Exclusively Pumping for Twins...

 ...First off, I am NO expert at pumping, nor an expert on twins. But I do like to tell my friends that while I don't have many talents, I can make some serious milk. :) I get asked about my pumping schedule a lot. I don't think I do anything special, but I have done lots of reading and research and met with several lactation specialists. So, here are the things I've done and am doing that have worked well for me...

A little background: I nursed Grey for 10 1/2 months and stored enough milk away for her to have breast milk until she was 14 months old. Apparently I had an overabundance of supply... I would've loved to have nursed longer, but we were eager to start the fertility process for #2 (and #3, ha!) not knowing how long it might take us to get pregnant.

I had no idea what feeding twins would be like. I hoped and prayed I would be able to nurse and have enough milk to feed both of my girls. I LOVED nursing and hoped I could do it again. I knew going into feeding the twins that they would likely be born early and nursing may not come right away, if at all. I tried to be open minded and having witnessed many friends struggle with breastfeeding and pumping, I ultimately wanted to do what was best for my mental health and the health of my girls-whether that be nursing, pumping, formula, or a combo of any of those.

Fast forward 6 months post-twin delivery. I am now exclusively pumping and my girls are receiving solely breast milk. My hopes and dreams of nursing my twins were shattered. Ha! Unfortunately, while they were excellent "latchers" and actually, really good at nursing, they were never strong enough to finish a full feed. Which meant I would nurse, give a bottle, then pump. It was too time consuming, especially at the beginning when it took 45-60 min. for them to finish their feeds, then pump, clean-up...repeat. With a toddler.

At 2 1/2 months I decided to stop nursing after meeting with a lacation consultant- I asked her when I could expect the girls to take a whole feed at the breast and she said maybe around 4 months, or maybe never. There was no way I could mentally/emotionally keep up with the schedule I had. So, begun my exclusive pumping journey. Once I decided to no longer nurse, I immediately felt a huge weight off my shoulders.

My current schedule/output:
6:30am- pump for 30 minutes/approx. 16-18 oz.
9:30 am- pump for 20 minutes/ approx. 7-8 oz.
12:30pm-pump for 20 minutes/ approx. 7-8 oz.
3:00pm- pump for 20 minutes/approx. 5-6 oz.
5:30pm- pump for 20 minutes/approx. 6-7 oz.
9:00pm- pump for 20 minutes/approx. 7-8 oz.
Total Pumping Time: 2 hours 10 minutes     Total Ounces: 48-55
*My girls eat at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 3:30pm, and then between 6-7pm. They typically take 4.5oz per feed (occasionally just 4 or 5...they eat 5 times/day, I pump 6!)

Tips:
You'll find a lot of these tips all over the Internet and hear them from lactation specialists, as well. I'm just sharing the ones that I've found to help me the most. 

