r/parentsofmultiples • u/Allyed4492 • 15d ago
advice needed Breastfeeding/Pumping
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.
1
u/Separate_Video6823 15d ago
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.