Meet Caitlin: “Tandem feeding made it a bit trickier to feed in public…but it worked for us”

I have twin girls and it was always in my plan to breastfeed them. I knew it would be tricky to breastfeed two babies but with practice, we got there. Once we got the hang of tandem feeding I felt able to breastfeed in public, I just made sure I had a lot of space to do so! Looking back now, a real highlight for me was the post feed chats and giggles with girls. It’s something I’ll always treasure.

Preparing myself for breastfeeding twins

It was absolutely my intention to breastfeed my twins, I was really keen to do so. They were my first two babies and so I had never breastfed before. To help prepare I read a book about twins which included a section on breastfeeding twins and I also watched a webinar run by Tamba (now known as Twins Trust) which was specifically about breastfeeding twins. 

Tandem feeding the twins from the start

I tandem fed them from the word go and I used the rugby ball hold most of the time. Initially just getting them to be able to latch on and position them comfortably was challenging. I would use a huge breastfeeding pillow and rolled up blankets to support them. It was also very sore to begin with because both breasts were always in action and so I had to deal with that. 

I would use a huge breastfeeding pillow and rolled up blankets to support them.

Caitlin

Building up my supply

The babies were on the small side when they were born so they fed very frequently, which was hard in the beginning because it felt like I was always feeding them. Building up the supply was something I had to actively do through additional pumping after feeds.

After the initial phase of establishing feeding, feeding became quite a relaxing and enjoyable time for the three of us. It was always a good way to settle them when upset and a nice, calm thing to do together. Tandem feeding made it a bit trickier to feed in public as you need quite a lot of space and it is harder to be modest, but it worked for us. 

After the initial phase of establishing feeding, feeding became quite a relaxing and enjoyable time for the three of us.

Caitlin

Support for feeding multiples

My advice for someone who plans on breastfeeding twins is to make contact with other mums who are feeding multiples. I didn’t know any so I joined a Facebook group and was able to get support and learn from other mums all over the world who were also breastfeeding twins (and in some amazing cases, triplets). This was incredibly inspiring and motivating as I navigated my own breastfeeding journey.

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