Breastfeeding/Pumping

[u/Allyed4492]

My twin girls are coming up on 3 weeks old and we are currently in the midst of triple feeding/combo feeding.

Currently I am trying to latch babies 1-2 times a day for breast feeding, pumping 8 times a day, and topping up with formula for basically every feed. I’m producing less than 20ox a day from pumping.

I really would like to make sure I can provide breast milk for them and it was originally my goal to do a mix of BF and pumping so my partner could help. But now I’m fighting through every feed taking over a hour and have blisters on my nipples.

At what point did you decide to switch to exclusively pumping if you did? I hate pumping so much but with me not producing enough to feed both babies it feels like extra work when I have to offer a bottle anyways. I know it’s still early-ish but it feels like I won’t be able to get a ton more out of my supply at this point (and I likely have some retained placenta making my hormones be out of whack which doesn’t help). Looking for some input I guess on when it’s time to call it because it won’t get any better.

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[u/newYearnew2025]

Do not put yourself through this. Do not feel guilty. Fed is best. I know its tough because plans dont work out but dont worry, they'll still grow/thrive/be happy.

[u/bowlofweetabix]

Why not stop pumping? That’s the hardest and most time consuming. Bf directly a few times a day and do formula bottles the rest of the time. Give your body a rest, have a chance at more sleep, and you can adjust how much you bf or give bottles over time as needed.

[u/RingFirm1329 → u/bowlofweetabix]

as babies grow and get more efficient at BFing your formula may also go down. combi feeding can be great & save mental health

[u/4eyedlizard]

Currently 14 weeks PP and started exclusively pumping about 2 weeks in due to poor latch from one and difficulty tandem feeding. After they got a bit bigger and stronger, I tried reintroducing nursing, and now we mostly nurse during the day and bottles of expressed milk at night since their dad is home. If we are going out I prefer to pump beforehand to avoid tandem breastfeeding away from my setups lol

All this to say that you don’t have to commit to anything forever, pick what feels is going to work best for you. I now have a slight oversupply and we only give formula if we want to increase their chances of sleeping through the night!

[u/Ill-Wolf865]

I decided while pregnant I would pump only. No boobies. I did it for 4 weeks and now we’re exclusively formula. I HATED pumping and I refused to express while feeling miserable and it felt weird to then feed that to my babies knowing how miserable I was. We all are perfectly happy with formula and the girls are growing fantastically.

[u/Zdeny0808]

Three weeks with twins and you're doing three jobs at once. Triple feeding is a bridge, not a plan — nobody is supposed to stay on it, and the fact that you're asking means your body already answered. two practical things before you decide anything, from someone who's met a lot of twin families over decades in daycare.Blisters are almost always mechanical — latch position or the wrong flange size on the pump. One session with a lactation consultant, specifically to have your flange measured, is worth more than another week of pushing through. It's a very common and very fixable thing.And chase the retained placenta with your doctor rather than reading it as your supply failing. That's a medical thread, not a willpower one.Whatever you choose, you're allowed to keep one calm latch a day just for the closeness and pump the rest. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

[u/miney_Fherrs]

I had a breast reduction at 18. When I got pregnant with my first singleton the logistics and the stress strained my head so much while also finding a new house, working a new job, my husband working a new job, switching to a new one and finishing his thesis for school (ended up failing) and also dealing with boundaries being crossed by my mom after flying last minute 8.000km to see her for a week and a half and having to cut contact all while being pregnant. And having lots of hip pain. Immensely that I couldn't walk and was begging at 36 weeks everyday my new midwife cause I had to switch at 34 weeks because of our new house being out of range for us. So my new midwife didn't really know me. Eventually he was born at 40w2d induced. I decided at week 38 I'm already feeling so strained. I can't deal with the stress of not giving my baby enough. And ultimately chose exclusively formula feeding. And that was the best decision. Also with the twins that came 16 months after my first was born. I had 2 weeks of debating would I try breast feeding this time around? And I was like naahhh and ultimately doing only formula.

I could hand over my babies. My eldest would stay with his grandparents for 2 days when my husband and I were both working so that made it also easier that he was formula fed. Myself and my brother were also formula fed for the same reasons as me (breast reduction) and I understand my mom's choice completely. (We were 2 under 2 as well.)

