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There are many ways to feed your newborn twins.
Some people strive to exclusively breastfeed their twins; others aren't able to or simply choose not to—for many reasons, and they will have put much thought into this decision.
Or, it may have been entirely out of their hands.
Perhaps their preemies were born early and weren't able to feed that way.
Or maybe they needed to spend time away from their parents in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and had to be tube-fed in their first days of life.
Or maybe they were born full-term and went straight home but needed to have their feeds supplemented for medical purposes and had to be bottle-fed for their own health.
Other parents may simply prefer to exclusively bottle-feed expressed breast milk or formula, or they may do a mix of breastfeeding and bottle-feeding.
This decision may have been entirely theirs, or it may have been beyond their control and done in consultation with medical professionals.
Whatever route you, as parents, decide—for whatever reason—fed is best.
Pumping away from your twins
If you're in a situation where you're bottle-feeding all the small things (read: your teeny tiny newborn babies) your expressed breast milk, you may run into times when you have to pump while you're away from your twins.
Maybe your babies are staying in the NICU (or perhaps one's in the NICU and the other has already graduated and come home).
Or maybe it made more financial sense for your partner to take time off and for you to continue working after the birth of your children.
Or maybe your parental leave has wrapped up, you're back at work, and you have a work trip you need to go on.
Or maybe you, yourself, are unwell and are in the hospital while your babies are at home with their other parent or caregiver.
Whatever the case may be, if you want to produce milk for your babies, there are things you can try to help with your let down and production while pumping.
How often you pump while away from your twins will vary from person to person and situation to situation. In a perfect world, you'd pump as often as your babies would normally be nursing.
This method will allow you to maintain your supply and not feel like your breasts are gonna let 'er rip at any moment…but this isn't always doable.
When working out your pumping schedule, timing can play a major role in your success. If you have to choose when to squeeze in an extra pumping session, it might work in your favor to pump in the wee hours of the morning.
Your prolactin levels, which signal your body to make milk, are highest in the middle of the night, peaking between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. You may find it beneficial to squeeze in a pumping session before your babies' feed in the morning.
And bear in mind that factors such as the size of the breast shield / pump flange, the fit of your hands-free nursing bra, and the speed of the suction on your pump will impact how much milk you extract.
Beyond these implementary elements, here are 10 tips for increasing your milk output when you're pumping away from your twins.
1. Make sure you're set up with the right equipment
If you want to keep your supply steady while maximizing your time, your best bet is a double electric breast pump.
We like the Medela Freestyle hands-free breast pump because it allows you to go about your day unencumbered by gear, even when you're pumping milk for your babies.
Medela Freestyle Hands-Free Breast Pump
This is the Medela Freestyle hands-free breast pump. It will allow you to maximize your time while pumping.
You can pump both sides simultaneously after you've done a dual feed with your babies, or you can pump one side independently, if you're actively feeding a baby on the other side and don't want to miss a pumping session while your other little one is sleeping.
Either way, this item is something you only need one of (click here to check out what you'll need two of if you're having twins). Be sure to get yourself a good-quality hands-free pumping bra, too. If you're exclusively pumping or even pumping just a few times a day, you will not regret this decision.
One pumping-related item I WOULD double-up on would be lanolin cream, so you can stash a tube with your pumping kit and another one in your changing station or diaper bag, so that you're never without it.
This lanolin cream was a lifesaver in our household.
Medela Purelan Organic Nipple Cream
This is Medela's Purelan Organic Nipple Cream. Its formula features olive oil and calendula to soothe and relieve sore nipples and dry skin. And it's safe for babies, so it doesn't need to be removed before a feeding session.
You'll also want to check out this list of what you can buy used and what you should buy new when it comes to your babies. A breast pump is something you'll want to buy new, due to the personal nature of (and potential biohazards associated with) this product.
Be sure to have sterile bottles, lids, and breast milk storage bags on-hand and get them organized before you settle down to pump and transfer your milk into the containers.
If you find your usually consistent supply has dipped slightly, you might want to inspect your pump parts to see if any of them are a contributing factor. Some parts need to be replaced once in a while, and once you start using the replacement part, you may notice a drastic change in your output.
If your own pumping kit doesn't come with a cooler to transport your milk, you'll want to make sure you have one available with an ice pack, so you can pump and safely transport your milk, wherever you may be, unless your multiples will be enjoying their expressed milk within less than four hours of it being pumped.
2. Think about your little ones
Think about your little humans and the precious time you've spent together so far in their short but oh-so-sweet time on this planet.
You grew these little ones for many months. Your body provided them with the nutrients they needed up until you met them, and now your body will continue to provide the nourishment they need to continue growing and flourishing.
3. Look at their precious faces
If you're spending time apart from your baies, pull up pictures, videos, or audio of your babies and think about the little ones you're pumping this milk for.
When our babies had to spend time in the NICU, I would use photos from our time spent together that day to make a collage with both Baby A and Baby B, so I could see both of their faces at the same time. I told myself it doubled my determination and would double my supply for my double babies.
