10 Best Tips for Breastfeeding Twins
If you’ve made the decision to breastfeed your twins, then congrats mama! To even consider doing so is a huge accomplishment. You should feel proud that you’re attempting to give your babies all the benefits that breast milk can provide. To help you out, I’m sharing the 10 best tips for breastfeeding twins.
(Side note: if you made the decision to not breastfeed twins, then congrats as well. You’re doing what’s right for your family and you should feel zero judgement.)
If you need a reminder of the perks of breastfeeding twins, remember this list:
- Cost-saver – breastfeeding can save up to $1,500 per baby in the first year alone!
- Time-saver – no bottle prepping, washing, or warming
- Environmental – it’s a no-waste, no-packaging solution
- Calorie burner – breastfeeding twins can burn up to 1,000 calories per day
- Nutrition – formula has come a long way, but it’s still not exactly like breast milk
- Convenient – it’s always ready and with you wherever you go
- Healthy – breastfeeding offers numerous health benefits for both mom and babies
Now, we all know there can be challenges in breastfeeding twins, but there are also lots of solutions. Let’s dive right in and see how you can have the best breastfeeding experience possible!
Here are the strategies to maximize your success:
1: FIND YOUR CHEERLEADERS
2: SEEK PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT
3: HAVE A NURSING STATION
4: TWIN NURSING PILLOW
5: ALTERNATE BREASTS
6: GUZZLE WATER & DON’T SKIP MEALS
7: GET HELP FOR NON-FEEDING TASKS (your job should be to sleep and eat)
8: IT’S OKAY TO FEED BACK-TO-BACK
9: FIND THE RIGHT POSITION
10: IT’S OKAY TO SUPPLEMENT
BONUS TIP: BE KIND TO YOURSELF
TIP 1: FIND YOUR CHEERLEADERS
First up on the list of 10 best tips for breastfeeding twins is to find your cheerleaders. There will come a time in every breastfeeding mother’s journey, where she considers quitting. It may be getting through a clogged duct, or a few days of low supply, or a family member’s rude comment. When the thought of quitting breastfeeding runs through your mind, go to your cheerleaders.
Your cheerleaders are the people who know why you value breastfeeding and are ready to support your decision.
They’re not the ones who say “Why don‘t you just give them a bottle?” as their first suggestion when a baby is crying after a feed. They’re the ones helping you through the hard times and cheering you on every step of the way.
Find these people, save their numbers in your phone, and reach whenever you need a little dose of support.
TIP 2: SEEK OUT THE PROS
You do not have to go at this alone, mama.
There are so many people available to help you along your breastfeeding journey. We are lucky to live in a world that prioritizes supporting new parents. Can I get a “heck yeah!”?
If you’re in pain, see your family doctor. If you’re having trouble getting a good latch, ask the nurses at the hospital, or the nurses who visit your home if that’s available in your area. Having trouble figuring out how to tandem feed? Consider visiting a lactation consultant, or talking with other twin moms. Do you want some general breastfeeding support? Check out La Leche League, or online blogs about breastfeeding.
There are so many resources out there, both paid and free, to help you along this journey. Find them, cultivate them, and use them. They exist for this exact reason: to make life for new moms like you easier.
TIP 3: SET UP A NURSING STATION
When you’re finally set up to breastfeed and have a baby or two latched on, you’re pretty stuck. If you forgot something on the other side of the room, prepare to stare longingly at it until your babies are done.
To help you have a great breastfeeding experience, set up a designated breastfeeding area with the following items:
- A large covered water bottle with a spout that you can drink with one hand (spills WILL happen). My favorites are glass covered in silicone.
- A healthy snack. Breastfeeding hunger is legit, and sitting to feed may be one of the only chances for you to eat yourself.
- A nursing cover or blanket, in case someone arrives that you’d like some privacy from (totally optional).
- Your breastfeeding pillow, or just a few throw pillows to prop up your arms.
