should I calculate top ups as they don’t give me any hunger clues at all .I just put the breast after 4 hrs and top up without them giving me any indication
help plz what should I do?