Well, breastfeeding the twins may be difficult owing to the extra concern, the mother has to keep in mind in order to ensure the nutrition and health of the babies. It is important to know about Supplementing Breast milk With Formula for Twins
After all, it is now three people who have to be comfortable with latching and positioning. Moreover, breastfeeding twins can be doubly overwhelming and challenging. Though the benefits of breastfeeding your babies would triumph, yet the whole experience could present the need to supplement breast milk with formula. Click here to read about latching a baby properly.
In This Article
- Feeding Twins
- Are My Babies Getting Enough Milk?
- Tips For Supplementing Breastfeeding With formula
- Will Supplementing Breast Milk With Formula For Twins Decrease My Breast Milk Supply?
- How Can I Know If My Babies Need Formula Milk?
- Giving Cow’s Milk To Baby
Feeding Twins
It is highly recommended to exclusively breastfeed a baby till the first 6 months of life. Continued breastfeeding should be adhered to till the baby is a year old, and later on, breastfeeding should be continued as long as both you and your baby desire. If breastfeeding your twins is taking a toll on you, and you are worried if they are getting enough milk, you need not worry.
Thanks, to the supplements! It is absolutely safe to supplement the breastfed baby with formula. Supplementing Breast milk With Formula for Twins is an excellent choice. Some working moms prefer to give supplements with formula while going to their workplace.
Some moms find regular pumping a cumbersome task and they do not want to stop feeding completely too, for them, a formula supplement is a good alternative. For yet some others, supplementing is a way to take an occasional break from feeding.
Are My Babies Getting Enough Milk?
Generally, mothers feel that they are not providing sufficient milk to their tiny babies. On the contrary, most mothers produce sufficient milk.
Following are some simple methods to determine whether your baby is getting an ample amount of milk or not:
1. Count The Number Of Soiled Diapers
A well-nursed and well-fed baby will have yellowish-mustard colored stools. They usually have 5 to 8 wet diapers per day. This is normal
2. Weigh Your Baby
A well-fed baby usually gains half an ounce to one ounce a day in the initial three months after birth. This increase is somewhere around half an ounce a day between 3 to 6 months
3. Keep Tabs On Frequency Of Nursing
You should breastfeed your twins at least 6 to 7 times a day one at a time or both together. You can also divide the frequency between breastfeeding and supplement formula.
You can nurse one baby and give the bottle to the other and then reverse. If your baby feels like getting nursed all the time, this does not imply that he is hungry most of the time. Some babies nurse for coziness and comfort.
These symptoms remain the same even when you have twins. The only difference is that as twins are generally born earlier, their sucking reflexes may not be fully developed and they could face some trouble in latching on initially.
Read more about hyperlactation.
Read more about the low milk supply.
Tips For Supplementing Breastfeeding With Formula
With twins, it could be hard to exclusively breastfeed them, especially if you are working. Now, supplementing breast milk with formula could actually make you breastfeed longer, though you might need to pump milk regularly if to keep the breast milk supply from waning.
Well, there is no ideal method to commence supplementing and it is seen that babies usually refuse to accept the formula milk in a bottle. You will have to make a few efforts to encourage them to drink the bottle.
Find out everything about combining bottle and breastfeeding here.
1. Seek A Pediatrician’s Help
Do not pick any formula milk available in the market and never reside on the advertisement shown on the television and make your choice. Ask your doctor about the most authentic and reliable supplement formula.
Since most twins are premature, they might have some specific needs and may need some specific nutrients in the milk. After all, it is a matter of your baby’s life and health. You cannot afford to be callous
2. Give Bottle When Hungry
When hungry, some babies immediately drink formula milk in a bottle, while others refuse in the beginning particularly if the mother is giving them the bottle. Amazing but true, the babies can identify their mom by smell and touch.
They want the natural sweet milk from you! You can give a formula milk bottle to one baby and nurse the other one and then offer the bottle to the one who has received the mother’s milk. Be extra careful and make sure both get mother’s milk and they should not be hungry
3. Pump Milk In Bottle
This is far easy if you have been pumping the breast milk and giving it to the baby in a bottle. The transition is easily accepted by the babies. So, if you intend to begin the formula milk, give your own milk in a bottle.
Then start the supplement formula bottle. The babies will accept the bottle more easily. Divide the extracted or pumped milk into two clean bottles and give it to both the twins.
Click here to read more about pumping breast milk.
4. Seek Other’s Help
In order to make the baby’s acceptance of supplement formula milk easy and hassle-free, ask your friend or spouse to give you the first few supplement bottles. You can however give a bottle when the babies are crying with hunger instead of when they are quiet.
5. Maintain Hygiene
Keep the portion size small and give a 4-ounce bottle and give it half in the beginning. Clean and boil the bottle after every feed. And change the nipple on monthly basis. These are some vital prerequisites to avoid any invasion of infection to your babies while you offer them formula milk by bottle
Will Supplementing Breast milk With Formula for Twins Decrease My Breast Milk Supply?
Breast milk supply follows the simple ‘demand and supply rule. If you are breastfeeding less, your milk supply will likely get affected. Though the effect will be minimal if it is only one or two feeds a week that you are missing.
However, regular supplementation will diminish your breast milk supply, which will only get regular if you start the missed feedings again. You may like to pump and store breast milk which can be used later and this may help your breast milk supply up.
How Can I Know If My Babies Need Formula Milk?
Here are some important signs to help you analyze whether your baby needs the supplement formula or not:
- More weight loss than normal after birth. Usually, babies lose around 10 percent of their birth weight in the first five days of life after delivery. By the next two weeks they acquire their birth weight, so if your baby is losing more weight than normal, consult your pediatrician for supplement formula.
- If your breast does not feel empty after feeding the baby. This is a sign that the baby is not taking an adequate amount of your milk.
- If your baby soaks less than 4 to 6 diapers a day.
- If the baby feels lethargic and fussy most of the time.
Supplementing implies that besides breastfeeding you are also providing formula milk bottles to ensure the baby’s proper nutrition.
Giving Cow’s Milk To Baby
Some women mix water and give diluted cow’s milk to the baby as a healthy supplement. But this is not true, if you want to give cow’s milk, do not dilute it give it as it is. Make sure that it is hygienically handled and boiled before giving it to the babies. You have a bonus gift from the Almighty and you will have to add extra effort to handle them. Go ahead and enjoy double motherhood!
Remember supplementing is just an option, not a substitute to breastfeeding the twins. There is simply no replacement for mother’s milk.
