April 8, 2021 • 33 mins
Breastfeeding is tough enough, but what happens when there are two mouths to feed? Whether it’s twins or two babies at different ages, juggling the supply and demand of double duty is a whole new world. So how exactly do you do it? What is the ideal set-up for feeding? How can you be sure that both babes are getting enough of your good stuff? Let’s find out.
With us for today's show is Indianapolis-based International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Aimbriel Lasley. In addition to her role as an IBCLC with Nest Collaborative, Aimbriel holds a Master’s degree in Health and Wellness Counseling and is a passionate advocate for ensuring that all families have access to healthy food, breastfeeding assistance, and education. Aimbriel is also the owner of Holistic Lactation Care, a private lactation practice in Indianapolis, and Black Mama Vegan, a vegan education and wellness platform that aims to show black families and vegan-curious families that being plant-based is attainable.
Aimbriel is with us today because she most certainly walks the walk. As a momma who breastfed her twin baby boys and older son all at the same time, she knows a thing or two about feeding multiples.
Thanks for joining us listeners, we hope you love today's show!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amanda Gorman (00:00):
[Intro] Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Welcome. Welcome. Welcome mamasand mamas-to-be. A podcast
dedicated to helping momsnavigate their way through the
tricky world of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
(00:22):
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Hi there mamas and mamas -to -beand welcome to the wonderful
world of BreastfeedingUnplugged. I am your host Amanda
Gorman and today we are going tobe talking about when the no
vacancy sign gets lit up at theboob hotel. Twin and multiple
baby moms, this week is for you.
Breastfeeding is tough enough,but what happens when there are
(00:46):
two mouths to feed? Whether it'stwins or two babies at different
ages, juggling the supply anddemand of double duty is a whole
new world. So how exactly do youdo it? What is the ideal setup
for feeding? How can you be surethat both babies are getting
enough of your good stuff? Let'sfind out. With us today is
(01:07):
Indianapolis based InternationalBoard Certified Lactation
Consultant Aimbriel Lasley. Inaddition to her role as an IBCLC
with Nest Collaborative,Aimbriel holds a master's degree
in health and wellnesscounseling, and is a passionate
advocate for ensuring that allfamilies have access to healthy
food, breastfeeding assistanceand education. Aimbriel is also
(01:29):
the owner of Holistic LactationCare, a private lactation
practice in Indianapolis andBlack Mama Vegan, a vegan
education and wellness platformthat aims to show black families
and vegan curious families thatbeing plant based is attainable.
Aimbriel is with us todaybecause she most certainly walks
(01:50):
that walk as a mama whobreastfed her own twin baby boys
and an older son all at the sametime. She knows a thing or two
about feeding multiples.
Aimbriel, welcome to the show.
It's so great to have you withus.
Aimbriel Lasley (02:06):
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I'm
excited.
Amanda Gorman (02:10):
Awesome. So just to give listeners a little
background, I know you're a veryproud mom of four. You were
breastfeeding your second childwhen you found out you were
pregnant with twins.
Aimbriel Lasley (02:22):
Yes.
Amanda Gorman (02:23):
So I bow to you.
Please tell us a bit about whatthat was like. Because it just
blows me away.
Aimbriel Lasley (02:32):
It blows me away still? Um, yeah. So my
oldest son was about 9, 10months when I started to feel
like something's not right,like, something's going on. And
so fast forward, and we get toNew Year's Eve, we're at a
friend's house, all of thethings. And so by that point,
(02:52):
things still were kind of wonkywith my cycle. And so I told my
husband, I was like tonight'sthe night, let's go ahead and
take this test tonight and seewhat happens. And so it comes
back. We're like, oh, we'repregnant. Okay. And again, he's
10 months at this at this point.
So he's 10 months, I called myphysician, I'm like, hey, I got
a positive test wanna come in,hatever. I'm still nursing at
(03:13):
he time. But I started tootice around that point that
hen I was pumping, because I'mack to work, I'm pumping, and
y supply is just really on thetruggle bus. And I'm like, man,
hat is happening? I'm doing allhe things. I'm drinking water.
'm resting like, you know, evenhough he's up I'm doing all the
things. So, you know, I get thee. And she's like, well, you kno
(03:33):
, you probably need to stop brestfeeding, because you're pre
nant again. And I'm like, hm,that's not in the plan, beca
se I want to make it one yearSo to give some pers
ective, so again, he's my secod child. And but the first time
breastfeeding, so I didn't breatfeed my first I was a youn
mom when I had her. So thiswas a very new experience. So e
erything was new to me. But I cae out the gate like I'm brea
(03:53):
tfeeding for a year period, thisis what I'm doing. So not brea
tfeeding until one year wasnt an option. And she said, well
I guess as long as you stayhealthy, you're doing all the
hings and I'm like, yep, we'rgonna keep going. So we do all
he things. Yeah, there's oneaby. There's one heartbeat. That
s all we hear. So we go backabout a month later for the ultr
(04:14):
sound. Because they're likewell, let's you know, let'
just find out and see whats going on. Because you're not
eeling well. You're doing younow, you're saying you're not
eeling well. And they go in andind baby a and baby b. And, ye
h, that. Yeah, it was, um-
Amanda Gorman (04:36):
I'm sure that moment is locked in your memory.
Aimbriel Lasley (04:38):
It is locked in my memory, because it was very
overwhelming. But I was veryhappy that you know, I made it
to one year I felt like I couldhave kept going, I think, but I
was still very happy to knowthat we pushed through those
last two months to officiallymake it to the one year in
February. Yeah, and besuccessful that way.
Amanda Gorman (04:59):
Well, you're definitely, definitely a rock
star. And I'm just I'm reallythrilled to have you here with
us today, because I know youhave a lot to offer our
audience. So let's start bangingout some questions. I do want to
start with something we willcommonly hear from twin mamas to
be who do want to breastfeed.
They want to know are theyactually going to be able to
(05:20):
make enough milk? So are mostmamas to be with twins able to
do that?
Aimbriel Lasley (05:28):
Yeah, most moms are. And I really, you know, I
really tried to, again, takethis holistic approach that this
it really isn't much differentwhen you're pregnant with one
baby, right? Your body is goingto it knows what's happening and
knows what, what, how manybabies it's growing. And so it
naturally moves into thisprocess of understanding what it
(05:50):
needs to do once these babiesare born and how it needs to
nourish them. So I always startthere and say, we're going to be
positive, we're going to speaklife into the fact that our
bodies are designed perfectlyand it knows what to do. So yes,
just just like with thesingleton, most moms are able to
do it. It's a matter I reallythink it's a matter of getting
(06:11):
over that mental block. Becauseeven for me, I wasn't an IBCLC
when I got pregnant with mytwins, but even for me when I
was like, how am I going tonurse two babies? How am I going
to do this, you know how I justI was already doubtful before
they were even here. And so itjust took me to settle down, one
of my best friends, she had hadtwins, just a few years prior to
(06:32):
that. And so I leaned on her andshe just gave me the
encouragement. And then that'swhat I passed on to other moms,
she was like you're capable, itwill be fine, you know. And if
for some reason you run into aroadblock, we'll just work
through it. And so that's Idefinitely take that approach
that your body is designed, andit knows what to do. Sometimes
we may run into roadblocks, butwe're not going to focus on that
(06:54):
we're going to focus on the factthat you are healthy, we're
going to keep you healthy, andyou're going to deliver these
two beautiful babies, and you'regoing to be able to nurse them
and provide breast milk to themhowever that can happen.
