Breastfeeding Twins with a Toddler

Hi T.:
Congratulations on the twins! I have a set of boys, now 5 years old, and I nursed them until they were 15 months old. My daughter is 3 years older.

I kept the twins on a feeding schedule, and always made sure to feed them upon awakening, not before they slept. As much as possible I tried to connect meal and snack times for my daughter to the nursing schedule. So, she would be eating while the boys were. I usually grabbed a book or a toy and had her play next to us during feeding times. Another thing was for her to "do my hair" while feedings. Don't worry, you'll do fine once your husband goes back to work. Make sure he gives you some time to yourself once he gets home and on the weekends. If you don't have one, I highly recommend the Medela double pump so you can get out of the house alone longer than two hours.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

I have no advice as I am a first time mother. But I just wanted to congratulate you! And I think it is WONDERFUL that you are dedicated to breastfeeding your twins :)
You go super mama!

Hi T.-

Congratulations on your babies!!

My twins were almost 3 when my baby girl was born so they were older toddlers and I was breastfeeding only one baby. I would consider letting your little boy have "crib" time or "room" time while you breastfeed the twins. You would have to be sure that the room was completely toddler proof and maybe cycle through toys so he doesn't get totally bored with them. I would use a gate to keep him in his room so you can better hear what is going on and peek in on him easier if you want to see what is going on. Also, remember that independent play at this age is so important and it sounds like you are trying to be sure you spend time with him too. You could also let him play in the room you are breastfeeding in sometimes if you could keep him in there with a closed door or gate and it was totally toddler proof. Don't feel guilty either if you do some (or all) bottle feeding. I worked so hard to exclusively breastfeed my twins and looking back, I wish I would have relaxed a little, given some bottles and enjoyed life a little more.

Let me know if you have any other questions for me. My twins are 6 and my little girl is 3 now- they are so much fun at this age. They are all potty trained, wiping their own bottoms, making their own beds and helping unload the dishwasher- just offering a little light at the end of that tunnel of hard work :)

M.

My friend had a 2 year old and twins. She would put her 2 year old in a play yard. She put little stands in the play yard and draped blankets/sheets, etc over it and made it a maze and changed it up to keep it new. She said that helped her immensely. She also said that getting a part-time help in the beginning helped her, as well. She would have the help come over at the "worst" part of the day (which for her was bedtime) and help out. In her case, she had a high schooler next door who was able to come over every night and help get the kids ready for bed (this came in especially handy when the twins got older).

Congrats!!

T.:

congratulations on the twins and on th breastfeeding. You are doing a fabulous. job.

you will need to find things for the toddler to do while you are feeding the twins.

P., RLC, IBCLC, CST
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions
www.breastfeedingandparentingsolutions.com

WOW! CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is so awesome that you are managing this. I'm nursing a 3 week old and a 2 year old and I thought that was hard. I guess I don't have any real advice for you but wanted to say what an awesome job you are doing breastfeeding your twins. The only thing I can say is that when you are nursing you can tell your son to bring you a book/puzzle/etc to keep him occupied. Good luck and again, congrats!

I had a 3 y/o and a 21 m/o when I had my twins and I BF exclusively. It sounds like the tandem thing is working well for you and that is key to keep it from sucking up all your time. My older two would play in the babies room, where my recliner was while I BF. They would hide under the cribs and we would play peek a boo while I nursed. This is one situation where I would say that if you run out of other things, use the TV babysitter. Find a video or something you can pop in for him while your hands are full. Don't worry, it wont be as bad as you fear. Good luck!