nursing twins

[spu]

Hi there,

Our twin girls are due any day now (first babies - so I'm new at all of this). I've been reading about nursing, and have a few questions for moms out there with twins.

Were you able to feed both babies at the same time? I've read about feeding on-demand at first, and then feeding on a schedule. What's the best position for feeding both at the same time?

Did you find the need to pump at all? If so, did you rent a hospital pump?

I'm hoping to be able to offer a bottle eventually with expressed milk so DH or grandparents can help with some of the feedings. Did you try this? If so, how old should the babies be to introduce a bottle and how often should a bottle be used to avoid nipple confusion?

How about nursing in public? Did you bother to buy nursing tops or just use layers and a shawl? I was looking at Motherwear's shirts and they seem pretty nice, but the shipping costs are atrocious.

For nursing pads, did you prefer the disposables or the washable kind?

Any other advice would be great! Thanks for all your help!

susan

[Rachels]

Congratulations! I admire you for choosing to breastfeed your babies. I only have one baby, so can't comment on that aspect, but wanted to encourage you to talk to a lactation consultant as soon as possible. You won't believe how helpful it can be.

As for the other stuff, the main thing is to be sure nursing is well-established before you introduce a bottle. My baby took one at four weeks, but I think it really depends. Smaller babies (like mine, and probably like yours) sometimes take a bit longer to get the hang of things. Also, I found that I liked the washable pads much better than the disposables, which tended to bunch up in my bra. As for clothes, I have a few nursing tops which were good in the first weeks, but now at 8 weeks I just wear regular shirts. The baby covers my breast when I nurse in public, so the nursing shirts aren't nearly as necessary as I thought. The motherwear vertical-opening tops look good but actually expose more of my breast than my regular clothes. I hear that the crop-layer things are better, but they look more like nursing clothes.

Hope this helps!
-Rachel

[Marisa6826]

Sue-

I'm pregnant with twins also. I've found a great site: www.twins-club.com.

I've been able to find lots of advice from twin moms from all over the world - including info on breast feeding. I definitely recommend it!!

Check out the "chit chat" area along with the "expecting" forum.

Hope this helps!!

-Marisa