Amanda Gorman (07:08):
So in terms of actually feeding twins, what is
the best way to do it? Do you doone at a time do you do at the
same time? Does that changethroughout the course of the
first year?
Aimbriel Lasley (07:18):
Oh, yeah, it definitely, it definitely
changes throughout the course ofthe first year. I would say so
here's the thing, what I, thisis what I do. And this is my
approach, what I did with mytwins is a lot of times we have
twins, and everybody's like, oh,you got to get them on the same
schedule, you got to get themup. And I am just like, these
are two different people withtwo different personalities,
right? Even though they have thesame birthday, they are still
(07:41):
their own person. So we have totake those first few weeks, just
like with a singleton baby andfigure out who these little
people are. So in my case, mybaby a was super, he was like
the ultimate breastfeed her.
Right. He was super aggressive.
He knew what to do. He was onit, baby b was not. Baby b
cried, and he would barely latchand he just I struggled with
(08:06):
that balance. Because again, inmy mind and the things that I
had heard and seen is twins, youput them on at the same time,
you got to make sure you getthem on the same schedule. And
that's not always the case. Sowe have to take the time to
approach it as though yes, theseare these are two babies, and
they're twins. They're born thesame day. But they're two very
different feeders, or they'retwo different different people.
So I would say to try tounderstand which one is maybe
(08:30):
the baby that's more efficient,right? Is it baby b that's more
efficient than baby a? And ifso, how can we use baby b-
utilize baby b's skills to helpyou know his or her birth
counterpart. So it may look likebreastfeeding them one at a time
for the first few days just tounderstand their behavior at the
(08:51):
breast before we start to stickthem both in tandem. So that's
definitely something that Ipersonally did and what I
encourage other parents to do, Iyou know, I delivered in the
hospital, and I said one at atime. And while I was feeding
one, my husband was able to youknow, help hold the other one,
which most times it was baby bbecause he was he just slept and
kind of was like whatever butbaby a was on it every couple of
(09:12):
hours. So I did that at first.
But then the day, before I wasgoing home. I was like I need to
try this tandem feed thing likeI need I need to do it once
before I get home and I'mfumbling with things. So I am
when I say tandem feed it'sfeeding them at the same time
and feeding you're feeding themboth in the football hold
(09:33):
essentially. And that that theway you tandem feed definitely
changes over the course of thefirst year because as they get
bigger and they're more mobile,you can tandem feed by having
one in cross cradle and layingthe other one in their lap. And
like so you're kind of feedingtwo babies and cross cradle at
the same time like they're bothlaying across each other. I have
some pictures Amanda if you wantto see-
Amanda Gorman (09:55):
I hope you have some pictures of it-
Aimbriel Lasley (09:56):
I do. I have pictures of one baby being on
the left and then the other onelaying in their lap and feeding
on the right. So that thatchanges as they get bigger. But
um, but yeah, so you're tandm feeding, they're both kind of
n football, you're kind of holdig them both and- in that in th
t football position. And ad that's kind of what you do. A
(10:19):
d you just kind of let them got it and let them take the
r course on how long they wanto feed, again because they're t
o different babies. So babya would like, be super efficien
, he'd get done, maybe sooner ad baby b would be still like try
ng to play catch up. So sometims his feedings may go over five
r six minutes versus baby ahe's done. He's already re
ting, whatever. But it defiitely changes throughout the cou
(10:42):
se as they get bigger and more mbile, and you get the hang of
ow to hold them both and all of
Amanda Gorman (10:46):
No, I think that's good advice. I mean,
that's something to consider forall moms even with singletons
is, they are a being and they'regonna have their own personality
and ways and, you know, we can'tnecessarily force things on
them.
Aimbriel Lasley (11:03):
And we can't read- we can't do things out of
all these books all the time,you know, like, because, again,
I am just really a big proponentof take the time to get to know
your baby, and what theirbehavior is and what they like
and don't like. And then you canmaybe utilize some of the
information you glean to how youcan accommodate that to your
(11:26):
situation.
Amanda Gorman (11:27):
No, I think that's great advice. So I think
we covered this a little bit.
But in terms of your favoritepositions for feeding twins, I
mean, I certainly have thedouble football lounge chair,
image in my head. But you knowas your babies did get older,
and like you said, once they'remobile, I guess they're choosing
their position.
Aimbriel Lasley (11:49):
Yeah. But in the beginning, yeah, I'm, I'm
football hands down. I don'tcare if you have twins or if you
have a singleton I just, becauseyou got to think if your arms
are kind of short, or if you'retrying to reach across your
body, I think for some people,it just it just can be kind of
quirky to do cross cradle. Butso I'm football hands down,
because baby's right thereunderneath your body, you can
tuck them in really close. Andyou can give them the support
(12:13):
behind their neck as they needit. And I just feel, I just felt
that they were more secure thatway. So even if I was on the
couch, and I kind of lean backand lean my head back, the fact
that they were kind of tuckedunder my armpit, I felt I felt
secure that they wouldn't rolloff or go somewhere, versus then
being in front of me. And memaybe relaxing a little bit and
(12:33):
having that having that be asituation. So I'm definitely a
proponent of football, again,like you said until they get
older. And then maybe we canstack them on top of each other
in a cross cradle position oryou're nursing one at a time
even.
Amanda Gorman (12:46):
Yeah. So pumping with twins, how does that come
into play? Does that happen? Orare they pumping constantly for
you?
Aimbriel Lasley (12:56):
Most of the time, they're pumping for you.
And so I it's funny, because Ijust made a post about this on
my Instagram is that I had the-I recognized that I had a- I
guess what the nurses would sayand even the doctors were saying
a unique situation. So mybabies, my twins were born full
term, they were 38 six. They didnot have to go to NICU. Baby a
(13:18):
was seven pounds, baby b was sixpounds, 10 ounces. Like so I
realized that my children and mypregnancy was kind of an anomaly
because that doesn't reallyhappen with twins. And so I will
say that for us, we were able tolike jumpstart get breastfeeding
them right away, you know, Ipushed them out. They were
vaginal birth, they were fullterm, all the things, right. And
(13:38):
so I want to say with pumping,it definitely depends on your
situation. So if you have fullterm twins, and full term
babies, of course, andeverything's going well then
sure latch them on, try thedifferent positions, do all the
things. But in some cases whereyou may have those 33 or 34
weekers, who were born, it'sgoing to look a little bit
(14:00):
different. Kind of the sameapproaches with the singleton.
