Why Did You Stop Breastfeeding Your Twins?

Last updated on March 6th, 2024 at 08:28 am

We Asked Our Twiniversity MoMs One Simple Question:

“Why did you stop breastfeeding?”

Their answers were so incredibly honest and real that we just had to share them with all of you. Maybe you’re struggling with breastfeeding and you aren’t sure if it’s working for you. Maybe you’re doing great — better than you ever hoped for — and you want to see how long you can go! Or maybe you are wracked with guilt just thinking about stopping.

No matter how you are feeling right now, PLEASE know that all of us have been there. The pressure to breastfeed (or not to breastfeed) can be so incredibly hard to deal with while you’re also battling sleep deprivation and exhaustion from caring for 2 babies 24/7. You are not a bad mom if you feel like you want to stop. Just remember that every mom, every set of babies, every situation is different and you can’t compare yourself to others when it comes to this decision. You have to do what’s right for you, for your babies, and for your sanity!

With that said, here’s the feedback we got from our community. We hope these comments help to inform your decision, whatever you decide to do!

“At day 10 I had to throw in the towel…ohhhh the GUILT! Emergency c-section, no milk supply, 1 baby at home, 1 in the NICU, and I was pumping like crazy to try to make it work. It was so stressful and awful, I had to just come to the conclusion that just because you have the equipment doesn’t mean you can play on the team.”

“My B/B twins were breastfeeding until they were 2 years old. I can’t believe we all survived the two rewarding years.”

“6 weeks for me, I literally couldn’t keep up and was so stressed out! I expressed, mainly. They both had tongue ties so very difficult to get them to latch! Pleased they at least got 6 weeks, better than nothing, they got the best bit.”

“We’re still going at 12 months. I will let them decide when they want to wean.”

“It makes me feel much less like a failure reading all these responses! I’m so glad I’m not alone in the struggle. We all did our best to do what we could — in the end it comes down to what’s overall healthiest for mom and baby, and if that means letting go of breastfeeding, that is what’s best!”

“6 months. And I hated every minute of it. I think the babies did too! They were so much happier on formula. I’m quite competitive with myself so I really wanted to make the six month mark. The only fun bit was telling people you were breastfeeding twins, they looked pretty shocked and always wanted to know how!”

“I haven’t yet, twins are 18 1/2 months. I’m almost 14 weeks pregnant and as much as I feel like a bad mommy for saying this I’m ready to be done! This momma needs a break before the next one gets here. I just have no idea how.”

“1 year. I stopped 2 days before they turned 1. I had enough in the freezer to last another 2 months. I exclusively pumped. Never got them to latch. I was tired of pumping.”

“I exclusively pumped for triplets for 1 year- I was as excited about the countdown to their birthday for that reason as much as the celebration for them!! I have my energy back – but I do miss eating whatever I wanted and it still not being enough!”

“I pumped while we were in the hospital (3 weeks), but once we went home, the pump I had couldn’t keep up. I dried up. They were exclusively bottle-fed by 3 months.”

“I had supply issues from the start… this technique, that technique… nothing worked for me to keep up the supply. I could not make enough even for one baby. I pushed and pushed and at 6 months I gave up. They were not interested and I guess that demotivated me. I feel so much less of a failure after reading so many of us with same issue.”

“I was pumping while they were in NICU, but by the time they were 3 or 4 weeks old they outpaced me. I had all the good intentions to keep pumping when they came home, but that lasted like 12 hours. LOL! Two babies who struggled to eat and caused me a ton of stress = no way I could keep pumping. I needed that extra 20 minutes for my sanity.”

“Once mine started crawling, at 8 months, they weaned themselves. I tried to keep pumping but gave up because it was too time consuming and hard while chasing two babies.”

“IT WAS SO STRESSFUL for me!!! Latch issues, supply issues, I just couldn’t make it work. Stopped about 6 weeks.”

“I lasted 4 weeks. They had their last breast meal Christmas Eve as I was so tired and stressed and they were wanting me constantly for comfort rather than food. I wanted to enjoy the festivities with my then 8 year old daughter too.”

“By the time I tried to nurse, bottle feed, pump, and got settled, it was time for them to eat again within 30-45 minutes! No one was getting any rest!”

“One of my twins couldn’t latch for a while and when she could she wasn’t very efficient. The other had reflux. It was so time consuming I was getting no sleep. Stopped around 2 months. Now I exclusively pump.”

“At 3 months. They were in the NICU and pumping just wasn’t good enough. They never latched.”

“My first set of twins was 6 months when I stopped, as they started teething (but I was also supplementing with formula since birth). Currently my second set is 4 weeks old and I pump about every 3 hours or so and still supplement with formula too. I have been trying to get one or two feedings in a day by breast feeding. I would like to build up my supply. They latch much better now vs. their first 2-3 weeks. They were still too small and one was a lazy eater. I’m hoping I can at least go to 6 months if not further this time. I felt like I stopped too soon with my girls.”

“They never latched …..recovering from emergency c section …..two new babies at home with a 4 year old… no sleep…..having to pump and turn around and feed both babies every 3 hours …..I had an awesome supply but I wanted to keep my sanity!”

