Congrats! When you take a baby out of the bed, put a heating pad it to warm the bed. When you return the baby to the bed, remove the heating pad and the bed is toasty warm, just like lying next to mommy.
I never had twins, but I have nursed three kids and it wasn’t always easy.
If she is serious about wanting to make breastfeeding work she needs to get professional help and as soon as possible. It is normal to have some nipple discomfort in the beginning but I had some latch problems with my girls and it was different. It’s important to correct the babies latch to improve things or it will just get worse.
I would call the hospital and see if they can recommend a lactation consultant to come over.
Also pumping and giving a bottle now can cause nipple confusion for the babies and make things worse.
My son nursed every 2 hrs around the clock at first, I stayed in bed and put a pillow behind me and supported him on a pillow on my lap, then put him back in the bassinet till next feeding. My girls fed every 1-2 hrs during the day and slept a few hrs at a time at night.
They are supposed to eat 10 or so times a day. And if they are twins and preemies the are catching up.
I would suggest if possible to feed them at the same time, with a nursing pillow and Dad’s help to get them situated, then she might have an hour or two till the next feeding and get more rest.
Otherwise she might be up every hour with one or the other and there won’t be a need to keep track of who ate last and which side.
The best thing I heard to put on sore nipples is letting some of the milk dry on them.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_breastfeeding-twins-or-multiples_8479.bc
Oh and feeding them at the same time might also help with the latch because of the position they are in, you have each baby’s legs at your side and support their head with your hand.
I had one strange problem with simultaneous nursing. One baby would gulp too much and choke, and I’d have to pull her up and out, burp her a bit, and put her back. I ended up doing this hook motion with my right hand and wrist and needed to see a rheumatologist after 2 or 3 months! He told me he sees a lot of new mothers but the mothers of multiples come to him earlier from some repetitive motion that is damaging.
Just one more thing to look out for the OP’s DIL to look out for!
Also, both my babies had nipple confusion because of their short hospital stay and it took more work to establish nursing because of that. Once nursing is well established, it should be OK for the baby to have an occasional bottle without any confusion. That way the parents can go out together every so often and not have to be back after 1 1/2 hours!
I had twins but the best day by far was the day I decided to return the breast pump thing and bottle feed them. No more problems.
I did help my friend for a day with the twin grandsons when they were about 7 weeks old. Friend’s d had pumped breast milk and they were used to the bottle nipple. One of the two was hungrier and would take the bottle right away and drink it but the other kept falling asleep while feeding and we kept having to nudge him away to take some more.
It was a lot of work but fun. We were both happy when her daughter, SIL and their little girl came home from a special day out at the Big Apple Circus.
I would avoid the nipple sheilds and go straight to the LC. Good position and good latch is as has been said, the key. Your DD must be doing a great job to have weight gain and success so just try and get that latch optimised and it will all get much better. Babies born early can be slow learners and fake nipples like shields and bottles can complicate matters. There is a lot of bad advice too, on the internet. If she is pretty adamant about BF she will get through the rough patch as long as everyone stays supportive. People who dole out platitudes about bottle feeding and formula feeding were no help to me for sure. I just wanted to make it work. And we did. Twin are hard, period. They seem to feed all day because they DO feed all day.
Obviously it is up to the new mom, but I think it is unreasonable with twins to expect the mom to forego use of a bottle. It’s just potentially too hard on her.
If she is able to pump without discomfort, then the breast milk is the same whether it comes from mom or with the bottle. And it’s a lot easier overall if dad can be pitching in with the feeding some of the time.
If the pumping is too much for her, there’s no shame in moving to formula either. The last thing any mom of twins needs is to feel guilty or inadequate because her body isn’t up to the demands of feeding two hungry babies.
And it is possible to successfully combine formula feeding with breast feeding once the mom’s milk is established. So if pumping is uncomfortable, the mom might simply consider that her babies can be fed both.
This is precisely why it needs to be HER decision as to whether she wants to engage in this or not, and people around her shouldn’t assume that she should go through heroic efforts because they have an agenda of having her bf at all costs. I think people around her need to watch their advocacy. It’s not their body and there is a fine line being helpful support and pushiness. PPD is very real and sitting around all day doing nothing other than feeding can contribute to that.
Right, the reality is that most people will push use of bottles and formula on a new twin mum like the babies will die if they don't. the chance of anyone advocating BF to the same degree is really unlikely. EMploying a professional is really the way to go over well meaning friends. Babies well established at BFing who are full term will possibly do fine, premie babies are less organized and well meaning people often create problems when non needed to exists, even professionals, nurses, baby nurses, etc. Most mothers are pretty clear as to where their limits lie. No friend etc needs to do or say anything other than "What can I do for you today" to the new mum. PPD is not caused by breastfeeding.
I used vitamin E capsules on my nipples when they were sore. Break open a capsule and dab on the liquid. Helped me! The soreness usually goes away once supply/demand get pretty well established.
