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Breastfeeding Twins: The Tools of the Trade

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In December 2012, a friend of mine found out she was having twins. My sweet friend began researching all sorts of twin related info, and as a follower of hers on Pinterest, I was privy to her twin-spired Pins. For example, a video of a woman nursing her twins. Curious about the life my cherished friend had in store, I watched the video. And my mouth dropped. This is a nightmare. She is living a nightmare. That is impossible. PLUS, she will have a TODDLER running around, TOO! I don’t know how she is going to survive.

Cut to April 2013, and suddenly, I’m staring at an ultrasound image and hearing my OB say, “Marie, there’s two.” Twins? Say WHAT?! I cried happy tears, but also sorta terrified ones. That damn video haunted me. I saw myself sitting FOREVER with two tiny humans attached to my nipples while my toddler wrought havoc upon our home.

My friends. I have now been nursing my twins for almost TEN MONTHS now! In the last ten months, I’ve gathered a few “tools of the trade,” if you will, that have helped me survive this daunting process.

Breastfeeding Twins

TOOLS OF THE TRADE FOR BREASTFEEDING TWINS

1) A neck pillow
I’ve mentioned the glory of this item before. I just can’t stop singing its praises. You see, all my kids take 30-60 minutes, each nursing session, and when you have to sit still for that length of time, you are bound to snooze. Enter: the neck pillow. This little beauty totally saved me many a crick in the neck.

2) Netflix, Hulu, & Social Media
I cannot adequately express my gratitude for these inventions. Again, my kids take a long freakin’ time to nurse. When I was awoken by two screaming newborns, it would definitely lift my spirits knowing I could mindlessly scroll through Facebook or that I had two more seasons of Dexter to watch! (I know. Dexter while nursing? I’m not right in the head.)

3) Snacks
Tasty snacks helped me enjoy being shackled to my nurslings. Word to the wise: think through the difficulty of eating said snacks. Watch out for crumbly items. Trail mix is great with all its good fats, protein, fiber, and delicious dark chocolate raisins, but be careful.

Let’s say, hypothetically, someone were to drop a dark chocolate covered raisin on her twins in the middle of the night. She would, most likely, wake up to find dark chocolate smeared all over the side of her baby’s head, her nursing pillow, and her sheet. And, in her sleep deprived, Dexter-binge- watching, diaper-binge-changing stupor think of only two possibilities for these stains: someone has been murdered OR someone pooped on my baby’s head. Lesson: dark chocolate stains will startle you into complete alertness.

4) A giant nursing pillow
My pillow of choice is the Double Blessings nursing pillow. I used it from day one and loved the shape and the attached hidden nursing cover. It makes the double football hold easy and manageable, and once the babies are latched, allows your arms freedom to use the remote, sip some water, and eat snacks (see above).

Breastfeeding Twins

5) Somewhere to place your twins while you get ready to nurse
This is something that never occurred to me before nursing twins. When I nursed my first born, I just picked him up, sat down in a chair, and started nursing. With twins, you need to get your nursing pillow situated, then reach for one baby, and then the next. Unfortunately, my babies weren’t born with the ability to levitate (dang it!). At first I nursed in my bed, which allowed me to place within arm’s reach. But when we were ready to move them into their own room, we had to devise a new plan. If I had had two Halo Bassinests, I would have been able to nurse them in the nursery chair with one baby in each Bassinest (or two babies sharing one when they were small). Instead, I set up a toddler mattress on the ground with lots of pillows.

6) A sedentary spirit
This has been the most useful by far. My generally lazy disposition made sitting for hours, unable to move, not that bothersome! In fact, I have been praised for my laziness since having twins! “Wow, good for you! Nursing twins?! Oh my!” Yes, yes, I’m super lazy and love an excuse to sit for several hours a day watching my favorite TV shows. It’s just this special talent I have. Thanks for noticing!

Moral of the story…
If you want to lie in bed and watch TV while eating trail mix and wearing your neck pillow, just tell whoever is judging you, “I’m practicing breastfeeding twins.” You’re welcome.

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Carissa

Thursday 7th of August 2014

I love this.

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