As a breastfeeding, working mother of twins, and dietitian, I’ve learned invaluable lessons over my kids’ first 16 months of life. From making time to eat and hydrate to investing in wearable pumps and nursing-friendly clothing, here are my top 10 tips to help you navigate this challenging yet rewarding journey.
As I sit down to write this, I’ve been breastfeeding our twin girls for 16 months and working for 13 of those. I know i’ve been lucky in a lot of ways. The girls latched quickly and I’ve managed to produce enough for two since day one. That said, I’ve had my fair share of nursing fails and my hope is that sharing some of my learnings will be helpful to others.
A Few Caveats…
This is by no means medical advice. These are the things that worked for me, underpinned by my expertise as a dietitian. Nor am I trying to demonize mothers who can’t or don’t want to breastfeed. I respect those decisions and understand that what worked for my family isn’t right for everyone.
Now, on to the good stuff. Here are my 10 biggest lessons as a breastfeeding, working mother of twins:
#1: Make Time To EAT.
You need a lot of calories and fluid to sustain breastfeeding yet this is rarely discussed and often underestimated. Studies suggest that the average energy cost of exclusive breastfeeding is 626 Calories a day which is roughly the equivalent of 6 bananas (!)[1]. Although some of that may be pulled from the energy reserves accumulated during pregnancy, that’s still a lot for a busy, working mother to make up. I’ve consumed an astronomical amount of food while breastfeeding and I think that’s one of the factors that has allowed me to produce adequate milk for two. If you’re struggling with supply, try upping your energy intake.
#2: Hydrate.
Like calories, you need a lot of fluid to sustain breastfeeding. Breastmilk is 87-88% water so if you’re producing a liter of breastmilk a day, you’re losing 870-880mL (29-30 oz) of water through breastmilk alone. My tip: Sip often and have glasses of water all over the house. An electrolyte supplement like Needed can also be helpful to improve hydration and replace sodium, chloride, potassium, and magnesium lost through breast milk [2].
#3: Take Your Prenatal Religiously.
Breastmilk also offers an incredible array of micronutrients including thiamin, riboflavin, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin A, choline, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and iodine, and these have to come from somewhere. A good prenatal (and a nutrient-dense diet) can help prevent your body from dipping into your nutrient reserves to keep breastmilk levels constant.
#4: A Wearable Pump Is Worth the Money.
Investing in a wearable pump literally changed my life. At the beginning, I was pumping every other feed so that one baby could be bottle fed each feed. Investing in a wearable pump allowed me to do stuff like empty the dishwasher (the height of luxury!) while I was pumping. It was also a game-changer on the odd occasion I went into the office. No longer did I have to sit in the lactation room/broom closet/conference room with my boobs out – a risky move at the best of times. Instead, i just slipped my wearable pump under my top and pumped fully covered.
#5: Latching Your Baby Beats Pumping For Milk Supply.
When our twins were 7 months I had to go to Portugal for 6 days for work. It took a monumental amount of effort to make it happen. My in-laws flew in from DC to help my husband care for the girls while I was away. I built up a large enough stash of milk to ensure between that and solids the girls were covered, and I pumped every three hours around the clock to maintain my supply while I was away. Despite my efforts, my supply definitely decreased that week. I still maintained it enough to continue providing breastmilk to the girls when I returned, however, there was a noticeable dip in the amount of breastmilk I produced each pump. There’s nothing quite like latching your baby (or, in my case, babies) to stimulate milk supply!
#6: Breastfeed on Zoom If You Work From Home.
I returned to work after 3 months of maternity leave. I was fortunate enough to go back 3 days a week for the first month and to have a largely remote role. From day one, I breastfed on Zoom calls. I never asked for permission, I just started doing it. I remained on camera but flipped my screen up so people could just see my face and not my chest. And you know what? Not a single person mentioned it. If anything, I only got questions about how we were managing two babies at once.
#7: A Good Nursing Cover Is Worth Its Weight In Gold.
A couple of friends tipped me off about the We are AMMA Cocoon cover and it is by far my favorite nursing cover. It’s breathable, easy to manipulate, and covers all the right places without overwhelming your baby. I’ve used it dozens of times as a blanket or an extra layer on top of the Ergo carrier. The Cocoon comes with a hefty price tag but it’s worth the investment.
#8: Every Breastfeeding Mother Should Know About Breast Gymnastics.
I had mastitis twice during the early days of nursing and it was awful. I learned about ‘breast gymnastics’ from another dietitian (and twin mama), Allegra Gast, on Instagram (see the video here) and haven’t had mastitis since I started practicing it at the first sign of inflammation. Essentially, you gently manipulate side-to-side and up an down to improve circulation and relieve clogs. It’s not a treatment for infectious mastitis but can help prevent you from getting to that point.
#9: Nursing-Friendly Clothing Is Worth The Investment.
I tried to wear regular clothes out and about a couple of times in the early days of nursing and it was always a bit of a disaster. I was constantly fiddling with tiny buttons and the girls would get frustrated when they were impeded by clothing during feeds. After a few mishaps, I quickly invested in nursing clothes from Motherhood Maternity and Kindred Bravely, and that, along with my Cocoon nursing cover, made it so much easier to breastfeed.
10: Don’t Give Up – It Takes A While To Get The Hang Of It.
My nursing journey hasn’t been completely seamless. Like others, my nipples were cracked and painful for several weeks postpartum as my body adapted to the demands of breastfeeding. I also had mastitis twice which was painful and inconvenient. Despite these challenges, I stayed the course and slowly it got easier. Now, it feels like second nature. I know breastfeeding isn’t for everyone, however, if you’re a nursing mother in the thick of it, I encourage you to keep going and engage your resources. We had ½ a dozen visits from lactation consults when I was an inpatient and one as an outpatient, and all of them taught us something new.
Final Thoughts
Nursing our twins has been (and continues to be) one of my greatest accomplishments and an incredibly rewarding experience. I’ve really enjoyed the one-on-one time with each girl and I’m so grateful that we’ve been able to sustain it for this long. It is a huge commitment and on the days when I’m overwhelmed, I remind myself that it won’t be this way forever. Before we know it, our girls will be dancing through their own lives and I will miss the days of them tugging on my top and burrowing into my chest for milk.
References
[1] Butte, N. F., & King, J. C. (2005). Energy requirements during pregnancy and lactation. Public health nutrition, 8(7A), 1010–1027. https://doi.org/10.1079/phn2005793
[2] Kim, S. Y., & Yi, D. Y. (2020). Components of human breast milk: from macronutrient to microbiome and microRNA. Clinical and experimental pediatrics, 63(8), 301–309. https://doi.org/10.3345/cep.2020.00059