“The girls are almost twenty months and still going strong!”

“I loved breastfeeding. I was fortunate in that it came very easy to me and to my babies. I nursed my singleton for 8 months. That being said, I survived 3 months with the twins. It came down to sleep and sanity vs nursing. I pumped for about a day, and then laughed (possibly maniacally, due to lack of sleep) at myself for even imagining that I had that kind of time, and I went out and bought a huge tub of formula. Do what works for you. A happy momma is a happy set of twins. (And as a side note, health wise, my nursed-for-8-months child was sick with every virus that went through his daycare until Kindergarten. My twins had 1 cold a year, maybe.)”

“I nursed until they were 20 and 26 months. They decided when to stop!”

“Six months post delivery I ended up hospitalized for a week with pneumonia. After ten days of almost 24 hr sleep I was better, but I never pumped again.”

“The twins are 26 months and still nursing at night.”

“2 years old and I stopped because they were 2 years old – LOL! Plus they were still waking up multiple times a night.”

“I pumped for 7 months and had 2 months worth in the freezer. My girls did not take to the breast due to learning to suck on preemie nipples. They did not have the sucking reflex when they were born.”

“I pumped for my twins and stopped around 2 weeks because I wasn’t producing enough.”

“Day 10. I ended up having fluid on my lungs and a enlarged weak heart due to the pregnancy and c-section. I was in the hospital for 2 days. It hurt so bad to feed them before the fluid was removed. The medication I had to take to remove the fluid caused me to dry up what little I was able to fed/pump. They are 2 weeks old and the guilt is still very heavy. I know they will be fine on formula but it’s not what I envisioned for us.”

“I had gallbladder surgery and I was on IV fluids only for 4 days. I naturally stopped producing. Mine were 3 weeks when that happened.”

“6 months. My goal was one month so I was pretty happy with that. They started getting so distracted during feelings so my milk supply kind of dropped off. I was ready to be done though, so it worked out.”

“5 weeks. 2 babies in 2 different hospitals because one had to get transferred to higher NICU!! Low supply to begin with and stress didn’t help.”

“We are in the 3rd month and I hope to continue.”

“Still going strong at a little over 14 months!”

“I breastfed until they were just over two. Thankfully I had two older kids and had nursing down, and my twins had mere hours of NICU time, and I had a supportive spouse that helped a ton with positioning and such, because it was sure a lot of work in the beginning!”

“We made it to 15 months with twin B and 16 with twin A! They lost interest.”

“I nursed my twin boys until they were 19 months old, I absolutely loved it! I had to stop nursing my daughter when she was 7 months old due to her horrific reflux and put her on high calorie hypoallergenic formula so I was thrilled to nurse my twins. I mostly let them self-wean, although I was so super exhausted I encouraged them when they started deciding to stop.”

“My twins were a few weeks old. I wasn’t producing enough for them.”

“15 months, baby A self weaned and baby b followed about a week later.”

“In my first pregnancy I was like a milk cow at the beginning. I had so much milk it was unreal but with the stress of being a first time mom and in a very new relationship and trying to please everyone and all the crazy questions — I couldn’t keep up and fell depressed. I breastfed my b/g twins till they were 3 months old and used the extra milk I had pumped and saved till they were about seven months. With my second set I breastfed them till they were 11 months old and tried everything to make my production better but it just decided that no more, so I then gave them cow’s milk (and food of course.)”

“I had latch issues with one baby and was pumping for him, BFing the other, and it just got to be too much and took way too much energy out of me. I stopped at 6 weeks.”

“Stopped at 4 weeks. Only 1 would latch, even with a lactation consultant. The other turned out to have swallowing problems. I was pumping every 2-3 hours and it was just exhausting, and I still had to supplement with formula. I got to the point where I was just miserable, and even though I felt so guilty making the decision to stop, the moment I made the decision I felt so free. I never thought I’d make it that far, and in the end I am proud with the milk I was able to give them. They are now healthy, happy toddlers and I don’t regret a thing.”

“Still going strong at 7 months, although I’m having to supplement one feeding at the sitter. Working full time cramps my ability to pump like I need to.”

“Exclusive pumping for 5.5 months. Hated every moment of it. Tried so many times to get them to latch but they clearly preferred the bottle. Had a 2 week freezer supply to get them to 6 months. I wished I knew about the supplemental nursing system when they were born at 34 weeks.”

“I pumped for 6 months because they were too little to nurse. I stopped when I got mastitis in both breasts at the same time. My supply tanked and I didn’t have the time or energy to try and build it back up.”

“4 months. Had my gallbladder taken out and dried up like the desert because of being put out. It’s ok though. I had some milk frozen for them so husband helped feed a lot. Everything happens for a reason. Now I have incredibly smart and healthy 14 month olds.”

Are You a New Twin Parent?

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“What To Do When You’re Having Two
The Twin Survival Guide From Pregnancy Through the First Year”

In What to Do When You’re Having Two: The Twins Survival Guide from Pregnancy Through the First Year, national twins guru and founder of Twiniversity (and twin mom herself!) Natalie Diaz provides a no-holds-barred resource about life with twins, from pregnancy and birth all the way through your duo’s first year of life.

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