So those babies sometimesstruggle, they're a little
smaller, they don't have the fatpads in their cheeks, they don't
have the things necessary, allthe mechanics kind of necessary
to latch on. So for those momswho may need that extra
assistance, definitely you wantto possibly pump to kind of help
(14:21):
move things along if babiesaren't latching consistently and
right away. But if you're in asituation where you do have full
term twins, everything's allgreat. Same approach I'm going
to tell you to spend- becauseit's another thing on the to do
list. So I'm never encouragingany mom to pump sooner than what
she needs to because it's it'sanother thing to do. So I'm
(14:42):
always going to say, you know,think about how much time you
have off of work if you have toreturn to work. And if you don't
or if you have you know anextended amount of time off.
Give yourself four- forsingletons I say four weeks,
with twins I say give yourselfsix weeks if you can. Because
it's a lot. It's a lot to managewith two and and just in just
(15:04):
trying to check all the thingsoff your checklist with and
trying to learn their behaviors,you know, you're, it's a lot.
And so I usually say wait closerto six weeks if you can before
you start to introduce pumping.
And the same thing with thesingleton, you're gonna, you
know, trial it out, maybe pumponce or twice a day, maybe pump
after the morning feeds becausetypically our breasts are fuller
in the morning, and then maybeshoot for another one later on
(15:25):
in the afternoon and just kindof see how things go. Of course,
as we know, your pumping volumeor your pumping output doesn't
dictate how much babies aretransferring. So we definitely
have to be mindful, and makingsure that we have the education
around the expectation ofpumping, and what that looks
like as well.
Amanda Gorman (15:46):
So are there any tools that you kind of had in
your bag, you know, that youlove to recommend for twin
feeding? Any special pillows,any special tricks?
Aimbriel Lasley (15:56):
The My Breast Friend, twin feeding pillow,
hands down, is the best thingthat you could ever do for
yourself, really the BreastFriend Pillow period, I just
really like it. Um, and mine andI don't know, I haven't looked
at them recently. And I don'tknow if every- but the one that
I had, the one that I was giftedit had like a cover. So like I
(16:18):
could pull up like a piece ofstring like over me. Yeah, and
it kind of hooked around myneck, but it would cover the
twins. So that was kind of cooleven though I didn't use it
because I didn't care who saw mebreastfeeding or not. But
definitely getting a twin pillowto feed them. And it's it's big
enough to wear and stable enoughthat if you have them in
(16:38):
football, you have them on theirsides. Again, they're not going
anywhere. One they're not movingaround a lot in the beginning
anyway. But two, it's it's sothick and stable that they're
going to just kind of sit thereeven if you try to lean forward
and reach for something, it hasa little pocket that you can
stick like a granola bar in it.
Um, I outside of that I am notbig on tools and gadgets and all
(17:00):
of that because again, I thinkit's overwhelming for people to
have all of these things. So atmost have the breastfeeding
pillow, maybe a footstool,having something to kind of prop
your feet up. A footstool, anottoman or something so that you
can be comfortable. If you'retall, you may or may not like
(17:22):
that, I'm on the taller side. SoI was able to just kind of cross
my legs or like cross one leg.
But if you have c- you know a Csection, of course having a
footstool might help give you alittle boost. But outside of
that I don't really have anyother like gadgets or anything
that I typically recommend.
Amanda Gorman (17:41):
No, I think bringing up the footstool is
really important just because Iremember, you know, buying my
chair second hand and I was toocheap. I didn't want to splurge
for an ottoman. And I reallywish that I had known because I
definitely would have. So Ithink that's a good thing for
for moms-to-be to know is that,you know bringing your your lap
(18:04):
up is is often really helpful.
So what do you do if one breastis producing more than the
other, which I know can be anissue for singleton moms. But I
imagine now you're kind ofjuggling, scheduling and who's
been where on which side more.
Is that the case?
Aimbriel Lasley (18:25):
Yeah, that's a really good one. Because I did
have, my left side was thestruggle bus, like no matter
what, no matter what I did withthe single- with my single son.
And with the twins, the leftside was just the struggle bus
always. And so with the twins,what I would do, especially like
I said, baby a could pull outanybody's milk anytime. So for
(18:47):
baby b, if I knew he was goingto be on the left side,
sometimes I would put baby a onthe left side first, get him
going and get that breaststimulated. And then I pop him
off, switch him back over to theright and then let baby b finish
feeding on the left. And viceversa. Again, because and it if
(19:08):
you have one twin that's kind ofyou know, struggling or lagging
or can't doesn't have thestrength to do it. That's a very
key tip that I say is get getwhoever's the strongest, get
them on whichever side first,kind of let them get that let
down and stimulate that milk,switch them because they're they
don't care, they're going to beable to pull the milk so they
don't really mind if you popthem off as long as they can get
(19:28):
back on and get their milk theydon't care. And then put the
baby that maybe is a little bitweaker or has a little bit of
trouble put them on that breastthat flows easier or at least to
get the flow going so they canthen take over and help release
that milk better.
So I would say that and then youknow, the old school way, you
(19:50):
know, massage your breasts, usesome heat and massage them you
know, by themselves but massagethem with some warm oil you
know. Just like you would anyother time. You need to loosen
up a muscle or loosen things up,get some warm oil in your hands,
you know, at some point and tryto really just massage those
breasts, put a heat pad on it,and let it work out. Now in the
(20:12):
in the instance, that you reallyhave a breast that's struggling,
then maybe you do a couple ofminutes of pumping, or maybe you
utilize a Haakaa or somethinglike that that has an active
release that can help move thatmilk a little bit better for you
in between. It isn't meant todrain your breasts, right, it's
meant to just stimulate it. Soalways keep that in mind that
we're just trying to stimulate,we're not trying to drain it. So
(20:35):
that you have this, thiscollection or this volume. So-
but primarily, I'm going to sayuse the twin that's the
strongest to get things going,then put the other baby in that
spot, then I'm going to tell youto move to some massage with
some heat and kind of help movethings that way. And then if
those things aren't working,then I'm going to tell you to
(20:56):
get that pump for a couple ofminutes or a Haakaa and just
kind of help and see if thathelps with some act of release.
Amanda Gorman (21:01):
So helpful. And again, I wish I had've known
because I I've said this before,but I fed my son for three years
on one side only. So had I hadsome help earlier, I would have
taken those tips.
So one thing's for sure,Aimbriel, twin moms like you are
very, very im- just amazing. Youknow, listeners, I hope you've
(21:27):
been listening to these tips. Weare going to take a short break,
but stay with us because when wedo get back, I'm going to ask
Aimbriel some more questions andreally pick her brain about
feeding two babies who aredifferent ages and at different
stages. So please stay with us.
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Welcome back mamas. We arejoined here today by
Indianapolis based IBCLCAimbrielle Lasley, who has just
(22:53):
answered a ton of my questionsabout breastfeeding twins. But
now I'd like to switch gears alittle bit and talk about what
it's like to breastfeed twolittle ones who are different
ages. So firstly, like, let'ssay that you're breastfeeding,
like yourself, you find outyou're pregnant with number two,
or number two and three. And isit okay to continue
(23:13):
breastfeeding number one. Youtalked a little bit about this.
So yes, I think you touched uponit but talk about moms who
aren't sure.
