Breast-feeding more than one baby can be very special, but it also demands work and patience in the first few months. Here are answers to some common questions about nursing your babies.

Your body works on supply and demand, so you should be able to make enough milk for more than one baby. Try to eat 3 balanced meals and 2 snacks, drink to quench your thirst, rest when you can and take one day at a time.

You may also need to continue taking the iron and vitamin pills you took while you were pregnant.

Be sure to drink enough fluids. You will find that you are most thirsty during nursing. It is a good idea to drink enough fluids so your urine is pale yellow. Each time you feed your babies, drink one to two 8-ounce glasses of water, juice or milk.

Rest whenever you can and take any help offered. Sleep when your babies are asleep instead of doing housework. Try to make your life as simple as you can. Do not start any projects that can be put off for a few weeks or months.

How will I know my babies are getting enough milk?
Once your milk is in, your babies are getting enough milk if they each:
• Wet at least 6 cloth or 5 disposable diapers a day.
• Nurse 8 to 12 times in 24 hours.
• Gain 1 pound a month.

How often do I feed my babies?
Feed your babies whenever they seem hungry. In the first week or two, they may seem hungry all the time. This is normal and doesn’t mean you do not have enough milk. It may mean that all you do for the first weeks is feed your babies.

Life may be very busy for you until the babies settle into a routine at around 2 to 3 weeks of age. Babies also go through growth spurts some time around 7 to 10 days, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months old. You may find they need to nurse constantly at these times. This also is normal and lasts only about 2 days.

What if the babies are hungry at the same time?
Many mothers feed the hungry baby/babies first and then wake up the other baby/ babies and feed them. But there will be times when you are faced with two or more crying, hungry babies at the same time. In this case, you can distract the baby/babies while you feed the other, or feed two at the same time.

Ways to distract your baby include:

• Give your baby a pacifier.
• Place your baby in a swing, cradle or stroller and rock it with your foot.
• Let someone else hold your baby.

There are several good basic books on breast-feeding that can be used for multiple babies as well. Ask your nurse for names or titles of the books. Below are a few more methods for feeding twins.

You may choose to have someone help with feedings. You can do this by having someone feed one baby a bottle of pumped breast milk while you nurse the other baby/ babies. Then switch at the next feeding and nurse the baby/babies who received the bottle.

If nursing one baby at a time, keep the first baby on one breast only and nurse longer. When the second baby is nursed on the other breast, you can be assured there is an ample milk supply.

When breast feeding both infants at a feeding, be sure to rotate the breast given to each baby since each baby’s suck and stimulation may be different. Some ways for feeding two babies at the same time are shown on page 3.
Nursing pillows designed just for twins are available and may help you with getting your babies in the right position at your breasts. Breastfeeding twin pillows can be purchased at the University MacDonald Lactation Center.