A friend of mine is a lactation consultant. She used to be a L&D nurse at the local hospital, found she liked lactation consulting and eventually hung our her own shingle. The LLL or the L&D unit at the hospital should have some good recommendations.
“Right, the reality is that most people will push use of bottles and formula on a new twin mum like the babies will die if they don’t. the chance of anyone advocating BF to the same degree is really unlikely.”
Here’s a concept. Don’t “advocate” that the mother do anything SHE doesn’t want to do. She doesn’t need advocacy. She needs to be respected for her own ability to figure out what she wants to do and what her own priorities and needs are. Not someone else’s pet cause. The harm some people do in guilting new mothers is appalling and shameful.
I would NOT put vitamin E on nipples. What if the babies get that in their systems?
It would probably be good for them – low birth weight babies often have vitamin E deficiency. See: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/745983
Of course this is something to be discussed with he pediatrician, but I think it’s unlikely that the amount of vitamin E that would end up ingested by the babies could be in any way harmful.
I definitely felt breastfeeding was being advocated on me but I am rebellious by nature and decided for myself that I hated it and it was not better than the nice containers of formula which we could easily mix up and anyone could hold the bottle and the babies were much better than just fine with it, too.
That sounds exactly like my mother.
@jym626 great idea with the heating pad!!! and it might also help if the cover had mommy’s scent on it.
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that mom is having a LOT of discomfort
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I distinctly remember the discomfort those first two weeks. I remember literally biting my fist when S1 would latch on. And my lactation specialist warned me about this…and said this is why some women quit. She was right that the discomfort would go away around the 2 week mark.
of course, someone nursing twins may have even more soreness. But, even those with “big hungry singles” who are permanently attached to you will seem to be feeding twins. S1 was 9lbs and hungry ALL THE TIME.
(this doesn’t seem to happen much with subsequent babies…I guess things “toughen up”.)
did anyone suggest that each twin should “switch sides” for each feeding?
Was this posted for soreness?
“If you do get sore nipples, treat them with a combination of breast milk and purified lanolin, such as Lansinoh or PureLan 100. After feeding, express a couple of drops of milk and let it dry on the nipple for five to ten minutes. The milk will help heal cracks and kill bacteria. Then apply lanolin, which doesn’t need to be washed off, to keep the nipple soft and supple. You can buy purified lanolin from a drugstore, lactation specialist, or breast pump supplier.”
Late to the party, but congratulations on the twin grandbabies! I don’t have any first-hand advice to offer, but I know lots of folks who survived the overwhelming first few weeks & lived to tell … in fact, my neighbors went ahead and had a second set of twins just 15 months later! 
My mom was mighty surprised to learn that she was having twins when I was 16 months old. She found out when the doctor saw a second baby, rear-first, coming down the pike. No time to prepare for that surprise. Mom said the first while was a blur (I also have a brother who is 2 years older), but she got used to it rather quickly.
Best wishes to your whole family!
Congratulations!
I had prem twin babies, now 26 years old. One was nearly twice the size of the other and spent only 1 night in special care. The other had 4.5 weeks in special care and surgery at 8 weeks in a children’s hospital some distance away. All 3 of us stayed and breast feeding continued. Tiny was fed expressed milk or nursed depending on his strength and my presence when in special care. Local twin mums offered to share their experiences and gave useful tips. I would have used the services of a breast feeding counsellor had one been available, and, judging by my daughter’s experience of their services with her singleton, would recommend it. She also uses a noise/music device to help baby sleep at night.
When feeding together I tried both the traditional nursing position (they tucked together nicely) and the legs under my arms, heads forward positions. Your daughter will probably find the one she prefers quite quickly. For the traditional position an armchair with additional support from cushions proved to be the best for me. For the other I removed the centre seat cushion from our 3 seat sofa and sat in the well it provided. It was quick and easy. All the children were demand fed but it took a long time for the twins feeding patterns to coincide (or it felt like it). I treasured the times of single feeding,either to give individual attention or to have 1 hand free for the older ones. At night I found it easier to feed them in bed in the traditional position, supported with pillows. The midwife gave me a spray which reduced the initial soreness. Husband provided me with a drink and helped with changing and winding. Their separate cots were in our bedroom. As for sleeping through the night - I have no memory, just exhaustion, though things improved continually from 12 weeks onwards. A helpful husband is a necessity!
Friends and neighbours kindly gave unasked for, simple practical help if they saw I was busy with the twins (we lived in an area where doors were seldom locked). Visits to our local mother and baby group for a chat when possible were a pleasure. We also employed a cleaner for 1 morning a week during the early months to reduce the pressure of housework, which I would recommend if financially possible.
Finally, the twins have given us much pleasure and still do. As the weeks pass life becomes easier and the family more efficient with the basic things. They will find the best way for them. To paraphrase, they only have to be ‘good enough’. Best wishes.