Aimbriel Lasley (23:22):
Yeah. So I always say as long as you have
been healthy- and this is thegeneral rule of thumb, most
physicians are would be on boardwith this, but as long as you're
healthy. And as long as you'renot experiencing any adverse
kind of feelings about it, thenthen yes, the big thing though,
(23:42):
as you are pregnant, and you'rebreastfeeding a baby, your milk
starts to revert back tocolostrum because it's trying to
gear up for this new baby. So attimes, depending on where you
are in your breastfeedingjourney, and that that milk
starts to kind of revert back,your baby may self wean- the
current baby that'sbreastfeeding. They may self
wean because either it's notenough, it's not satisfying, or
(24:04):
it's kind of too salty for thembecause it just the milk
composition changes. So I wouldsay you know, just if you are
wanting to continue and you arehealthy, and you find no
aversion to it, then do it andbaby may just kind of self wean.
But if you find that you'restill breastfeeding and it
(24:25):
becomes painful or becomesuncomfortable, because again,
our body is now trying to createa new life and so our breasts
and our nipples sometimes canget more sensitive. And so it
may be worth a conversation withyour physician or your IBCLC,
your LC, to talk about, youknow, maybe some some ways that
you can work on helping to weanyour baby if you need to. But in
(24:51):
all cases, if you're fine withit, then I say keep going.
Sometimes later on in thepregnancy because of that
stimulus it can causecontractions, or, you know,
maybe a mild case of BraxtonHicks or something like that. So
that's also something toconsider and think about is, as
you get later on in yourpregnancy, if you're continuing
(25:12):
to breastfeed, just being reallymindful of how your body is
changing as you are gettinglater on in your pregnancy, and
how that feels. And if you startto notice any of those
sensations, it may be a goodidea to, again, have a
conversation around, maybe let'sgo ahead and look to wean or cut
back on feedings or something sothat again, we can you can stay
(25:33):
healthy and that your new babycan continue to grow and develop
appropriately.
Amanda Gorman (25:37):
Yeah. So baby number two now arrives, how do
you juggle breastfeeding twobabies at two different ages?
Aimbriel Lasley (25:48):
I you know, it depends, kind of the same thing.
It depends on how old thatolder, the other baby is and
what they're doing. So even whenyou have a singleton, right, and
maybe you're at the point whereyou're like, hmm, I'm kind of
over it, and your baby's like,hmm, well, I'm not. It's very
much so, you know, maybe it's,there's a couple different ways
(26:12):
to approach it. One way is,let's maybe find some some other
activities or things for thatbaby to do. So maybe they can,
we can offer them another smallsnack, we can offer them maybe
water, we can offer them someother things. That doesn't help,
okay, maybe we can just have aconversation because our kids
are very smart. So even if theycan't fully communicate back to
(26:33):
you, they understand what you'resaying to them, even in infancy,
even as baby babies. So maybeit's like, you know, we just
talked to our little one or ourtoddler and just say, "Hey, you
know, mommy needs to spend-mommy wants to spend time with
you and our new baby. But whydon't you draw a picture while
you sit next to me? Why don't-let's, why don't you have a
(26:55):
snack and sit next to me while Ifeed the new baby? Or, do you
want to help me hold the newbaby while I'm feeding? Or help
me hold the new baby while yousit next to me?" Giving them
different suggestions and waysto help them still feel
included. But maybe notbreastfeed. Even by the point
and I'll just say this, my myson was 18 months old when the
(27:18):
twins were born. And so again,it had been six months since he
had nursed. But when I wasnursing them, he was attached to
my hip. Like, you know, he wasyeah, he was like, wait, I
remember that. Wait, I, youknow, and so even with having
the two babies, one on eachbreath, he would sit next to me
and we'd read a book together orhe'd have just a toy or a car.
(27:41):
And so, you know, even thoughI'm trying to pay attention to
make sure that they're latchedon well, or whatever, I would
engage with him and ask himquestions about his toy, or, you
know, what did you like aboutthat? We don't like we don't
watch a lot of TV. But sometimesif we turned on the TV to watch
a little bit, it would be like,oh, what's going on? What is
Thomas the train-
Amanda Gorman (27:58):
I was gonna say it's little Daniel Tiger here
and there's-
Aimbriel Lasley (28:00):
Yeah, little Thomas the Train, you know, all
that. We throw that in there. SoI definitely think that there
are ways to incorporate the newchild without necessarily having
to breastfeed unless you justwant to continue.
Amanda Gorman (28:14):
Well, I mean, obviously feeding two babies is
a demanding task. So what foodsor drinks do you recommend, if
any, to help maintain or boostsupply?
Aimbriel Lasley (28:26):
Yeah, so food is my is my jam. So I am always
talking about Whole Foods. Solots of leafy greens,
vegetables, fruits, and I'm abig proponent of the thing that
I always tell any family isthat, especially for moms, we
(28:49):
have so much to do and sometimeswe can be overwhelmed, right,
especially when you have twobabies, whether they're twins or
you're feeding at differentages. So instead of us trying to
focus on you eating these threebig meals, let's focus on you
eating more nutrient densesnacks, okay, and so, nutrient
dense snacks are going to bethings again, that may be
smaller, but they're going togive you more nutrients that are
(29:10):
going to help you staynourished, and are gonna
possibly help with your milksupply. So, again, fruit with
nut butter and seeds, maybe chiaseeds or hemp seeds. If you've
never heard of chia seeds, orhemp seeds, look those up. But
hemp seeds are really good forour omegas. Our omega threes.
They also translate and have agood amount of protein in them
(29:31):
and along with a host of othernutrients. Our chia seeds are
good for calcium, iron, proteinfiber, and again, a little bit
of omegas as well. And so all ofthose things because we need our
omega threes for healthy braindevelopment for our babies and
for ourselves. We need calciumfor strong bones, we need
protein to stay full. So whenyou're putting that on to maybe
(29:53):
some apples with nut butter,you're sprinkling a little bit
of those seeds on top, you'regetting like a robust amount of
nutrients that are going to helpyou stay fueled. And that are
also going to help you to keepproducing the milk that you want
to produce.
On the other side with herbs andteas, because I'm a huge
proponent of herbs and teas,whether you're pregnant,
breastfeeding or not, I thinkeverybody should incorporate
(30:16):
different herbs and they'regoing to look like Moringa. I
know Moringa has been kind oflike a popular thing. But it's
super, super nutrient dense. Andit's also really good for milk
supply. So whether you buy thepowder and you dump it into your
smoothie, whether you make aMoringa latte, or whether you
(30:38):
buy the herb and put it in atea, I'm a huge proponent of
that. I'm a huge proponent ofnettle. Stinging nettle is
another good one. It is like amultivitamin. So it has got
everything. Your iron, yourcalcium, your vitamin A, B, C,
D, it's got everything in it. Soif you're drinking a cup or two
of nettle every single day,that's going to help with your
(30:58):
milk supply, because it's, it'sreleasing all these good
nutrients for you. And beingable to boost your supply. So
those are two key ones. Anotherone I'm gonna say is just it's
fennel. It's, again, you cancook with fennel, you can make
the tea. So all of these arethings that don't have to be
(31:19):
like, really complicated. Theseare things that you can find in
the store. And you can justimplement on a daily basis into
your diet.
