The (illustrated) guide to breastfeeding twins

Jo commonly gets asked about breastfeeding twins. "At the same time?? How do you manage that?"

Here's how to twin breastfeed BY YOURSELF!

1) You need to get the right equipment. A wide sofa and a feeding pillow will make things much easier. A double bed pushed against a wall can substitute for the sofa.






2) Set yourself up with one baby on each side (within reach), and fit the feeding pillow.






3) Pick up twin 1, place in position and attach them to your breast. We have it on good authority that the safest way to pick up the baby is by grabbing their body suit.






4) Once twin 1 is feeding well, pick up twin 2. Be very careful that twin 1 doesn't move (ouch!). Best to pack twin 1 in position with cloth nappies so that you can use two hands with twin 2.






5) Attach twin 2. Again, make sure twin 1 doesn't move.






6) After a short time, twin 1 will need a burp. Lift over your shoulder and pat. Remeber to pack twin 2 in place first!






7) Depending on timing, you might end up burping both at the same time.






8) After burping, attach them back. Continue until feeding is finished. Then reverse all the steps to get both babies off the breast and feeding pillow. You are now finished!






Thank you to our models: Owen (mum), Teddy (twin 1) and Steiffi (twin 2). Teddy and Steiffi are the same teddies that Owen gave birth to here. Owen told us that "the teddies had a good feed".


Troubleshooting - FAQ

Q1) I have attached twin 1 successfully, but twin 2 is having trouble attaching. What do I do?

A1) You will need to detach twin 1 so you can concentrate on twin 2. Re-attach twin 1 afterwards.

Q2) One of the babies needs a nappy change and won't feed. What do I do?

A2) Unfortunately, you will need to detach both babies and put them back on the couch, remove the feeding pillow, and change the offending baby. Then, start from step 1 to re-attach both.

Q3) An older sibling is misbehaving while I am feeding. What should I do.

A3) When you figure this out, could you let me know??

Q4) Something happens, and I must quickly move from the couch. What can I do?

A4) If your feeding pillow is equipped with a belt, you can stand up with the pillow and babies all attached. This is only recommended for emergencies!

Q5) This sounds too hard. How can I make this easier?

A5) Get help! A second pair of hands can pass the babies to you when needed, and take them for burping or nappy changes.

Higher Authority

Nathan had just finished on a conference call with Germany. He came to the dinner table, and talked to Owen.

Nathan: I was just talking to my boss. My big, big boss!
Owen (after a short pause): God??
Nathan (trying not to laugh): Um, no, not THAT big a boss! Good question, though!

Same... or different?

Would you expect Abby and Sean to be very similar, or different? They have the same parents, shared a womb for 38 weeks, were born within 30 minutes of each other, and haven't really been apart for the first weeks of their life. How different could they possibly be?

Even at this young age, there are quite a few differences we've noticed. Want to play a game? Try and guess which ways they are the same... or different.

Options: Looks, usage of nappies, eating/burping/chucking, sleeping, crying.

And the answers:

1) Looks - depends who you ask. You can clearly tell them apart if you know what to look for, but when you find yourself holding one of them at 3am, and can't directly compare to the other its easy to make a mistake. Here is another gratuitous photo of them. Can you tell who is who?






2) Usage of nappies - different.

Sean uses about twice as many nappies as Abby. How does he manage this? Step 1 - synchronise your poos to start shortly before you are due for a feed, and refuse to attach until your nappy is changed. Step 2 - continue your poo during the feed, and stop feeding until your nappy is changed. Step 3 - finish your poo with a flourish after the feed is over, and refuse to sleep until your nappy is changed.

How many nappies does an average newborns use a day? Usually around 8. They get 6-8 feeds a day, and need a change at each feed. Then they might need a change or two if they wake up between feeds with a particularly wet or dirty nappy.

3) Eating/burping/chucking - different.

Abby tends to feed quickly, and will have at most two session each time. It is really hard to get her to burp, even though she really needs it before she will sleep. She rarely chucks (that's slang for vomiting).

Sean stays attached for much longer, and seems to always want to come back for more. He burps very easily - sometimes he even burps himself during the feed! And he chucks several times each feed, often through his nose (poor thing!).

4) Sleeping - same... but different.

Both of them sleep soundly for 3 out of 4 sleeps, and have 1 or 2 very bad sleep sessions a day. They are different in that they don't synchronise their poor sleep times. They have tended to have their unsettled times during the night, but would take turns so that we end up with very little sleep. Unfortunately we haven't been able to catch up during the good day sleeps, because Owen is awake and wanting attention.

We've kept going with the swaddling, which is supposed to help them sleep longer. They both try to free their arms, and in this photo were partially successful.






5) Crying - Different.

When they were born, Abby sounded like a cockatoo, and Sean like a piglet. Want to hear it? Click here.