Breastfeeding Twins

I can’t believe the twins are going to be one in just a few short weeks. Aside from them entering the toddler stage, they will also have to adjust to no longer nursing. This mama and her boobs are retiring! I’ve always been passionate about nursing my babies with the goal of making it one year for each of them. I surpassed that and nursed McKenzie until she was fourteen months old, which is when she weaned herself. That was great! When I learned I was expecting twins, breastfeeding was one of the many first fears I worried about. I kept thinking, “how in the heck am I suppose to nurse two babies at the same time?!” Well, I’m here to tell you it IS possible, but boy was it a journey as if breastfeeding isn’t already crazy enough! I’m proud of this journey! I’m also happy and sad to see it go so I felt it was necessary to document the ups, the downs, and craziness it entailed! I noticed right away that this experience would be very different. It all started when both my babies needed donor milk after birth. I also had to nurse, bottle feed with donor milk and pump every time my babies were hungry during our hospital stay.

Nursing twins required a specific breastfeeding pillow, the coordination of TWO infant babies and an understanding of new verbiages, like tandem nursing. My nipples were sore, they were with McKenzie too, but this time was much, much worse. I actually had anxiety over knowing feeding time was fast approaching.

Trying to determine if TWO babies were consuming enough milk and which baby was causing my nipples to crack, blister and bleed was almost too much to bear. At 6 weeks postpartum, after dealing with ongoing nipple pain, lots of pumping and bottle feeding for temporary relief, we finally had a visit with a lactation consultant and found out Ms. Brynley was the one causing the nipple pain. We also found out she wasn’t getting enough milk. Deacon consumed 5 oz and Brynley only 1.5 oz.  That is when we discovered she had a tongue tie. I was also diagnosed with nipple vasospasms, which is a lack of blood flow to the nipple and experienced pain from that in between the feedings. Seriously my nipples never got a break or relief during those first 6 weeks. After having her tongue tie revision procedure and giving it time to heal, I retaught her how to breastfed and at 12 weeks, I was exclusively feeding both of my babies! Yay!!! I was SO happy! Sometimes I tandem nursed, but primarily I would just nurse one at a time. It was much more enjoyable for me that way, although more time-consuming! A big challenge to nursing one at a time was making sure one baby was either sleeping or content while nursing the other. I hated the panic feeling of knowing the other could start crying at any point and I wouldn’t be able to help, or I would have to pull the one-off, which would then only result in two crying babies! I loved and really appreciated when I was able to focus on one of my babies and have a stress-free, successful nursing session. Now that the twins are mobile, the jealousy of the other nursing is even worse. As soon as I whip out a boob for one, the other catches a glimpse and bolts over. They whine, claw at, and hit me or the baby who is nursing. When it gets too bad, I just lay down, take both boobs out and let them go at it. I have to laugh because in those moments I think of all the beautiful nursing pictures you see on the internet and call BS. It looks more like 2 humans doing gymnastics on your chest while wrestling their biggest opponent. For many reasons I am ready to be done, especially because my son loves to bite and it freakin hurts! But I’m also sad because these are my last babies and there is nothing more special and intimate to me than nursing, whether it be for nourishment or comfort. I am just so happy to say and to share that with the support I was surrounded with (which I believe is key to success) and my own determination, WE DID IT! Here are some fun pictures and legit documentation, which I will always hold over their heads! Just kidding!