Amanda Gorman (31:27):
Awesome, super helpful. I seriously really
admire anyone who's breastfedmultiple babies much less at
once. But I think thisconversation just really took it
to a whole new level. So I justwant to thank you very much
Aimbriel for for coming andsharing with us. It's really
been a pleasure to hear andlearn from your experience and
(31:51):
your personal story. We'd reallylike to have you back. Because I
know there's a lot more in thathead of yours. You you see a lot
of our moms and your own momsand they love you. They
absolutely do. We hear suchgreat things. So thank you.
Aimbriel Lasley (32:08):
Yeah, for sure.
I appreciate it.
Amanda Gorman (32:10):
Yes and if our listeners want to get to learn
more, how can they get in touchdirectly with you?
Aimbriel Lasley (32:16):
For sure I live on Instagram. That is where I
live for the most part. So myprivate practice page is
Holisticlactationcare, that'sjust straight one word. And if
you want to learn more aboutplant based foods, or how to
feed your kids, or how to getthem to eat more vegetables, or
all the things, then my otherInstagram is black_mamavegan. So
(32:43):
I spelled mama "mama" so again,that's black_mamavegan. And I
post a lot of recipes and whatlike I said what we're eating in
a day and things like that. Soeither one of those you can find
me on there pretty much everyother day. Drop me a message.
Amanda Gorman (32:56):
Well, thank you so much. And you mamas and
mamas-to-be that is today'sshow. If you have a topic or a
question or any ideas aboutbreastfeeding, we should
certainly hear from you as well.
So please send us a message onInstagram or Facebook
@breastfeedingunplugged or visitour website at
www.breastfeedingunplugged.comfor everything you need to know
(33:19):
and the transcript of today'sshow. So until next week, it's
me Amanda wishing you lots oflove and luck on your
breastfeeding journey. Boo bye.
[Outro] Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
[Intro] Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Welcome. Welcome. Welcome mamasand mamas-to-be. A podcast
dedicated to helping momsnavigate their way through the
tricky world of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
(00:22):
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Hi there mamas and mamas -to -beand welcome to the wonderful
world of BreastfeedingUnplugged. I am your host Amanda
Gorman and today we are going tobe talking about when the no
vacancy sign gets lit up at theboob hotel. Twin and multiple
baby moms, this week is for you.
Breastfeeding is tough enough,but what happens when there are
(00:46):
two mouths to feed? Whether it'stwins or two babies at different
ages, juggling the supply anddemand of double duty is a whole
new world. So how exactly do youdo it? What is the ideal setup
for feeding? How can you be surethat both babies are getting
enough of your good stuff? Let'sfind out. With us today is
(01:07):
Indianapolis based InternationalBoard Certified Lactation
Consultant Aimbriel Lasley. Inaddition to her role as an IBCLC
with Nest Collaborative,Aimbriel holds a master's degree
in health and wellnesscounseling, and is a passionate
advocate for ensuring that allfamilies have access to healthy
food, breastfeeding assistanceand education. Aimbriel is also
(01:29):
the owner of Holistic LactationCare, a private lactation
practice in Indianapolis andBlack Mama Vegan, a vegan
education and wellness platformthat aims to show black families
and vegan curious families thatbeing plant based is attainable.
Aimbriel is with us todaybecause she most certainly walks
(01:50):
that walk as a mama whobreastfed her own twin baby boys
and an older son all at the sametime. She knows a thing or two
about feeding multiples.
Aimbriel, welcome to the show.
It's so great to have you withus.
Aimbriel Lasley (02:06):
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I'm
excited.
Amanda Gorman (02:10):
Awesome. So just to give listeners a little
background, I know you're a veryproud mom of four. You were
breastfeeding your second childwhen you found out you were
pregnant with twins.
Aimbriel Lasley (02:22):
Yes.
Amanda Gorman (02:23):
So I bow to you.
Please tell us a bit about whatthat was like. Because it just
blows me away.
Aimbriel Lasley (02:32):
It blows me away still? Um, yeah. So my
oldest son was about 9, 10months when I started to feel
like something's not right,like, something's going on. And
so fast forward, and we get toNew Year's Eve, we're at a
friend's house, all of thethings. And so by that point,
(02:52):
things still were kind of wonkywith my cycle. And so I told my
husband, I was like tonight'sthe night, let's go ahead and
take this test tonight and seewhat happens. And so it comes
back. We're like, oh, we'repregnant. Okay. And again, he's
10 months at this at this point.
So he's 10 months, I called myphysician, I'm like, hey, I got
a positive test wanna come in,hatever. I'm still nursing at
(03:13):
he time. But I started tootice around that point that
hen I was pumping, because I'mack to work, I'm pumping, and
y supply is just really on thetruggle bus. And I'm like, man,
hat is happening? I'm doing allhe things. I'm drinking water.
'm resting like, you know, evenhough he's up I'm doing all the
things. So, you know, I get thee. And she's like, well, you kno
(03:33):
, you probably need to stop brestfeeding, because you're pre
nant again. And I'm like, hm,that's not in the plan, beca
se I want to make it one yearSo to give some pers
ective, so again, he's my secod child. And but the first time
breastfeeding, so I didn't breatfeed my first I was a youn
mom when I had her. So thiswas a very new experience. So e
erything was new to me. But I cae out the gate like I'm brea
(03:53):
tfeeding for a year period, thisis what I'm doing. So not brea
tfeeding until one year wasnt an option. And she said, well
I guess as long as you stayhealthy, you're doing all the
hings and I'm like, yep, we'rgonna keep going. So we do all
he things. Yeah, there's oneaby. There's one heartbeat. That
s all we hear. So we go backabout a month later for the ultr
(04:14):
sound. Because they're likewell, let's you know, let'
just find out and see whats going on. Because you're not
eeling well. You're doing younow, you're saying you're not
eeling well. And they go in andind baby a and baby b. And, ye
h, that. Yeah, it was, um-
Amanda Gorman (04:36):
I'm sure that moment is locked in your memory.
Aimbriel Lasley (04:38):
It is locked in my memory, because it was very
overwhelming. But I was veryhappy that you know, I made it
to one year I felt like I couldhave kept going, I think, but I
was still very happy to knowthat we pushed through those
last two months to officiallymake it to the one year in
February. Yeah, and besuccessful that way.
Amanda Gorman (04:59):
Well, you're definitely, definitely a rock
star. And I'm just I'm reallythrilled to have you here with
us today, because I know youhave a lot to offer our
audience. So let's start bangingout some questions. I do want to
start with something we willcommonly hear from twin mamas to
be who do want to breastfeed.
They want to know are theyactually going to be able to
(05:20):
make enough milk? So are mostmamas to be with twins able to
do that?
