Im curious too. Hand held pump or auto pump with twins? I had a hand held pump with my Son, but I felt like I had to pump forever to get a decent amount of milk. Would an electric pump be better?
I used the Medela Symphony and pumped with my twins..they just never got the whole latching on thing....UGH. I also supplemented with formula because I never had enough milk....I was pumping every three hours and probably should have increased that as I had enough milk for one, but not two. There are so many people that breast feed very successfully with twins. I would recommend an electric pump though no matter what!
I had the Medela pump in style advanced with my first daughter and it worked quite well. She was a good nurser, but I used to pump once a day so that I'd have a bottle for dad to give each day. I was able to pump about 6 oz in less than 10 minutes.
Now, with the twins (preemies), they were not good latchers, and had to be tube feed for the first few weeks anyway. For them, I rented a hospital grade pump (medela symphony), and I have to say that it was MUCH more powerful than the pump in style I had. My insurance covered the rental cost for 4 months because my kids were preemies. I believe the cost here was 30-50 US dollars per month. I think it is expensive to purchase...several hundred US dollars I believe.
So, my advice would be to research options or renting a pump. While I think the medela pump in advance is a good pump for he money, it might be a waste of money if you end up needing the hospital grade one.
good luck and enjoy your visit here!
I bought the Medela "pump in style advanced' fot the twins this go round. My first born was soley breast fed until I got pregnant with my second (my frist was only 3 months) but my second was breast fed all the way through. It was reccomended to me to get this pump by my husbands aunt who has worked in labor and delivery for 30 years and is also one of the lactation consultants. If you go to www.justmultiples.com they also have this bra that you strap on with both pumps so you can pump hands free and not deal with the hassle of leaking on one breast or struggling to hold both pumps up. We also got that. I also got the twin nursing pillow from a friend who right now has 6 month old twins at my first baby shower and she said its fantastic.Im nervous but looking forward to the challange and bonding experiance!!!!!