Just like my fertility journey, my breastfeeding journey was not plain sailing. After years of trying for a baby we started IVF in August 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic.
Fast forward to October 2020, following lots of injections and scans I found out I was pregnant. Sadly, that pregnancy ended in a missed miscarriage two months later. To say we were heartbroken was an understatement and I hated my body for what I felt it couldn’t do. We went again, this time we were advised to transfer two embryos to increase our chances of success. A few weeks later on our third wedding anniversary we discovered I was pregnant with twins!
During pregnancy I wanted two things, the first was for my babies to arrive safely and the second was to be able to breastfeed my twins. Our twins arrived safely in November 2021 via a planned caesarean section and as they approach their third birthday I am proud to still be breastfeeding them!
I shared my desire to breastfeed with my midwife early on in my pregnancy and she referred me to the amazing Facebook group “Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets UK” run by the incredible IBCLC Kathryn Stagg. I learned lots from those posting in the groups and the responses I saw.
I watched videos and my husband and I attended an online session organised by our local La Leche League group so we were as prepared as we possibly could be. I was absolutely determined to have success but often felt that the medical staff I encountered seemed sceptical that I would be able to breastfeed twins.
My granny, a type 1 diabetic, faced similar attitudes when she shared her desire to breastfeed my mum in the late 1960s. She recounted the time a health visitor told her she would “never manage to breastfeed”, what the health visitor didn’t consider is how determined my granny is. She met that same health visitor again when my mum was six months old and took great pride in sharing that she had exclusively breastfed her up until that time.
A few weeks before giving birth I began to hand express colostrum and had a good stash as I went into hospital ready for my twins to be born. A stash that would end up being invaluable in those very early days.
The early days of breastfeeding were hard. I believe they were made harder because we frequently met staff who dismissed my determination and desire to breastfeed. I had a significant haemorrhage following my caesarean, which delayed the arrival of my milk. My twins really struggled to latch too.
Nipple shields really helped us but I knew something wasn’t quite right. I asked repeatedly to be referred to the Infant Feeding Team whilst in hospital but the referral never happened and I was pushed towards offering formula instead. I asked multiple medical staff to check to see if there was any evidence of tongue tie and was dismissed each time.
Nipple shields really helped us but I knew something wasn’t quite right.
After a few weeks, I was desperate for help and posted in a local Facebook group supporting breastfeeding mothers. The following morning I was visited at home by the Infant Feeding Team Lead and it was identified that both babies had in fact got a tongue tie! At four weeks old this was released and breastfeeding improved significantly.
For those first four weeks I pumped and fed every two hours. My husband, Scott was and still is our biggest supporter. He did everything he could (nappy changes, washing bottles and pump parts, feeding me, waking for every feed and much more) to help us succeed. Without him and Claire from the Infant Feeding Team our breastfeeding journey would have been very different.
After the division of their tongue tie we continued to use nipple shields until my twins were about six months old. One day my son randomly pulled one off my nipple during feeding, threw it across the room and latched without it!
His sister followed his lead and decided she didn’t need it either! I was glad as while they were vital in those early days they were a faff that I did not miss when they were gone.
At six months old we took our twins to America. In the queue for security the family in front of us seemed to produce bottles of formula to be checked in an almost Mary Poppins fashion, pulling it out of the most inconceivable places! I felt relieved at the convenience of not needing to carry bottles or worrying about running out of formula as we travelled. This was compounded by the fact that during our time in America there was a national formula shortage.
My twins adjusted well to the time difference and I am convinced this is down to the magic of the hormones in my breast milk! I was also surprised by the amount of positive comments I received during our travels as people went out of their way to share what a fantastic job I was doing in nursing twins.
I was also surprised by the amount of positive comments I received during our travels as people went out of their way to share what a fantastic job I was doing in nursing twins.
I returned to work when my twins were just shy of ten months old. For saying I had worried in their first few weeks of life that they might develop a bottle preference over the breast. I was shocked to discover they didn’t want any expressed milk in a bottle whilst at nursery! This was a worry at first but they ate solid food well when they were at nursery and made up their milk intake when we came back together at the end of each day.
I love our “reunion feeds” as I like to call them, they’re always extra cuddly. I expressed during the day for comfort but found after a few months I no longer needed to do this. My supply adjusts well and I’m always amazed by the fact that I am rarely engorged but there always seems to be enough milk for my children.
People often ask when I plan to stop breastfeeding. As of right now – none! I never imagined I would be able to feed my twins for three years time but here we are. Over the last few months I have started to implement some boundaries and I have noticed a gradual change in their feeding patterns. However, they are still consistently feeding at least three times a day as a minimum.
Breastfeeding my twins is one of my proudest achievements to date, second only to my twins themselves. During those years of infertility I felt frustrated by what my body couldn’t do, breastfeeding and pregnancy has helped me focus on the amazing things that my body can do! I now appreciate my body a lot more than I did and try to show it the respect it deserves for growing and nourishing two humans!
Breastfeeding my twins is one of my proudest achievements to date
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