Lisa Murrin talks about her experience of tandem breastfeeding her twin boys. Follow her on Instagram where she documents her busy family life.

I had always known that when I started a family I would like to breastfeed.  When I found out that we were pregnant with twins, I was slightly more apprehensive as it was all so new. 

Adding a second baby into the mix was a little bit more overwhelming. We enlisted the help of the incredible Jen from Doulacare Ireland who we did our antenatal class with privately. It means that we could ask as many questions as we liked and we had a plan for postpartum.  

Jen arrived in our house within hours of us being home with the boys and we sat for hours asking questions, working on latch and feeding the boys at the same time. At so many points in the first few days, I went from feeling I had it all under control to feeling I couldn’t even go through with the next feed.

The emotions were so raw and so real. I felt massive guilt as each day just felt like a military operation. I feel I didn’t get to experience that bond that everyone talked about as every day just rolled into one and I was very much in survival mode. 

I tandem fed Noah and Dylan for five weeks or so and had also started to pump to keep my supply up. I made the decision to start pumping exclusively as it meant I could start to work out some sort of routine and get a little bit of help and respite when needed.  

My partner Dave was so hands-on from the word go and helped and supported my decisions every step of the way. Those first few weeks were some of the most terrifying and exhausting times I will ever remember but I am so proud to say that I fed them with my milk exclusively for six months. Watching two babies grow right in front of your eyes because of you is an incredibly special and rewarding thing.  

I am now four months into breastfeeding our new arrival, Luca. I hope to be able to continue this journey for much longer this time around. With it being one baby, everything is feeling much calmer and balanced and I am enjoying every second of this journey.