- TV remote. I know we’re supposed to give our babies our full attention while breastfeeding, but…#RealLife.
- Your phone. See point above re. real life. I’m not afraid to say I did a good chunk of my blogging with a baby or two latched on.
TIP 4: TWIN NURSING PILLOW
People go back and forth on whether a twin nursing pillow is needed, so if you decide against one that’s totally fine. I personally didn’t use mine a ton, but it did get some use in the early months when the babies’ heads were still floppy. They can also be great to position babies in if you need a place to bottle feed them.
The most important factor here is to ensure you get a pillow specifically designed for twins, like the Twin Z pillow. Even if you choose to breastfeed only one baby at a time, you’ll likely want to at least try tandem feeding at some point.
Some pillows even transform into places for baby to lounge, or to bottle feed from. Check out the section on twin gear for the recommendation of which brands twin moms seem to love.
TIP 5: ALTERNATE BREASTS
Next up on the 10 best tips for breastfeeding twins is to alternate breasts when you breastfeed. That is, allow each baby a chance to feed from each side, each day.
If Baby A only eats from the right side, and Baby B only eats from the left, you may end up producing different amounts in each breast. Also, if you happen to get a clogged duct or mastitis and need to switch things up, you don’t want babies who only have a preference towards one side.
TIP 6: GUZZLE WATER & DON’T SKIP MEALS
When you’re producing milk for two, a key challenge is maintaining a high supply. Two things that dramatically affect your supply are skipping meals and not drinking enough water.
(What, you mean you don’t have hours to spare preparing meals for yourself as a twin mom?)
When your body doesn’t have enough reserves, it starts conserving what it does have. If you severely limit the number of calories, your body may start limiting how much milk it produces.
Similarly, dehydration can affect how much milk your body produces. That liquid doesn’t just magically appear out of nowhere, my friend!
So, try not to go long periods without eating, and guzzle water like it’s your job (it kind of is). Now, I totally get that as new twin moms, our own needs can easily fall by the wayside. That’s why these tricks can help:
- Get a 1-liter water bottle. Fill it up every morning, noon, and dinner time and try to finish three full liters each day.
- Have a water bottle at your nursing station, in your restroom, and at your bedside table
- Have healthy snacks at your nursing station
- Load up your freezer with easy-cook meals
- Fill your cabinets with healthy, easy to grab snacks
It will get easier to make yourself lunch (and even sometimes eat it uninterrupted) as the months go by.
TIP 7: GET HELP WITH NON-FEEDING TASKS
As a reminder, your main job for the first few months of your twins’ lives are this: feed and sleep.
If you don’t bathe them every day, if laundry piles up, if you don’t shower every day – it’s okay. Your primary job is feed yourself and your kids, and for everyone to sleep.
This is the time to rely on your tribe. You’ve spent your whole life building strong relationships with friends, family, coworkers, etc. When they offer to help, now is the time to take them up on it. Trust me, they truly do want to help.
Pick an area to help that really fits their personality (i.e. maybe leave baby cuddling to your friend who’s super disorganized, and your young coworker who’s never held a baby can drop off your things from the office). And if you don’t get a ton of offers? Consider paying for help. If you’re going to do it once in your life, now may be the most helpful time.
Prioritize sleep and feeding. Get help for any of the other things you can, and don’t feel bad if some of your home responsibilities start to slide. You’re raising newborn twins. You get a pass. Those responsibilities will be there in a few months, but you only get this newborn phase once.
TIP 8: IT’S OKAY TO FEED BACK-TO-BACK
Yes, feeding tandem is typically faster than feeding twins back-to-back, but don’t knock feeding each baby solo.
In the first few weeks of my twins’ lives, I met with a lactation consultant to learn how to tandem feed, who gave me lots of tips for breastfeeding twins. Interestingly though, she actually recommended against tandem feeding right away, advising to wait until the babies had better neck control before starting. Feeding two at once is not an easy feat, and breastfeeding in general can take some time to get accustomed to.