4. Breathe in their sweet scent
When you spend time snuggling with your babies, try to make sure they're wearing a toque or are swaddled in, or even just covered by, a muslin receiving blanket you can take with you for when you have to pump away from your babies.
You can breathe in the soft scent of your little ones from the the articles of clothing or blankets. If you close your eyes, you may feel even closer to them, which may help you produce more.
5. Pump in your babies' environment
If your twins need to spend time in the NICU before they come home, try to do at least some of your pumping sessions in their nursery.
Just because it's their domain and they're not there just yet, it doesn't mean you can't spend time in there before they graduate from the NICU. Looking at the cribs, books, and clothing that's waiting for your babies might have a positive impact on your output.
6. Warm your breasts before pumping
A study has shown that warming up your breasts before using an electric pump to express breast milk can significantly impact the amount of milk you produce, especially for the mothers of babies who are in the NICU.
So, have a shower if you're at home or in a place where you're able to do so before you pump, if possible; if you're not able to take a shower, use a warm compress for a minute prior to pumping, or take a few minutes to warm up your chest by hugging or holding yourself before you get started.
If you can, wear a blanket or a robe around your shoulders to help keep you warm while you pump.
7. Pump after the flow stops
Once you've noticed your milk flow has stopped, pump for a couple of minutes longer on both sides to signal your body to make more milk.
At this point, you can also hand express each breast to be sure you've completely emptied each breast. You may be surprised at how much milk you actually express once you thought you were done.
8. Incorporate an extra pump or cluster pumping session
If you reach a point where you feel you need to try to increase your output even further, you can try to incorporate an extra pumping session into your day or try to simulate a dual cluster feed while you're pumping.
An extra pumping session can be added in after your twins' bedtime routine or by bumping your normal pump times up just enough to have enough time to squeeze in one more session than you normally do. Being consistent with the timing of the extra pumping session each day can yield better results.
While pumping, simulating a cluster feed—which babies often do while going through a growth spurt—can be tiring but can encourage your supply to go through a growth spurt, too.
A cluster pump session would have you pump for an hour with brief breaks in between. This mammary marathon usually consists of pumping for the usual 20 minutes, followed by a 10-minute break, then another 10 minutes of pumping, followed by a 10-minute break, and then a last 10-minute pumping session.
9. Keep yourself hydrated and energized
A mother who is breastfeeding a single baby burns approximately 500 calories per day. Those who are breastfeeding twins burn about 1,000 calories every day.
That's a lot of calories and calls for a lot of energy, so mamas of multiples especially need to ensure they're eating enough throughout the day to physically be able to keep up with that demand.
Drink plenty of water, try to eat healthy, balanced meals, and always have easy, nutritious snacks on-hand during pumping sessions to ensure your body can stay energized and be able to keep up with the herculean task of making enough milk for your multiples.
10. Close your eyes, exhale, and try to relax
As I'm typing this, I'm rolling my eyes at myself because I know this is one of those things people say that is nearly impossible to do.
It's incredibly hard to relax when you have newborn twins, especially when you're trying to tell your body to create milk—and enough of it—to keep your babies nourished and growing.
Life and schedules with newborns can be stressful and anxiety-inducing.
Life and schedules with newborns can be stressful and anxiety-inducing.
Don't necessarily try to not worry because that's probably not going to happen.
Instead, try to shift your focus while you're pumping. Don't think about how much milk you're making (or about how much milk other moms you may know or have talked to are making).
Just take long, slow breaths, lean back, close your eyes and just think about how much you love your babies. Set a timer on your phone, so you aren't constantly opening your eyes to peek at the countdown on your pump.
Things to keep in mind
While you can combine milk from the left and right breasts into the same collection bottle, keep in mind that mixing freshly expressed breast milk with already cooled or frozen milk is not a good idea. Doing so can rewarm the older milk and cause contamination.
But if your babies won't drink your freshly pumped milk within four hours, then you could put the new milk into the fridge, and once it's cooled, you can combine it with the other milk at that point.
Just keep in mind that the new milk will not stay fresh as long as if it had been left it its own container because the older milk you added the new milk to would have been pumped a while before the fresh milk was expressed.
Overall, it's probably best to just keep the separate pump outputs in their own bottles, unless you know your babies will definitely consume the milk before the clock runs out on the earlier-pumped amount.
Possibly the biggest time-saver when it comes to pumping (and we didn't learn this until about two months in, when the public health nurse blew our minds with her best piece of advice during one of her visits): you don't have to sterilize all of the pump pieces after every single pumping session.
You can store the pieces inside a sealed stainless steel bowl inside of the fridge and safely reuse them for up to 24 hours before needing to sterilize everything. Removing those extra six or seven sterilization sessions throughout the day was so incredibly freeing, and we couldn't believe that with everything we'd asked, before the babies arrived, about setting ourselves up for success with newborn twins, no one had mentioned this trick until we were already several weeks in!
What did you find worked for increasing your milk output while pumping for your twins? Did you try any of the above tricks? Let us know in the Comments section below.
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