BF one baby and Formula the other baby?

[twinsjm]

I have one twin who would be a great baby for breastfeeding. She latches on well and doesn't have any issues. The other twin has a VERY difficult time BFing so we've been going with formula. They are 2 months old and we've had BF problems with baby # 2 for awhile.

Please no flames... but has anyone BF one baby and formula fed the other successfully?

[mom_of_twins]

Sorry to say I haven't I just wanted to say congrats on your twins!!

[kohlby]

No experience but I wanted to tell you about a friend's baby. She couldn't get her baby to latch so she exlusively pumped for three months. At that point, she decided to try out of the blue and her daughter latched right on and was able to breastfeed! It might be worth it to give it a try in the next month or two just in case.

Congrats on your babies!

[CaptHeather]

I wondered about trying this out, but was fortunate that both babies caught on pretty quickly. Absolutely no flames as most mothers of multiples learn they need to consider supplementation based on today's lifestyles. I'm exclusively breastfeeding both and it's hard at times. I'm lucky I built up a bit of a freezer stash because sometimes I need to flee.

You need to do what works for your family. I do recommend seeing if the second one will pik up latching on properly every once in a while if you think it would be easier to nurse both instead of needing to mix formula, but the challenges of multiples means you figure out a routine that will work.

[hotlama]

Why make one baby go without breast milk all together? If you are able to pump, the other baby can have the benefit of at least a couple bottles of milk each day. Even a few ounces a day is better than nothing. If your worried about supply, you can take Fenugreek and eat oatmeal to help. Your doctor can also prescribe you something.

Instead of giving all of your milk to one baby and giving all of the formula to the other, you could trade off making sure that they each got the same amount of milk and formula 50/50. When your nursing baby drinks a bottle of formula, you can pump that unused breast milk for your other baby. When your nursing baby is on the breast, you can give the other a bottle of formula. By doing this, both babies will have the advantages of breast milk.