However you choose to do it, feeding twins is time-consuming! The choice of breast or bottle feeding is complicated and it’s important not to feel pressured. In the early days, you may need to mix breast and formula feeds as well as using milk from a milk bank.
If you have twins, your body will respond to the feeding demands of two babies and will make enough milk for both.
One decision that you may want to make is whether to feed them at the same time, or one at a time. If you feed them one at a time, you will spend a lot of time
feeding, but you may find it easier to get the positioning right in the early days
As your babies become more competent at latching on, you may want to breastfeed them together. They are two individuals though, and their feeding patterns may differ considerably, so they are likely to play a part in the decision.
If you are feeding them together, you can hold one on
each side of you, with cushions to support them, or you can hold one under your arm, and the other in the traditional hold, so that their bodies are pointing in the same direction.
Although it can seem daunting, breastfeeding twins is no different in principle to breastfeeding singletons: just make sure the positioning is right for both of them.
Even more so than other new mothers, you should enlist as much support as you can
muster, so that you can concentrate on getting the feeding right.
For further information about twins contact TAMBA, the Twins and Multiple Births Association.
