Engorgement with Nursing Twins

Wow! Congrats on the new little ones.

I would suggest consulting a Lactation Consultant. I'm pretty sure I can get a reference for you from my local consultant.

You are wise to be wary by the feeling engorged. It is a problem. You don't want to develop mastitis or plugged ducts.

Right now, your body knows its feeding two babies but a pump just doesn't respond like nursing. If you can get yourself into the NICU to visit and nurse the babies, that would be wonderful. Pumping and hand expression can help relieve the feeling engorged. Why not take pumping off of a schedule and do the pumping every chance you get? Maybe a compromise would be to pump every three hours _and_ pump, but throw away, a small amount at those "30 minutes later" times when you feel engorged.

Wishing you the best!

Definitely do not pump less! I agree with others it sounds like you need to pump more often. 12 days really isn't that long and most of the time it takes about a month for you to adjust to everything. I also suggest finding a lactation consultant, I had one while in the hospital and it was great! Since your babies are still in the hospital I'm sure they have a nurse on staff that is also a lactation consultant and she should definitely be able to help you!

You may find some helpful info here:

http://www.lllhouston.org/

Congratulations on the decision to nurse! I too had a similar situation with my one week early "preemie" .I was able to travel twice a day to SW Methodist to feed my son(sahm with a 4 1/2 and 3 ). I would pump & store and still take bottles to NICU. The nurses wanted me to pump saying that he was working to hard to suck & they needed to see the amount of intake. Please remember when nursing a child will "demand" about every 2 hours to be fed! So, I would try to pump the same couple of hours as if they were at home while they are in NICU.

PS I pumped/supplied colostrum the whole 9 days my son was in NICU! That was the fat supply he was needing.
Again congrats and good luck.

I was nursing every two hours and I got engorgement. Try pumping every two hours seeing as that's when most babies will nurse. Sorry for your pain.

I would definitely pump more frequently, especially since you are at the beginning of nursing. You want your pumping sessions to mimic your actually nursing schedule, which most likely will be every 2-3 hours. I think this will give you some relief too. Are you using a hospital grade pump? If not, you should ask the lactation consultants about renting one--they are super effective at removing milk from your breasts and keeping your supply going. Remember, your body "knew" it was having twins, so your milk supply is being created for that purpose--that is probably why you are feeling engorged after a long time--your body is thinking it's missing some feedings in there. Pump more often for sure. You can also check on lalecheleague.org for info on breastfeeding twins and those in NICU. Goodluck!

I have never breastfed twins, but I have to agree with the other moms that you should probably try pumping more often, but perhaps for less time each session. Maybe try every 3 hours (you could probably go 4 hours at night) for 10 minutes each time. It will take your body a couple of days to adjust to the new schedule, so you probably won't experience any relief right away. If that doesn't do the trick, I would definitely consult with one of the lactation consultants recommended here. Best of luck to you, and congratulations on your new babies!

Hi M.

Congratulations on the birth of your twins! I exclusively breastfed my twins, now age 5 (and 2 singletons, ages 3 and 1).

It is great that you seem to have good milk supply. I'd encourage you to discuss things with a lactation consultant, but from what you've described, my suggestion is for you to pump more frequently...probably every 2-3 hours. It will help your supply line up more with the usual feedings newborns need, and should also give you some relief from the engorgement you've been having.

Please be sure to eat enough so you don't get too exhausted. It takes a lot of calories to make enough milk for two babies - and it's obviously harder to get those extra calories in a healthy way, rather than via junk food. It is worth it!!!

Good luck
A.

My twins are 10 months and in the initial 3 months, I pumped every 3 hours. I did get engorged but not as quickly as you are experiencing. Susan Dial is a LC in the Katy area. Her website is lactationlifelines.com. I know that when I pumped until I was empty, I would fill up more. I would say consult with a LC. Susan also heads up the LLL in Katy.

BTW, are you part of a moms of multiples group?

The hospital should have a Lactation Consultant on staff that should provide a free service to you since you are breastfeeding. If not, request one from the hospital immediately. Again, this service should be gratis. Also, are being allowed to nurse your twins or have your breastmilk inserted into the feeding tubes? If not, talk to the Neonatologist to make this happen. Congratulations! It is wonderful that you are breastfeeding premies and twins. They will be so much healther because of your gift of breastfeeding.

Congratulations!! I have 18month old twins who were in NICU and I had to pump regularly as well. I was told to pump every 3 hours to continue to increase supply and release pressure because I was feeding 2. I think the best advice would be to consult with a lactation consultant through your NICU--it is what helped me the most--when you get home with your little ones, the nursing will change again because you will be trying to nurse rather than pump. the sooner you talk to a professional, the better...I allowed mine to go on for a while and ended up with mastitis...which was very painful! Good Luck and enjoy your twins!

I breast fed twins and I pumped or nursed every 3 hours for about 7 months and then I could go every 4 hours after that. You just need to pump more. I produced quite a bit but you need to with twins. Right at 3 hours I would fill up again. Good luck!!

Congrats M.!! I had twins 17 yrs ago and they were in two NICUs at Texas Children for 5 & 6 weeks. I filled a whole double door deep freeze shelf with 5 oz jars of milk at the milk bank in the hospital. When my second baby finally went home they were chuckling in the milk bank saying just bring a cooler, no ice.
So yes your body knows you had two. Pump as needed. I think I pumped every 2-3 hours those first several weeks. After they started nursing my supply adjusted.
Remember to eat snacks & catch naps. Enjoy your double bundle of JOY!!

I believe that you should pump every three hours because that is how often they should be feeding in order to keep your supply up especially with twins. The engorgement should subside in a few weeks as your body regulates itself. If it doesn't, speak with the lactation consultant assigned to the NICU for advice. There is usually one available especially to the NICU and with twins.