Twins, it goes without saying, are a lot of work. And by the time you're in the third trimester it might feel like you've already done a lot of that work. After all, you've grown two whole people. It would seem that a break is in order after countless uncomfortable nights, where there's not enough room left in your body to allow you to draw a heavy sigh.
Twins in Your Future
With this in mind, it makes sense to start your preparations early. Four things will take up your time as a new parent of twin infants: stressing about feedings, stressing about sleep (yours or theirs...really they are one and the same), thinking through logistics of out-and-about scenarios, and diaper changing. In this article we will look at feedings. There are certain things that you'll need to think about, plan for, and purchase. Keep in mind that there are no rules to any of this. Every child, parent, and situation is unique and what works for one may not work for another. This is on-the-job training at its finest, where you, Baby A, and Baby B are all newbies and spend equal time in the roles of trainer and trainee.
Feeding Essentials
Whether you plan to breastfeed or formula feed, it's important to prepare for both. Remember, your babies are going to be calling a lot of the shots. The best advice is to be prepared for any scenario. You'll need:
- Receiving blankets – the original purpose of the receiving blanket is a mystery to me, but as a mom I found them useful as burp pads (and for other non-feeding-related purposes like swaddling, and change pads).
- A breast pump – a manual handheld one is not going to cut it – rent or buy a hospital grade, electric double pump such as the Medela Pump In Style from your local hospital or drugstore.
- Nursing pads.
- A freezer – I'm not kidding. If the babies are born prematurely and require a long hospital stay, you might be pumping and freezing breastmilk until the babies are mature enough to feed. We had eight weeks worth of milk in our freezer. 16 bottles a day x 56 days = 896 bottles
- Nipple balm such as Lansinoh – available in the drugstore's baby section.
- If your babies are premature and/or very small, you may require nipple guards/shields to help with latching.
- A really good (large, firm) nursing pillow. Two if you intend to bottle feed.
- A bottle sterilizer (or a commitment to boiling a lot of water, frequently)
- Contact information for your local Canadian La Leche League or U.S La Leche League representative.
- A plan and associated resources for tandem feeding, and a back up plan for when/if tandem feeding proves to be impossible or impractical.
Tandem Feeding
With babies who demand feeding every 20 minutes, it's highly advisable to tandem feed (feed them simultaneously). Otherwise you can end up in a constant state of feeding. If you have an image of yourself relaxing in one of those rocker recliners with a baby on each breast, you should know that you will need to shop around in order to find one wide enough to accommodate a baby on each arm. Trust me. And think through the logistics: how are you going to get the babies latched on? Will you have someone around to pass the babies to you? Or will you be lifting one baby with one arm and one with the other? Thinking through these scenarios is important. An alternative is to conduct your feedings on a mattress with lots of pillows for support.
Tandem bottle feeding is achievable using nursing pillows set up like in the picture I've included here. I conducted all my feedings on the couch, having failed rather spectacularly with the rocker/glider.
What's Next?
Parents of twins should also look at sleep (how to get some), logistics of taking your twins out on the town, and diapering your dynamic duo.
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