So, we stopped trying to tandem feed, and instead fed one right after the other. It went like this:
- Baby A starts to cry, we grab them quickly before they wake their sibling
- Breastfeed Baby A until they’re ready to go back to sleep (or play)
- Wake Baby B immediately, and feed them on the other side
- When Baby B is done, have them join Baby A in either sleeping or playing (keep them on the same schedule)
And if both babies cry simultaneously? Well, you have a few options:
- Have your partner console Baby B while you feed Baby A, then switch
- Feed Baby A, while talking to Baby B, telling them they’re okay, and that you’re there for them. You can even sit with them on the floor, to let them know you’re not ignoring them.
- Pick up Baby B, lay them next to you and bottle feed while you breastfeed
- Try tandem feeding
If you’ve mastered tandem and it’s working for you – fantastic! If you’re struggling, remember there are other solutions. Do whatever works (that could be the mantra for twin parenting)!
TIP 9: FIND THE RIGHT POSITION
Speaking of positions – there are quite a few!
- Double football hold – each baby is facing you, with their feet towards your back
- Double cradle hold – each baby rests in the crook of your arm, bodies overlapped
- Cradle clutch – one baby is in football hold, the other in cradle hold
- Saddle or parallel hold – both babies are sitting upright on mom’s legs. Best for older babies who can sit.
- Laying on you – this one is best when reclined or laying down, where the babies lay on your body
Experiment, find the position that works for you, and go with it.
TIP 10: IT’S OKAY TO SUPPLEMENT
This is a piece of advice that’s far easier for me to dole out than to follow. For each bottle I gave to my twins, I felt like a little red X was given to my parenting record. I so did not need to feel this way.
The MOST important thing for kids is to be well fed, regardless of if it’s via breast milk or formula. My nurses, doctors, and lactation consultants alike have all agreed on this.
That’s why the last of the tips for breastfeeding twins is to remember it’s okay to supplement. It takes so much work for the body to produce milk for two tiny humans, that if one factor is off (a growth spurt, dehydration, skipped meal, illness, etc.), you may find your baby screaming at an empty breast. In cases like this, formula comes in handy.
You could go with a couple bottles a day, or just a top up after their last feed, or even a middle of the night feed. Imagine, a full 6 hour stretch of sleep at once – huge! Do what works for you, and what keeps your house going. And please, please – let the guilt go.
Now, if you’re adamant about exclusively breastfeeding, know that providing formula on a regular basis can signal your body that it doesn’t need to make as much breastmilk. If that ends up happening, breastfeeding more often and/or pumping between feeds can be great tactics to bring your supply back up.
TWIN TIP: Research formula before the babies arrive and have it load in your online cart. Even if you’re positive you don’t want to use it, you won’t have to research if you do need it.
BONUS STRATEGY: Be Kind to Yourself
Breastfeeding can be such an emotional journey. We’re literally giving a piece of ourselves to our babies to help them nourish and grow. Hopefully these 10 best tips for breastfeeding twins has helped, as when you experience challenges, it can be easy to take it personally. Try switching the narrative.
Think about how much you have been doing for your little ones. Think about all the amazing nutrition you’ve been able to provide to them already. Even consider writing down a list of all the things you’ve done to help set your babies up for success (I did).
You have been amazing mama. To feed two babies around the clock, regardless of the format, is a huge undertaking. And you’re doing it! Talk to any singleton mom and they’ll surely be impressed.
It can be so easy to focus on the difficulties, the challenges. But think of everything you’ve accomplished, everything you’ve done so far, even if it’s just reading this and preparing to feed twins.
Talk to yourself the way you’d talk to your sister or friend if she were struggling. Give yourself love. Give yourself kindness.
You absolutely, 100% deserve it.
Read Next:
What the first month with twins is really like
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