Parents who nurse twins can encounter many of the same challenges that all nursing parents do: sore nipples, latching and positioning issues, concerns about weight gain, and milk supply. Because twins are more often premature or have low birth weight, these concerns may be amplified.
At three months:
The three-month stage marks the end of the “fourth trimester” and your twins can better adapt to life outside the womb. For one thing, they'll sleep in longer stretches of about three- to four-hour chunks.
Cluster feeding is when you feed your twins close together. So in the evening instead of being on a 3-hour schedule, you might feed your babies every hour. What is this? When cluster feeding babies tend to eat for a bit, take a break, then eat some more.
Chrisie Rosenthal, an international board-certified lactation consultant and twin mom in Calabasas, Calif., recommends that twin moms start with breastfeeding one baby at a time and then, after a few weeks, transition to tandem feeding.
Some prefer to combination feed with formula. They can tandem two babies and give formula to the third, and rotate. They can single feed one baby and formula feed the other two. Some prefer a similar pattern to twins where they exclusively breastfeed for some of the day and give a couple of set bottle feeds.
Try some baby-soothing tactics
Try singing or reading to them, giving them a little massage, doing a funny dance to entertain them or even taking them outside for some fresh air. Just remember that what works for one baby may not work for the other, so you may have to try something totally different for each infant.
Milk supply works on the principle of supply and demand. Breastfeeding tells a mother's body to produce more milk in response to her baby's (or babies') needs. With two babies, more milk is removed from the breasts, so more milk is made.
It is likely that twins' awareness of one another starts sooner than seven or eight months of age. An article by the late doctor, T. Berry Brazelton, observed that at age three to four months, an infant identical female twin seemed disoriented when her sister was removed from the room.
The longest interval between the birth of twins is 90 days, in the case of Molly and Benjamin West, dizygotic (fraternal) twins born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA to parents Lesa and David West (all USA) on 1 January and 30 March 1996.
4. Drink lots of water – The second best way to improve your milk supply is to crank up your water intake. With two babies, you'll want to drink at least twelve eight-ounce glasses a day.
The breastfeeding initiation rate for twins ranges from 38 to 80%, and the rate of any breastfeeding at 6 months from 10 to 50%, with 8–22% of twins breastfeeding exclusively [8, 9, 12,13,14,15,16,17].
It can definitely still work, it just may be more challenging! My twins typically went down pretty well for night time but had some trouble for naps. This is when I introduced cry-it-out. There are a few different methods to this depending on what you are comfortable with and what your baby responds to best.
Don't worry if tandem nursing isn't right for you, even with practice. You can either bottle-feed one baby (using pumped milk or formula, if you're supplementing) while nursing the other (and then switch off), or nurse one after the other.
Bedtime Routines and Twins
While it is important to wake your twins to make sure you are feeding them enough and they are getting enough wake time during the day, you need to be sure you have a solid sleep routine. Having a strong schedule means you know when your babies will eat AND when they will sleep.
Breastfeeding twins or more
It's perfectly possible to breastfeed twins, triplets or more. Lots of twins are breastfed until they start eating solid foods. You may like to try a few breastfeeding positions to see which suits you best.
What Is Dangle-Feeding? Dangle-feeding is when you place your baby flat on their back, on either your lap or on a blanket or comfortable solid surface, and dangle your breasts over them to nurse. Typically, you crouch over all fours over your baby, while you dangle your nipple in their mouth.
The hardest thing about having twins is…
“Managing the movement of two babies. Carrying them both up and down the stairs, getting them into the car, etc.” —Simeon R. “Often having to make one baby wait!” —Catharine D. “Being outnumbered—the logistics of two on one is definitely the hardest.