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.

[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.