• Consistancy!: This works well for me because I'm slightly neurotic and majorly OCD. I very rarely stray from my pump schedule and always pump within a 30 minute range of my "pump time"
• Intervals: Between 10-12 minutes into my pumping session, I hit the "let down" button to speed up the pull of the pump. This is supposed to mimic a breastfeeding baby and pull more milk.
• Power Pumping: I cannot say enough about this!! I had never heard of it until I was in the NICU talking to a lactation specialist. The gist is that you pump on and off for an hour to mimic cluster feeding. Read more here. I have done this on several occasions (when my supply went down after mastitis, after a stomach bug, and then when the girls increased the volume in their feeds) and it totally works!!
• Fenugreek: This is an herbal supplement that you'll hear people talk about all the time as well. I LOVE IT! I combine this with a few nights of Power Pumping when I'm trying to bring my supply up and it works like a charm. Plus, who doesn't love having their body smell like maple syrup...seriously, sweat, urine...I guess that's how you know it's working? I'm totally joking about liking that scent pouring form my pores, it kind of freaks me out.
• Water: Again, nothing special about this one, but I drink a TON of water. I carry around my Yeti (monogrammed to make it cuter, of course) everywhere I go and drink, drink, drink!
• Oatmeal/Eggs: Both have been said to be good for supply and since I love them both, I eat one or the other every morning!
• Pump Parts: I have 3 sets. One set is in my "pumping" bag, along with bottles, cooler, nursing cover, extra bra, and cleaning wipes. So when I'm on the go, I just add my pump and take off! The other set I wash at night and in the morning put back together and set it to the side for the next day- so I always have one ready to go. The last set is the one I use all day. Instead of washing every time I pump, I place the parts in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge until I pump again. This keeps it safe from bacteria and saves my sanity from having to wash them 6 times a day!
• Storing Milk: Since pumping is time consuming, and let's be honest, not a whole lot of fun, my goal is to store up that milk so I can start weaning sooner rather than later. I would ideally like the girls to have breast milk until their original due date birthday- so September 10th. At the beginning I was storing 2-3 bags a day, but as their demand has increased I can usually only put one 6 ounce bag away a day or every other day. One piece of advice I would give here, is once your baby(ies) drop their late night feed, keep pumping then! That's more milk you can store! Here's the current state of our deep freeze:
  

Can't Pump Without by jgranberry featuring pumps

And finally- My Must Haves:

• 1. The Medela Freesytle. I could not, I repeat, could NOT continue to pump without it. It allows me to follow Grey around, do chores, or just sit on the couch at night with out being plugged into anything. I was gifted this at a shower for Grey and the motor started to go out a month into having the twins, Medela was great about replacing it even though the warranty had ran out. Well, they were great about it after I had a complete postpartum meltdown with the customer service guy. I either scared him with my threats or my sobbing. Not sure which one. 
• 2. Lansinoh storage bags. I've only tried these and the Medela. I love that these hold an ounce more and lay flatter. They just seem all around easier. 
• 3. Name Decals: Having twins and tandem feeding means I can easily confuse bottles. This helps eliminate that problem, plus it makes the bottles cuter!
• 4. Dr. Browns Bottles: They're the biggest pain in the butt to clean, but for my gassy and very reflux-y (not a word) girls, they are the gentlest for their bellies. PLUS, they were sent to me for free from my step-dad's friend who works for Dr. Browns. Win-win!
• 5. & 6. I won't even begin to tell you how many bottles of soap I've gone through already...or brushes.
• 7. Gloves: My hands were so torn up after the NICU- their soaps were so harsh and you were constantly washing and scrubbing your hands all the way up to your elbows. About 3 months in, there was no lotion that could even help, as I was constantly washing bottles. I got smart and ordered some gloves and slowly my hands are starting to heal. 
• 8. We had 3 different drying racks at the beginning, but we've been able to get a great rotation system down and part of our counter top back! I love this double decker drying rack. It saves space and holds all the bottle and pump parts we use!
• 9. Nursing Tanks: I live in these. I hate nursing bras and they're pretty inconvenient when trying to pump 6x/day, so I pretty much wear a tank every day- usually with something over it. I really like the Gilligan O'Malley line from Target. My favorite is just the plain white that I can wear under everything- I own 2 of them!
• 10. I also still wear nursing pads every day, all the time. I'm not sure why, as I don't really leak anymore, but I just feel better having them there.
• 11. This is the best nipple cream. Although, it's really more of an oil. I haven't had to use it in the past few months, but at first I put it on all.the.time. And a tip- put it on while you pump, it helps everything slide better, if you will. 
• Last, but not least, this Medela hands free bra. Get one! When I pumped with Grey I would just use my forearm to hold my pump in place. What was I thinking? I seriously could not live with out this right now. Only complaint, they need to work on a better zipper. It is pretty finicky and I broke my first one.

Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be. I think that covers all the main things. I love reading about others' pumping/feeding journeys, as that is what has helped me make it this far. Hopefully this helps someone too!