How to Breast-Feed Twins

Is it possible to breast-feed twins? Absolutely! And it's important, because twins are often small or premature and need all the help they can get to grow healthy and strong.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Baby Bibs
• Burp Cloths
• Juices
• Water
• Diapers

1. Before your babies arrive, line up as much household support as possible for the postpartum period. Try to arrange for help with your older children, housework and other responsibilities so you can concentrate on your twins.

2. Hydrate - when your twins are born, get used to drinking lots of fluids and eating frequent healthy snacks. You need extra calories to make enough milk for two babies.

3. Nurse your babies simultaneously or separately ' there are advantages and disadvantages to each method. It may be easier to nurse them one at a time, but it will take up more of your time each day. Nursing increases your prolactin levels and can stimulate milk production; it is also a time saver!

4. Practice a number of nursing positions; many mothers of twins find that the football hold (one baby tucked under each arm) is most successful.

5. If the football hold doesn't work for you, try nursing in the crisscross position, with your babies facing each other and the legs of one twin tucked behind the other twin.

6. Try the parallel position, with both babies facing the same way ' basically, one will be in the football hold, the other in the cradle hold.

7. Try to breast-feed at least some of the time even if your babies receive bottles. This will ensure that they get the antibodies and protective properties of your breast milk, as well as nutrition from a combination of breast milk and formula.

8. Alternate breasts rather than always nursing the same baby on the same breast. This gives both babies extra visual stimulation and improves visual coordination.

9. Contact a lactation consultant or La Leche League leader to ask about breast-feeding support; they may also be able to give you contact information for other mothers of multiples or groups that focus on parenting twins.

Tips & Warnings

• If people offer to help out, accept! Whether they bring casseroles, do a load of dishes or pick up your dry cleaning, every little bit helps.

• Try to get lots of rest. Your body needs to recover from your pregnancy and birth experience, as well as get used to the physical demands of nursing twins, especially during growth spurts.

• If you are trying to breast-feed exclusively without supplementing, try to avoid pacifiers and artificial nipples during the first six weeks. This will give your milk supply a chance to stabilize and allow your babies to develop a good latch.

• Keep track of the wet and dirty diapers that each baby produces for the first couple of weeks; this is an excellent early warning system that can alert you to dehydration, poor weight gain and other problems that may affect one or both twins.