How to increase your breast milk supply for twins

Every journey is different and there is no right or wrong way to try and increase your breast milk supply for your twins, this is simply just my story and all the things I did to try to increase mine.

Right after my twins were born I did everything the lactation consultant told me to do. And now looking back I'm wondering if she really knew what it meant to be responsible for feeding, producing, providing, for not one…but two newborn babies.

At the recommendation of the home health nurse that came after the boys arrived, I weighed each of my boys after they ate. I monitored their growth and their milk intake. And I fed the boys nonstop. I'm not even sure if I can put into words how stressful the whole ordeal was, not only for me, but for my husband, Jim, as well. Weigh them, feed them, weigh them again, and either breastfeed longer or bottle feed to make sure that they were getting the ounces they needed.

The twins were constantly hungry, but I just couldn’t keep up. I wasn’t producing enough breast milk for two!

To alleviate the stress knowing I wasn't ready to throw in the towel, Jim suggested we give them donor milk or we feed them formula, but I just wasn't ready give them formula yet. I knew I could provide for my twins. I was determined to feed them myself — I wanted to be the best mom I could be and give my boys the milk they needed to grow. So for the time being we opted for donor milk until I could get my supply up. Well let me tell you that that is not cheap, or sustainable so I needed to figure something out. Quick.

But now, looking back, I really don’t think it was worth it mentally or emotionally. I can say that now because I'm not in it the moment. Because when I was, it was all I could think about, all I googled at night. Just trying to figure out what I could do to make this easier.

I would feed the boys and then I would pump. It would take me 30 minutes to pump and then, by the time I was done pumping, the boys would be hungry again. So I would end up feeding them the pumped breast milk because my body wasn't ready to breast feed again.

I was beside myself. I couldn’t do the one job I thought I was supposed to as their mother — feed my children. There were so many tears. I felt so much guilt about not being able to provide for my boys, so I took extra steps to increase my breast milk.

The good news? And it worked!

After everything I had tried, I was pumping at least 60 ounces of milk per day and my boys only relied on me to feed them during their first six months.

List of the things I tried:

1. Lactation Consultant

What it is: The lactation consultant at my hospital kept telling me I was doing a great job because the boys latched right away. She helped me understand how much the boys needed to be eating and how to weigh them after meals to make sure they were getting the nutrients they needed, and that they were growing

My experience: The boys were latching on, and she eased some of my fears. I left the hospital with questions, however, and a feeling of apprehension. There was so much more I felt like I was missing and wished I would have been more prepared with the questions I had. It was almost like she assumed they would latch and we'd just be on our way to an amazing breastfeeding journey. I think her support was nice but I could have used more technical advice on how it actually works to breastfeed two babies at once.

2. Power Pumping

What it is: I would pump for five minutes and then stop. And then I would repeat the process over and over. It’s supposed to trick your body into believing it needs to produce more milk.

My experience: It worked. It was exhausting. In my opinion, I would actually not recommend. But if you do do it, there are a ton of guides on how to do it properly and how often you should. It just wasn't ‘my' favorite, although it did seem to help!

3. Drinking water

What it is: I drank 36-40 ounces of water every time I pumped, it sounds insane to even say that now but basically once they latched I just started drinking water. It was more of a challenge to see if I could finish before I was done pumping! But like I said before, I had to pump for 30 mins so it really wasn't as bad as it sounds! I also tried Body Armor Water, which is supposed to help increase your milk supply. The idea is to drink as much water as the milk you are pumping if not more. So if you’ve tried everything to increase your breast milk output but you’re not drinking enough water, I would really start there! Its free AND it makes your skin look great!

My experience: It helped me produce enough milk for my boys, but it truly was a lot of water

6 Things to increase your breast milk supply:

For a quick easy list

4. Dark Stout

What it is: Dark beer is filled with barley and hops, which are supposed to help stimulate prolactin and increase milk supply. Let me be clear and tell you, I. Do. Not. Like. Dark. Beer! But I was desperate and would literally have tried anything to increase my milk supply. It wasn't as bad as I thought and basically felt like a college kid slamming it to get it over with!

My experience: I tried a lot of things in a short amount of time. Between this, drinking a lot of water and the lactation cookies, something was working well enough to feed my boys.

5. Lactation cookies

What it is: Lactation cookies are filled with galactogogues, which help jumpstart the hormone prolactin. This is supposed to help you increase your breast milk supply.

My experience: The cookies were so delicious I had to hide them from my husband. They worked particularly well for me because we found out my boys had an aversion to milk, so I couldn’t eat cheese sticks and a lot of other foods that are high in calories like you’re supposed to do when you’re breastfeeding. I mean, guilt free cookie eating?! Sign me up!

6. Fenugreek

What it is: It’s an herb that is filled with those galactagogues MoMmas need. You can find it in the vitamin aisle or on Amazon.

My experience: It's green. The cookies tasted better.

Human milk is like ice cream, penicillin, and the drug ecstasy all wrapped up in two pretty packages.

-Florence Williams

If I were go to back in time and do it again, I would tell myself not to put so much pressure on myself to produce so much milk for my twins.

Creating this much milk was hard on my body. I developed mastitis when I was feeding the boys and my nipples hurt so bad I had to go to the doctor to make sure I was physically okay.

My doctor told me it wasn’t worth it and I should just stop. But I ignored him. I kept pumping.

Supplementing with formula or another breastmilk alternative would have created more opportunities for our boys to bond with Jim or their grandparents during feeding. And it would have been kinder to my body.

Looking back, I just want to let other MoMmas know that they're not the only one feeling this way. I wish I could have told my past self to let it go.

I did the best I could, and you're doing the best you can, too.

The truth is, that’s all we can do as MoMmas — and that’s enough..