Aimbriel Lasley (05:28):
Yeah, most moms are. And I really, you know, I
really tried to, again, takethis holistic approach that this
it really isn't much differentwhen you're pregnant with one
baby, right? Your body is goingto it knows what's happening and
knows what, what, how manybabies it's growing. And so it
naturally moves into thisprocess of understanding what it
(05:50):
needs to do once these babiesare born and how it needs to
nourish them. So I always startthere and say, we're going to be
positive, we're going to speaklife into the fact that our
bodies are designed perfectlyand it knows what to do. So yes,
just just like with thesingleton, most moms are able to
do it. It's a matter I reallythink it's a matter of getting
(06:11):
over that mental block. Becauseeven for me, I wasn't an IBCLC
when I got pregnant with mytwins, but even for me when I
was like, how am I going tonurse two babies? How am I going
to do this, you know how I justI was already doubtful before
they were even here. And so itjust took me to settle down, one
of my best friends, she had hadtwins, just a few years prior to
(06:32):
that. And so I leaned on her andshe just gave me the
encouragement. And then that'swhat I passed on to other moms,
she was like you're capable, itwill be fine, you know. And if
for some reason you run into aroadblock, we'll just work
through it. And so that's Idefinitely take that approach
that your body is designed, andit knows what to do. Sometimes
we may run into roadblocks, butwe're not going to focus on that
(06:54):
we're going to focus on the factthat you are healthy, we're
going to keep you healthy, andyou're going to deliver these
two beautiful babies, and you'regoing to be able to nurse them
and provide breast milk to themhowever that can happen.
Amanda Gorman (07:08):
So in terms of actually feeding twins, what is
the best way to do it? Do you doone at a time do you do at the
same time? Does that changethroughout the course of the
first year?
Aimbriel Lasley (07:18):
Oh, yeah, it definitely, it definitely
changes throughout the course ofthe first year. I would say so
here's the thing, what I, thisis what I do. And this is my
approach, what I did with mytwins is a lot of times we have
twins, and everybody's like, oh,you got to get them on the same
schedule, you got to get themup. And I am just like, these
are two different people withtwo different personalities,
right? Even though they have thesame birthday, they are still
(07:41):
their own person. So we have totake those first few weeks, just
like with a singleton baby andfigure out who these little
people are. So in my case, mybaby a was super, he was like
the ultimate breastfeed her.
Right. He was super aggressive.
He knew what to do. He was onit, baby b was not. Baby b
cried, and he would barely latchand he just I struggled with
(08:06):
that balance. Because again, inmy mind and the things that I
had heard and seen is twins, youput them on at the same time,
you got to make sure you getthem on the same schedule. And
that's not always the case. Sowe have to take the time to
approach it as though yes, theseare these are two babies, and
they're twins. They're born thesame day. But they're two very
different feeders, or they'retwo different different people.
So I would say to try tounderstand which one is maybe
(08:30):
the baby that's more efficient,right? Is it baby b that's more
efficient than baby a? And ifso, how can we use baby b-
utilize baby b's skills to helpyou know his or her birth
counterpart. So it may look likebreastfeeding them one at a time
for the first few days just tounderstand their behavior at the
(08:51):
breast before we start to stickthem both in tandem. So that's
definitely something that Ipersonally did and what I
encourage other parents to do, Iyou know, I delivered in the
hospital, and I said one at atime. And while I was feeding
one, my husband was able to youknow, help hold the other one,
which most times it was baby bbecause he was he just slept and
kind of was like whatever butbaby a was on it every couple of
(09:12):
hours. So I did that at first.
But then the day, before I wasgoing home. I was like I need to
try this tandem feed thing likeI need I need to do it once
before I get home and I'mfumbling with things. So I am
when I say tandem feed it'sfeeding them at the same time
and feeding you're feeding themboth in the football hold
(09:33):
essentially. And that that theway you tandem feed definitely
changes over the course of thefirst year because as they get
bigger and they're more mobile,you can tandem feed by having
one in cross cradle and layingthe other one in their lap. And
like so you're kind of feedingtwo babies and cross cradle at
the same time like they're bothlaying across each other. I have
some pictures Amanda if you wantto see-
Amanda Gorman (09:55):
I hope you have some pictures of it-
Aimbriel Lasley (09:56):
I do. I have pictures of one baby being on
the left and then the other onelaying in their lap and feeding
on the right. So that thatchanges as they get bigger. But
um, but yeah, so you're tandm feeding, they're both kind of
n football, you're kind of holdig them both and- in that in th
t football position. And ad that's kind of what you do. A
(10:19):
d you just kind of let them got it and let them take the
r course on how long they wanto feed, again because they're t
o different babies. So babya would like, be super efficien
, he'd get done, maybe sooner ad baby b would be still like try
ng to play catch up. So sometims his feedings may go over five
r six minutes versus baby ahe's done. He's already re
ting, whatever. But it defiitely changes throughout the cou
(10:42):
se as they get bigger and more mbile, and you get the hang of
ow to hold them both and all of
Amanda Gorman (10:46):
No, I think that's good advice. I mean,
that's something to consider forall moms even with singletons
is, they are a being and they'regonna have their own personality
and ways and, you know, we can'tnecessarily force things on
them.
Aimbriel Lasley (11:03):
And we can't read- we can't do things out of
all these books all the time,you know, like, because, again,
I am just really a big proponentof take the time to get to know
your baby, and what theirbehavior is and what they like
and don't like. And then you canmaybe utilize some of the
information you glean to how youcan accommodate that to your
(11:26):
situation.
Amanda Gorman (11:27):
No, I think that's great advice. So I think
we covered this a little bit.
But in terms of your favoritepositions for feeding twins, I
mean, I certainly have thedouble football lounge chair,
image in my head. But you knowas your babies did get older,
and like you said, once they'remobile, I guess they're choosing
their position.
Aimbriel Lasley (11:49):
Yeah. But in the beginning, yeah, I'm, I'm
football hands down. I don'tcare if you have twins or if you
have a singleton I just, becauseyou got to think if your arms
are kind of short, or if you'retrying to reach across your
body, I think for some people,it just it just can be kind of
quirky to do cross cradle. Butso I'm football hands down,
because baby's right thereunderneath your body, you can
tuck them in really close. Andyou can give them the support
(12:13):
behind their neck as they needit. And I just feel, I just felt
that they were more secure thatway. So even if I was on the
couch, and I kind of lean backand lean my head back, the fact
that they were kind of tuckedunder my armpit, I felt I felt
secure that they wouldn't rolloff or go somewhere, versus then
being in front of me. And memaybe relaxing a little bit and
(12:33):
having that having that be asituation. So I'm definitely a
proponent of football, again,like you said until they get
older. And then maybe we canstack them on top of each other
in a cross cradle position oryou're nursing one at a time
even.
Amanda Gorman (12:46):
Yeah. So pumping with twins, how does that come
into play? Does that happen? Orare they pumping constantly for
you?
Aimbriel Lasley (12:56):
Most of the time, they're pumping for you.
