How to Breast-Feed Twins

Series Summary

Early childhood is a special time for both kids and parents. It is widely held that during the first few years of a person’s life, some of the most important physical and emotional aspects of development are set in place. Young children are dependent upon their mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles or grandparents to meet their needs during this time. To grow into healthy, happy adults, kids require many things, including safe surroundings, a good diet, peer interaction and a variety of experiences. Everyone knows that a healthy child begins with a healthy diet. In this free video series, get some nutritional information for an infant. Andrea Orta Mashburn is an experienced childcare provider. She offers advice for the new mother. For instance, learn how to increase breast milk production. Also, find out how to store and freeze breast milk. Curious about how to help a breast-fed baby gain weight? Learn how a mother's diet can play a part in baby's nutrition. Don't know when to start feeding a baby solid foods? Hear advice for when and how to introduce a baby to solid foods. So, take a moment, and improve a baby's nutrition today!

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Andrea Orta Mashburn, and today I'm going to discuss how to breastfeed twins. The most important thing to remember when breastfeeding twins is that you need to keep a schedule. Allowing yourself a schedule will allow the children to both adjust to their feeding times, as well as give you time between feedings to recuperate. Now you actually have a couple of ways to choose when you want to breastfeed twins. The first option that you have is to breastfeed each twin independently. By breastfeeding each twin independently, you're allowing yourself not only time to bond with each individual child, but you're also allowing it to be a special time between you and your infant. Make sure if you choose to breastfeed each independently, that you develop their own schedule. I would suggest that you start one child off an hour before the other one. This will allow you enough time to breastfeed each child, as well as give you a little bit of time to independently recuperate individually on your own. Now if you decide that you would like to breastfeed two twins at the same time, there are two options that you can use. You can simply get a towel for each child and put them underneath your arms to give you some additional support while breastfeeding. The next option that you can choose is to buy what they call a nursing pillow, which will actually go around your stomach and around your body. By using the nursing pillow, this will provide enough support for you and your child on each side to independently breastfeed. It's also important to note that you should be feeding each child two to three hours a day, which would be about eight feedings each day. Also note that each child, if they're properly gaining the weight, will have between two to three stools daily. This'll be providing you with enough information that your child is getting the necessary nutrients while breastfeeding. One last note on breastfeeding twins. You may notice that between the fifth and the sixth week that both infants appetite will grow at this time. That's natural. Allow them to feed more during that fifth and sixth week. It's typical that they will be gaining weight at that time. Also note that once you start breastfeeding your children, at the very beginnings, when they're born, they'll typically lose a couple ounces in weight. After five days, however, they should be gaining about an ounce each day. So remember, be patient, be safe, and always put your babies needs first."