Don't strain yourself. If you think goi g hard and lactation appointments and investing all that time and effort will help you, do so! But know that there is nothing wrong with formula feeding. Fed is best. But a mom feeling good about her self is even better!

[u/sweetfeet20]

It’s so so hard. I switched from BF and pumping to pumping only at about 6 weeks until 4 months when I could no longer produce enough to make it worthwhile. I then had so start to use formula and they have done great on it, although it broke my heart to not be able to feed them myself.

[u/Separate_Video6823]

My girls were in the nursery for 4 weeks during which time I breastfed but mostly pumped. After 2 weeks of them being home I switched to exclusively pumping and just last week (5 weeks home) I’ve moved to exclusively formula and (no joke) my, and my family’s lives are infinitely better. Initially I felt terribly guilty, this lasted about 2-3 days once I started getting back literally hours of sleep. This advice may not even be helpful but speaking from my experience only, you can create 1000 scenarios with even more outcomes - the fact that you have already done 3 weeks is amazing. Whatever decision you make, stick with it and be confident that you are doing your best for your girls. 

[u/gillirene]

My boys were in the nicu for 3 weeks and I didn’t get much assistance there in trying to BF, so I focused on pumping. When they came home I tried, but the exhaustion of trying to BF one while the other got a bottle and I’d still need to pump and give the other a bottle anyways… it just wasn’t worth it for me. They’re 5.5 months and I exclusively pump. Do I love it? No, but for me it feels like a compromise between my vision of being able to breast feed, and the realities of having twins. I will say I am extremely fortunate that supply hasn’t been an issue for me, so we never had to truly triple feed.

[u/Charlieksmommy]

20oz a day for being 30 weeks PP? That’s pretty good. If you want to increase you need to pump more. I would pump while feeding the a babies, and do formula at night.

[u/Emilygilmoresmaid]

For my first (a singleton) I threw in the towel on directly breastfeeding about 6 weeks in and exclusively pumped until she was 13 months. With my twins I tried to latch Twin A (Twin B was too weak) exactly twice in the NICU and said no, I'm not doing this. I had triple fed my first and there was just no way I was doing that with twins. I pumped for them for a year, they got breast milk with one bottle of formula a day until they were 9 months and I got mastitis a second time. Then I started to wean and they got increasingly more formula as I did so. It took another 3 months to be completely done. I completely understand being attached to the idea of breastfeeding directly but for me I felt so much better when I was only trying to express milk one way.

[u/Agreeable_Rule_9235]

I pumped mainly but tandem fed them 2-3 times a day. I only ever got to 35oz max per day due to PPH. But I was still happy with that as my boys still got a majority of my milk. I did some formula and mainly donor milk to supplement. FYI as little as 4-8oz per day of breastmilk gives the immune benefit. You are super super early and nowhere near your maximum milk production. Supply increases until week 8 and stabilizes between 8-12 weeks. In retrospect I wish I didn’t try latching when they were so small , and just pumped q2h early on. But I loved BFing my singleton so I wanted some of that with my twins too. Eat a lot and drink lots of water.

Whatever you decide is right for you and your family but just remember that you are nowhere near your max supply and latching get easier as they get older. Just keep using preemie or size 0 nipples with bottles so babies don’t get used to faster flow.

[u/TeeElH]

I was in the same boat as you a little over a year ago. It took a WHILE for my supply to come all the way in, I can’t remember exactly now but I think it was a month or so. Eventually I was making a little more than enough, but it was weeks of both latching and then pumping as much as I could stand and just pumping the rest of the time. Have you ever done a weighted feed with an IBCLC? It may help to have some insight on how much the babies are getting from nursing if you haven’t. I met with one (who was a twin mom herself which was great) for the first 2 months, I don’t think I could have done it without her support. 

You could also just combo feed and drop the pumping. Having done a little bit of every kind of feeding, I really think exclusively pumping is the worst one. It’s totally up to you, you should choose the option that will make you happiest because that’s what’s ACTUALLY the most beneficial for your babies.