Best way to feed twins when pumping only.

Jenni - posted on 06/04/2009

i have boy/girl twins and i only pumped, i always fed them at the same time. Laid them on boppy's and held bottles one in each hand. i could only handle it for 2 months (they had to eat every 3 hours) while they were in the hospital i pumped every 2 hours. i feel your pain. i was only sleeping about 30 minutes every 3 hours. it does get better..........

Emily - posted on 06/04/2009

My twins are now a year and I still have a freezer full of bm, lol! Congrats on sticking with it this long. Great to hear the boys are coming along :). When mine got home we had some serious issues with nipple confusion. I stuck it out and won the battle but it was the hardest fight I ever had in my life. Best of luck to you!

Natalie - posted on 06/04/2009

Thnak you for all the advice. The boys are 6 weeks old and growing. They are still in the NICU and should be home at the end of June. We can't wait! I am doing fine with pumping still but when the boys het home that may change. My freezer is overflowing with breastmilk, so I may feed them that until it is gone and not pump after they get home. We will have to wait and see.

Christine - posted on 05/21/2009

My boys were 8 weeks early and spent 7 weeks in the NICU and I had to do the same exact thing. I would bottle feed my boys then right after they ate & were changed I would then pump for 20-25 mins. I did that around the clock for 3 months. For me, it was really exhausting because it would take my boys about 1 hour to drink 2oz, then I'd pump, clean up that mess, then it felt like I had to start all over again. After 3 months, I switched over to formula completly because I had to go back to work FT and I just felt like I could not do it anymore. My pedi said that the first 3 months of breastmilk was the most important, so that it was I did and I have no regrets. My boys are now 21 months and perfectly healthy, you would never know they were preemies. Sorry I don't have advice to make it easier for you! It does get easier the older they get! I know exactly what you are going through. Take care.

Shelley - posted on 05/21/2009

It definitely takes dedication to pump, clean, feed, pump, clean, feed... I commend you for doing it. I only lasted 6 weeks (I felt like a sleep-deprived machine!), but I know they got a great start from just that small amount of breast milk. Knowing it's best for your babies gives you all the encouragement you need, so as long as you can go, props to you! Congratulations on your babies!

Emily - posted on 05/20/2009

Pumping is much harder than nursing! If you can keep it up good for you. Do it as long as you can but when you decide you are done don't beat yourself up. I pumped in the beginning but was able to overcome nipple confusion so I only pump to keep my supply up 2 times a day. Pumping takes so much more work than simply nursing...most would not be able to keep it up. The pumping and finding something to do with the babies is one challenge and all the bottles and cleaning is yet another. Good luck to you!



Fresh room temp bm is good for 10 hours...you don't have to keep pumping sessions separate. Pump into two bottles and leave them then when you are ready to pump again pump right into the same two bottles mixing the milk. Also, you can mix fresh milk in with refrigerated milk. I found the bm storage bags helpful as well. Both of these things will cut back on the number of bottles to clean...it will still be a lot though.



congrats on your new little cuties!

Angela - posted on 05/19/2009

I never nursed from me just breast milk in a bottle, and have twins just pump pump pump and feed them at the same time. I felt bad at first not feeding them from me but dont put yourself through to much stress over it if it works it works if not they are still getting your milk. I did it for four months and then back to work it was to hard. exhausted. Nobody is going to hate you if you cant do it. they need mom to be well also. I just say do what works best for you. If they end up on formula you tried you best and thats all you can do. I think doctors put to much stress to breast feed only that you feel so guilty if you cant do it. I was so exhausted from no sleep no time to eat and feeding them my milk i felt like fainting and throwing up so at four months i said i can not do this any more,

Hope this helps Angela

Krista - posted on 05/19/2009

I don't have any advice, cause i am not sure what the extra calories adds to your day, so i just thought I would drop a note to say congrats to you for healthy babys even if they are little, for now. Pump as much as you can to keep your suppy up. You could plan to pump for 10-15 minutes just before you feed the boys, then do I longer pumping in between. This will give you very fresh mom juice each feeding and not so many bottles to wash. Plus with the longer pumping in the middle you may be able to make a full feeding with the two combined. Anyway good luck and as much as you can get them is better then none at all.

Susan - posted on 05/19/2009

Is it because your milk is not substantial enough? I was very much encouraged to pump for my twins and feed them solely breast milk, unfortuantely my milk never came in well enough. The added calories thing may change once they are considered term. Just do what you can do, formula isn't the end of the world. My twins are now 6 and have done amazingly well, you'd never know they were 7 weeks early.



Buy a good pump, the dual Medela is really good. If you are Canadian, one piece of info many women don't know, is if the twins were in the SCN and you needed to purchase a pump, most extended health programs will reimburse you. This allows you to spend the primo dollars on a good pump. You just need a note on a prescription pad saying to buy a breast pump. It comes under necessary medical equipment. Good luck. Twins are amazingly fascinating. We had a singleton after the twins and for our fourth my husband wanted twins again!

Sophia - posted on 05/19/2009

Hi, i had 8 week prem boys, and had calories addes to their feeds as welll. To be honest there isn't much else to your day other than pumping and calorie feeding. The way i did it was i pumped as much as possible in between feeds and kept the calories by the side of the bottles, and to get through the night i had a bottle warmer by the side of the bed! I eventually had to move on to formula milk, when they were about 4months as my one boy wasn't tolerating my milk. They both did fine with the change of milk and i was very fortunate that they were going through the night at 3months! But, it gets easier, i promise!! My boys are now 3 and a half and doing brilliantly. Hope this helps! x