I’ve been exclusive pumping for twins for five months! This has to be one of my life’s biggest accomplishments. I did have to supplement with formula for awhile, but starting at about four months I have been able to supply all of their milk. Here are ten tips I have learned along the way. These tips are not just for twin moms, but should be applicable to everyone. Hopefully there is something in here that you did not know already. Ultimately I hope it motivates you to keep going (if that is a goal of yours). I hope to continue along with journey for as long as I can!
12 Tips for Exclusive Pumping for Twins
1 – Start Pumping Immediately in the Hospital
I knew before having the twins that I did not want to nurse. I didn’t have a great experience with my first singleton, and I knew that with twins, nursing would be even more difficult with the fact that there are two (of course) but also because they are likely to be preemies and may be unable to latch as well. I made that decision ahead of time, so when they were born I IMMEDIATELY started pumping. In the c-section recovery room, I had that hospital pump on and was getting the colostrum going. This is really important to establishing your supply. If you do not know how to use a pump, the nurses will help you. Pack a hands-free pumping bra with you for the hospital!
2 – Don’t Be Afraid to Supplement with Formula
I supplemented with formula for four months before I was able to increase my supply to the point that I was only using breast milk. Formula allowed me to keep the babies fed while working on my supply, formula is great! Also, when your supply starts to decrease, formula can again provide the nutrition to your babies while also allowing you to extend your breastfeeding journey. Can’t say enough great things about formula!
3 – Pump as often as Babies Eat
Pump as often as your babies eat. When our babies were newborns, I pumped every time they ate. This would mean every 1.5 to 2 hours at times. Eventually we were in a rhythm of every three hours. You want the pumping to mimic the feeding schedule. This is really important to do this for at least 3 months so that your supply can be established. The more you pump (and empty fully), the more your body will fill you back up! I would pump for 20 minutes each time, or around 160 minutes a day. If you can’t get a full 20 minutes each time, do 15. I’ve read that you should try to hit the 120 minute mark each day.
4 – Pump While Feeding The Babies
If you can manage, it is super time-saving if you can pump while feeding both of the babies. To do this, give them both of their bottles at the same time (in Twin Z pillow) and pump at the same time. If you are comfortable bottle propping, I bought these bottle-propping pillows on Amazon which help so that you can focus on pumping. At night, my husband always got up for every feeding (so thankful!) and we found it easiest for each one of us to feed a baby while I also pumped.
5 – Don’t Drop a Pump Until They Sleep Through the Night
When they started sleeping through the night, I dropped just one pump during the night. This allows me to sleep about a 5ish hour stretch at night. I now set my alarm for 4am to do just one pump during the night. I will probably continue this until I quit breastfeeding (not sure how long?) If I go too long at night, it is very painful for me, so I definitely want to keep waking up!
6 – Multi-Task While You Pump
I pump while I’m in the car (either driving or a passenger) a lot. This allows me to multi-task but also allows me to pump right before going somewhere and maximizes the time I have to do an activity without pumping. I bought this adapter so that I could pump in the car. It works for both my Medela pump and my Spectra pump. I also pump while eating meals. This allows me to again multi-task and also keep my toddler busy while pumping.
7 – Wash Pump Parts Once Per Day
I put all of my pumping parts in the fridge between pumping sessions and I only wash everything once every 24 hours. This saves so much time to not be washing all of the parts every single time. When I do wash, I wash everything in the dishwasher (with all of the bottles, see tip 11 below). If there is milk that is stubbornly stuck in the containers, soak them in a tub of soap and white vinegar before putting in the dishwasher. If I am on-the-go, I will use these wipes to clean everything the best that I can!
8 – Try the “Pitcher Hack”
Keep pumped milk in a pitcher in the fridge instead of in individual containers. That way you don’t have to clean all of those containers all the time. I would put freshly pumped milk into a smaller container and put that into the fridge. Once it was cold, I would combine that with the other milk in the pitcher. Then pour the bottles from the pitcher (then warm up or not). There is different guidelines on combining warm and cold milk, so that’s why I kept the fresh milk separate from the pitcher until it was cold. this way you only have the pitcher and the one smaller container to wash each day. At the end of the day, I would have a little bit left that I would freeze. Wash the pitcher and the container and start the process again.
9 – Freeze Milk When You Can
I finally have a freezer stash! I am excited because now I am able to leave for hours or even days at a time and the babies can still get breastmilk. Previously, if I were ever away from the babies, they would just get formula until I could get back to them again. I use the Lansinoh storage bags and lay them flat in the freezer to freeze. I am only able to freeze about 5 ounces a day (so one bag). When I get 10 bags, I put them all into a gallon size freezer bag together. It took me A LONG time to be able to freeze any milk. I think the key turning point was when the babies started to sleep through the night, I could take that last pump of the day (around 11pm) and put it right in the freezer.
10 – Use a double electric pump or wearable pump
I have both the Spectra S2 and the Medela Pump In Style. I like both, but prefer the Spectra. I prefer the Spectra because it has a light, it has a digital timer on it, and I find it slightly more comfortable. It’s important that it’s a double pump (both sides at same time) and electric. I tried doing a wearable and didn’t have much success. I didn’t get a much milk with the wearable and it’s so important with twins to be getting as much as you can.
11 – Use 16 Bottles Per Day and Wash All At Once
We found it best to have 16 bottles (or more) so that each baby could drink 8 bottles a day (every 3 hours). I would typically pump and then pour that milk into two bottles immediately after pumping so that the bottles were ready to go for the next feeding. It’s hard to fumble around with all of the bottle parts when the babies are crying. Freshly pumped milk is good at room temperature for four hours, so that milk was always fine for the babies to drink. Our babies preferred milk warm or room temperature (not straight from the fridge), so I always just left the milk out on the counter for the next feeding. When the bottles are empty, they go right into the sink in one of those tubs from the hospital. Then we run the dishwasher once a day with all of the bottles that are in that tub.
12 – Try Different Things to Boost Supply
Different things works better for different people, so I think it’s important to try different things to see what works. Eating a lot of calories and drinking a lot of water seem to work best for me. I also like to drink Liquid IV (powder that you mix with water). I mix one with 20 oz of water in my Yeti cup or even 2 packets in my 40oz Stanley. I will also drink Gatorade, coconut water, etc. Brewers yeast seems to work really well for me. There are a lot of recipes out there with brewers yeast (like lactation bites). I’ve never used any supplements or anything, but I’ve heard people having great success with them. Make sure to check with your doctor on what to take.
Ways to Boost Supply:
- Drink lots of water
- Eat lots of calories
- Electrolyte drinks
- Power pumping
- Pumping more frequently
- Replace parts frequently
- Supplements (check with doctor)
- Brewers yeast recipes (lactation bites)
Current Schedule:
- 7am – Pump before the babies or toddler is awake
- 10am – Pump while toddler is watching TV
- 1pm – Pump while toddler is eating lunch or napping
- 4pm – Pump while toddler is watching TV
- 7:30pm – Pump after toddler’s bedtime and before babies’ bedtime
- 10:30pm – Pump right before bed and before babies do dream feed
- 4am – Pump (set an alarm)
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