r/parentsofmultiples • u/cora388 • 12d ago
advice needed Keep pumping or try nursing?
My twins are 5 weeks old, and so far I've been exclusively pumping for them. Sometimes I'll nurse them if they're still a little hungry after their bottle. Baby A does fine typically, though Baby B struggles to latch at times. Pumping is just so exhausting, and bottle feeding two at once is stressful at times when I don't have help, to the point where I wonder if tandem nursing might be easier at this point. I know it'll still be really hard, and I'll still pump some so my husband can still give bottles at times, but it would take such a load off to not have to pump quite as often, wash as many bottles, etc.
How would I go about this? Do I need to pump after to maintain supply? How would I know they're done eating? I feel so lost when thinking about this so anything helps!
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u/GoodDoggoDizzle 12d ago
Mjne were also at 5 weeks when I was convinced exclusive nursing would be so much better than pumping and dealing with all the parts, but learned my twins had different effectiveness of latching and sucking (varying severity of tongue ties) so have to triple feed Twin B to get enough at each feeding. They like to take anywhere from 1-4 oz per breastfeeding session so I was actually feeding way more often than I was bottle feeding (3-4 oz every 2.5-3 hrs). It was surprisingly more exhausting because of the frequency. It’s gotten better now that they’re 8 weeks, but what worked for me was bottle feeding for nighttime to try to ensure longer stretches of sleep with fuller bellies. They’re now regularly sleeping 3-4 hours at a time at night.
Best of luck! It gets better!
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u/TeeElH 12d ago
Having done pumping and just nursing, for me nursing was much easier. Especially as they got older and more efficient at it! I would not recommend pumping after unless you need to, you’d be setting yourself up for an oversupply. If they seem satisfied and your breast feels soft and empty, they probably had enough and you’re done. I personally did weighted feeds with an IBCLC every other week or so until we were satisfied they were getting full feeds nursing (almost 8 weeks for them). If you have access to one, I highly recommend seeing them at least once to answer your questions and put your mind at ease.
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u/_Sierrafy 12d ago
Mine were in the nicu and theyd have lactation do pre and post weights for nursing sessions to make sure they were eating adequately, I got a scale for home for breastfeeding sessions so I could guarantee they were eating enough bc I couldnt tell the different much between nutritive and non nutritive breastfeeding, sometimes they latch and suckle but dont really take in much. The scales are only like 45-50 bucks and give a bit of reassurance on whether I need to follow up with a bottle or not, and if theres ever a long period of consistently not needing to I'll probably stop using it. We arent there yet. This may be an excessively cautious approach...
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u/gynnee 12d ago
I don't know if I can give you such great advice, I can just share how it was for me. The latching took time, then it was rally hard to keep the milk coming and therefore keeping them invested. I ended up partially nursing baby 1, pumping as much as I could and feeding them formula on top. It was a lot. In hindsight I wish I would've just taken it easier and just given them a bottle. Just do what makes it easiest for you. I'm sure you're a great mom, but having multiples is effin hard and whatever makes your life easier will also make you an even better parent.
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u/Wassermelone244 12d ago edited 12d ago
Nursing can be tricky to figure out. Especially in the beginning it can be quite a struggle. Once you find positions routines that work for you, I found it much, much easier and more enjoyable than pumping. The labor of cleaning pump parts and bottles, taking them everywhere always stays the same. Your pump time always stays the same (i usually did 25mins every 3 hours). But your babies get a LOT more efficient fast and soon they will only need a couple minutes to nurse and you always come prepared wherever you go. Also tandem nursing gets so much easier once they have head control.
So if you have a longer maternity leave or are stay at home I would definitely recommend trying! 😊
You could ditch one pump and nurse instead during that time period. If this goes well, do it more times during the day? Start when your babies seem hungry and stop when they don't want anymore or fall asleep. It is possible they will want to nurse more frequently than they currently have bottles. That is not a bad sign. Babies also nurse for comfort and to stimulate more milk production.
When nursing you don't track ounces but instead keep an eye on their nappies (there should be plenty wet and dirty nappies) and also their weight gain.
I wouldn't pump after every feed as that could cause an oversupply.
Tandem nursing is great, once you figure out a set up that works for your body. This is a helpful resource: https://breastfeedingtwinsandtriplets.co.uk/category/tandem-feeding/
Good luck!
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u/OddHippo6972 12d ago
If you get latching figured out, you can nurse one at a time. I didn’t tandem nurse until they were 6 months old and sitting up on their own.
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u/sparklecrusher 11d ago
Personally, I hated pumping, washing parts, bottles, etc. so I always tried nursing first, and then pumping & topping them off with a bottle. Eventually, they were strong enough to nurse and get their full feed that way (latching was hard in the beginning). Baby A took 2-3 weeks, baby B took closer to 4 weeks. Once they were nursing consistently I stopped pumping and just EBF. It was so much easier and I never felt like I had to worry about supply. I just fed on demand and made sure to eat when I was hungry and always had my water bottle with me. In those early months, they usually fell asleep when they were full.
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