And so I it's funny, because Ijust made a post about this on
my Instagram is that I had the-I recognized that I had a- I
guess what the nurses would sayand even the doctors were saying
a unique situation. So mybabies, my twins were born full
term, they were 38 six. They didnot have to go to NICU. Baby a
(13:18):
was seven pounds, baby b was sixpounds, 10 ounces. Like so I
realized that my children and mypregnancy was kind of an anomaly
because that doesn't reallyhappen with twins. And so I will
say that for us, we were able tolike jumpstart get breastfeeding
them right away, you know, Ipushed them out. They were
vaginal birth, they were fullterm, all the things, right. And
(13:38):
so I want to say with pumping,it definitely depends on your
situation. So if you have fullterm twins, and full term
babies, of course, andeverything's going well then
sure latch them on, try thedifferent positions, do all the
things. But in some cases whereyou may have those 33 or 34
weekers, who were born, it'sgoing to look a little bit
(14:00):
different. Kind of the sameapproaches with the singleton.
So those babies sometimesstruggle, they're a little
smaller, they don't have the fatpads in their cheeks, they don't
have the things necessary, allthe mechanics kind of necessary
to latch on. So for those momswho may need that extra
assistance, definitely you wantto possibly pump to kind of help
(14:21):
move things along if babiesaren't latching consistently and
right away. But if you're in asituation where you do have full
term twins, everything's allgreat. Same approach I'm going
to tell you to spend- becauseit's another thing on the to do
list. So I'm never encouragingany mom to pump sooner than what
she needs to because it's it'sanother thing to do. So I'm
(14:42):
always going to say, you know,think about how much time you
have off of work if you have toreturn to work. And if you don't
or if you have you know anextended amount of time off.
Give yourself four- forsingletons I say four weeks,
with twins I say give yourselfsix weeks if you can. Because
it's a lot. It's a lot to managewith two and and just in just
(15:04):
trying to check all the thingsoff your checklist with and
trying to learn their behaviors,you know, you're, it's a lot.
And so I usually say wait closerto six weeks if you can before
you start to introduce pumping.
And the same thing with thesingleton, you're gonna, you
know, trial it out, maybe pumponce or twice a day, maybe pump
after the morning feeds becausetypically our breasts are fuller
in the morning, and then maybeshoot for another one later on
(15:25):
in the afternoon and just kindof see how things go. Of course,
as we know, your pumping volumeor your pumping output doesn't
dictate how much babies aretransferring. So we definitely
have to be mindful, and makingsure that we have the education
around the expectation ofpumping, and what that looks
like as well.
Amanda Gorman (15:46):
So are there any tools that you kind of had in
your bag, you know, that youlove to recommend for twin
feeding? Any special pillows,any special tricks?
Aimbriel Lasley (15:56):
The My Breast Friend, twin feeding pillow,
hands down, is the best thingthat you could ever do for
yourself, really the BreastFriend Pillow period, I just
really like it. Um, and mine andI don't know, I haven't looked
at them recently. And I don'tknow if every- but the one that
I had, the one that I was giftedit had like a cover. So like I
(16:18):
could pull up like a piece ofstring like over me. Yeah, and
it kind of hooked around myneck, but it would cover the
twins. So that was kind of cooleven though I didn't use it
because I didn't care who saw mebreastfeeding or not. But
definitely getting a twin pillowto feed them. And it's it's big
enough to wear and stable enoughthat if you have them in
(16:38):
football, you have them on theirsides. Again, they're not going
anywhere. One they're not movingaround a lot in the beginning
anyway. But two, it's it's sothick and stable that they're
going to just kind of sit thereeven if you try to lean forward
and reach for something, it hasa little pocket that you can
stick like a granola bar in it.
Um, I outside of that I am notbig on tools and gadgets and all
(17:00):
of that because again, I thinkit's overwhelming for people to
have all of these things. So atmost have the breastfeeding
pillow, maybe a footstool,having something to kind of prop
your feet up. A footstool, anottoman or something so that you
can be comfortable. If you'retall, you may or may not like
(17:22):
that, I'm on the taller side. SoI was able to just kind of cross
my legs or like cross one leg.
But if you have c- you know a Csection, of course having a
footstool might help give you alittle boost. But outside of
that I don't really have anyother like gadgets or anything
that I typically recommend.
Amanda Gorman (17:41):
No, I think bringing up the footstool is
really important just because Iremember, you know, buying my
chair second hand and I was toocheap. I didn't want to splurge
for an ottoman. And I reallywish that I had known because I
definitely would have. So Ithink that's a good thing for
for moms-to-be to know is that,you know bringing your your lap
(18:04):
up is is often really helpful.
So what do you do if one breastis producing more than the
other, which I know can be anissue for singleton moms. But I
imagine now you're kind ofjuggling, scheduling and who's
been where on which side more.
Is that the case?
Aimbriel Lasley (18:25):
Yeah, that's a really good one. Because I did
have, my left side was thestruggle bus, like no matter
what, no matter what I did withthe single- with my single son.
And with the twins, the leftside was just the struggle bus
always. And so with the twins,what I would do, especially like
I said, baby a could pull outanybody's milk anytime. So for
(18:47):
baby b, if I knew he was goingto be on the left side,
sometimes I would put baby a onthe left side first, get him
going and get that breaststimulated. And then I pop him
off, switch him back over to theright and then let baby b finish
feeding on the left. And viceversa. Again, because and it if
(19:08):
you have one twin that's kind ofyou know, struggling or lagging
or can't doesn't have thestrength to do it. That's a very
key tip that I say is get getwhoever's the strongest, get
them on whichever side first,kind of let them get that let
down and stimulate that milk,switch them because they're they
don't care, they're going to beable to pull the milk so they
don't really mind if you popthem off as long as they can get
(19:28):
back on and get their milk theydon't care. And then put the
baby that maybe is a little bitweaker or has a little bit of
trouble put them on that breastthat flows easier or at least to
get the flow going so they canthen take over and help release
that milk better.
So I would say that and then youknow, the old school way, you
(19:50):
know, massage your breasts, usesome heat and massage them you
know, by themselves but massagethem with some warm oil you
know. Just like you would anyother time. You need to loosen
up a muscle or loosen things up,get some warm oil in your hands,
you know, at some point and tryto really just massage those
breasts, put a heat pad on it,and let it work out. Now in the
(20:12):
in the instance, that you reallyhave a breast that's struggling,
then maybe you do a couple ofminutes of pumping, or maybe you
utilize a Haakaa or somethinglike that that has an active
release that can help move thatmilk a little bit better for you
in between. It isn't meant todrain your breasts, right, it's
meant to just stimulate it. Soalways keep that in mind that
we're just trying to stimulate,we're not trying to drain it. So
(20:35):
that you have this, thiscollection or this volume. So-
but primarily, I'm going to sayuse the twin that's the
strongest to get things going,then put the other baby in that
spot, then I'm going to tell youto move to some massage with
some heat and kind of help movethings that way. And then if
those things aren't working,then I'm going to tell you to
(20:56):
get that pump for a couple ofminutes or a Haakaa and just
kind of help and see if thathelps with some act of release.
Amanda Gorman (21:01):
So helpful. And again, I wish I had've known
because I I've said this before,but I fed my son for three years
on one side only. So had I hadsome help earlier, I would have
taken those tips.
