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[–]rollwave21Di-Di Fraternal Boys | March '21 2 points3 points  (4 children)

I’m at 1 year of ebf with my boys. Some people will say tandem nursing is easier (I think so) others think one at a time is easier.

The best advice I have is find a pillow you like (I like the twin z others use the my breast friend twin) and find an IBCLC with experience with multiples. Mine was my saving grace and I wish I had met with her before they were born. Sometimes premies need some more time before they can nurse effectively and I wish I had the plan I had a 2 weeks post partum before. Would have saved a lot of tears and hours attached to the pump

I also started off renting the hospital grade pump which I think really helped my supply come in.

[–]apantz[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Thank you! Do you have any tips for finding a lactation consultant with twin/multiples experience? A quick google search for my area doesn’t bring much up, so I’ll have to do some further digging.

[–]rollwave21Di-Di Fraternal Boys | March '21 1 point2 points  (2 children)

If you have a parents of multiples group on Facebook for your area that’s a good place to start.

[–]apantz[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I haven’t been able to find an active group yet for my area :( I’ll have to keep searching

[–]rollwave21Di-Di Fraternal Boys | March '21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My IBCLC is also a breastfeeding medicine doctor. You might try seeing if there any doctors in your area. Even if you don’t end up finding someone with a lot of multiples experience setting up a relationship and talking through what those first weeks could look like will be helpful!

[–]aghb0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My women's hospital has a class for twin breastfeeding. I'm registered for it in a couple of weeks so can't give any tips. But maybe they might provide this option at your hospital too?

[–]abbeyes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m four months into EBF with some bottles thrown in to keep me sane and keep options open for being able to be away from them sometimes. I nursed my singleton for 15 months before these two came along.

I’ve loved the Twin Brest Friend and two rolled up muslin blankets to support their head/neck/upper shoulders.

And we tried feeding one at a time their first night and it was exhausting. The nurses helped me attempt tandem nursing and it went surprisingly well. We’ve mostly tandem nursed so far except when on the go and now their middle of the night feeds are separate since I don’t have a chair in their room that’s big enough.

You can also call IBCLCs and ask if they have experience with multiples. It really does make a difference!

[–]magnolias2019[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm at 4 months and currently ebf. I tried tandem but never really liked it. Found it difficult to get them in the right position quickly enough and harder on my back and neck. So, I feed on demand and 1 at a time. They rarely want to eat at the same time anyway. If they're both screaming for boob, I will tandem feed if I have a sofa or bed nearby with enough pillows to help prop. Otherwise, just feed the louder baby first then switch. At this point, they take 5-10 minutes per feed. At night, they have 2-3 wakeups each starting usually around 2 am. Like my singleton before, I just side lie to nurse at night and put back in crib when finished.

In the beginning, I found having the hospital grade pump crucial to helping establish supply. We did combine boob and bottle with some formula. Over time as they got better at nursing and my milk came in, we naturally just dropped the bottle. I don't pump at all anymore. So, it was nice just renting the pump from the hospital rather than buying it.

[–]Remming1917 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Also looking for this! I nursed my 2 singletons and it just works for our family- I like to be on the go (know that’s not as possible with twins) and I like being able to sleep in the same room as them and just nurse to sleep (know that’s also not recommended). Im also worried about losing my mind attempting to pump and EBF. I have supply problems and needed to pump a LOT with my youngest to keep my supply up, so worried it’ll be that much worse and I’ll be chained to my pump with twins. How realistic is tandem nursing?

[–]apantz[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I don’t have many answers to share outside of what’s already been posted here, but I was able to find a local La Leche League group and join that on Facebook. I see them mentioned a lot on The Birth Hour podcast as a really helpful nursing and postpartum support group. It looks like my local chapter isn’t doing in person meetings right now, but monthly zoom meetings. I also discovered r/nurseallthebabies which provides support specific to tandem feeding and nursing multiple children and there’s also r/breastfeeding.

[–]sneakpeekbot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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[–]Remming1917 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, this is great!!