So one thing's for sure,Aimbriel, twin moms like you are
very, very im- just amazing. Youknow, listeners, I hope you've
(21:27):
been listening to these tips. Weare going to take a short break,
but stay with us because when wedo get back, I'm going to ask
Aimbriel some more questions andreally pick her brain about
feeding two babies who aredifferent ages and at different
stages. So please stay with us.
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Welcome back mamas. We arejoined here today by
Indianapolis based IBCLCAimbrielle Lasley, who has just
(22:53):
answered a ton of my questionsabout breastfeeding twins. But
now I'd like to switch gears alittle bit and talk about what
it's like to breastfeed twolittle ones who are different
ages. So firstly, like, let'ssay that you're breastfeeding,
like yourself, you find outyou're pregnant with number two,
or number two and three. And isit okay to continue
(23:13):
breastfeeding number one. Youtalked a little bit about this.
So yes, I think you touched uponit but talk about moms who
aren't sure.
Aimbriel Lasley (23:22):
Yeah. So I always say as long as you have
been healthy- and this is thegeneral rule of thumb, most
physicians are would be on boardwith this, but as long as you're
healthy. And as long as you'renot experiencing any adverse
kind of feelings about it, thenthen yes, the big thing though,
(23:42):
as you are pregnant, and you'rebreastfeeding a baby, your milk
starts to revert back tocolostrum because it's trying to
gear up for this new baby. So attimes, depending on where you
are in your breastfeedingjourney, and that that milk
starts to kind of revert back,your baby may self wean- the
current baby that'sbreastfeeding. They may self
wean because either it's notenough, it's not satisfying, or
(24:04):
it's kind of too salty for thembecause it just the milk
composition changes. So I wouldsay you know, just if you are
wanting to continue and you arehealthy, and you find no
aversion to it, then do it andbaby may just kind of self wean.
But if you find that you'restill breastfeeding and it
(24:25):
becomes painful or becomesuncomfortable, because again,
our body is now trying to createa new life and so our breasts
and our nipples sometimes canget more sensitive. And so it
may be worth a conversation withyour physician or your IBCLC,
your LC, to talk about, youknow, maybe some some ways that
you can work on helping to weanyour baby if you need to. But in
(24:51):
all cases, if you're fine withit, then I say keep going.
Sometimes later on in thepregnancy because of that
stimulus it can causecontractions, or, you know,
maybe a mild case of BraxtonHicks or something like that. So
that's also something toconsider and think about is, as
you get later on in yourpregnancy, if you're continuing
(25:12):
to breastfeed, just being reallymindful of how your body is
changing as you are gettinglater on in your pregnancy, and
how that feels. And if you startto notice any of those
sensations, it may be a goodidea to, again, have a
conversation around, maybe let'sgo ahead and look to wean or cut
back on feedings or something sothat again, we can you can stay
(25:33):
healthy and that your new babycan continue to grow and develop
appropriately.
Amanda Gorman (25:37):
Yeah. So baby number two now arrives, how do
you juggle breastfeeding twobabies at two different ages?
Aimbriel Lasley (25:48):
I you know, it depends, kind of the same thing.
It depends on how old thatolder, the other baby is and
what they're doing. So even whenyou have a singleton, right, and
maybe you're at the point whereyou're like, hmm, I'm kind of
over it, and your baby's like,hmm, well, I'm not. It's very
much so, you know, maybe it's,there's a couple different ways
(26:12):
to approach it. One way is,let's maybe find some some other
activities or things for thatbaby to do. So maybe they can,
we can offer them another smallsnack, we can offer them maybe
water, we can offer them someother things. That doesn't help,
okay, maybe we can just have aconversation because our kids
are very smart. So even if theycan't fully communicate back to
(26:33):
you, they understand what you'resaying to them, even in infancy,
even as baby babies. So maybeit's like, you know, we just
talked to our little one or ourtoddler and just say, "Hey, you
know, mommy needs to spend-mommy wants to spend time with
you and our new baby. But whydon't you draw a picture while
you sit next to me? Why don't-let's, why don't you have a
(26:55):
snack and sit next to me while Ifeed the new baby? Or, do you
want to help me hold the newbaby while I'm feeding? Or help
me hold the new baby while yousit next to me?" Giving them
different suggestions and waysto help them still feel
included. But maybe notbreastfeed. Even by the point
and I'll just say this, my myson was 18 months old when the
(27:18):
twins were born. And so again,it had been six months since he
had nursed. But when I wasnursing them, he was attached to
my hip. Like, you know, he wasyeah, he was like, wait, I
remember that. Wait, I, youknow, and so even with having
the two babies, one on eachbreath, he would sit next to me
and we'd read a book together orhe'd have just a toy or a car.
(27:41):
And so, you know, even thoughI'm trying to pay attention to
make sure that they're latchedon well, or whatever, I would
engage with him and ask himquestions about his toy, or, you
know, what did you like aboutthat? We don't like we don't
watch a lot of TV. But sometimesif we turned on the TV to watch
a little bit, it would be like,oh, what's going on? What is
Thomas the train-
Amanda Gorman (27:58):
I was gonna say it's little Daniel Tiger here
and there's-
Aimbriel Lasley (28:00):
Yeah, little Thomas the Train, you know, all
that. We throw that in there. SoI definitely think that there
are ways to incorporate the newchild without necessarily having
to breastfeed unless you justwant to continue.
Amanda Gorman (28:14):
Well, I mean, obviously feeding two babies is
a demanding task. So what foodsor drinks do you recommend, if
any, to help maintain or boostsupply?
Aimbriel Lasley (28:26):
Yeah, so food is my is my jam. So I am always
talking about Whole Foods. Solots of leafy greens,
vegetables, fruits, and I'm abig proponent of the thing that
I always tell any family isthat, especially for moms, we
(28:49):
have so much to do and sometimeswe can be overwhelmed, right,
especially when you have twobabies, whether they're twins or
you're feeding at differentages. So instead of us trying to
focus on you eating these threebig meals, let's focus on you
eating more nutrient densesnacks, okay, and so, nutrient
dense snacks are going to bethings again, that may be
smaller, but they're going togive you more nutrients that are
(29:10):
going to help you staynourished, and are gonna
possibly help with your milksupply. So, again, fruit with
nut butter and seeds, maybe chiaseeds or hemp seeds. If you've
never heard of chia seeds, orhemp seeds, look those up. But
hemp seeds are really good forour omegas. Our omega threes.
They also translate and have agood amount of protein in them
(29:31):
and along with a host of othernutrients. Our chia seeds are
good for calcium, iron, proteinfiber, and again, a little bit
of omegas as well. And so all ofthose things because we need our
omega threes for healthy braindevelopment for our babies and
for ourselves. We need calciumfor strong bones, we need
protein to stay full. So whenyou're putting that on to maybe
(29:53):
some apples with nut butter,you're sprinkling a little bit
of those seeds on top, you'regetting like a robust amount of
nutrients that are going to helpyou stay fueled. And that are
also going to help you to keepproducing the milk that you want
to produce.
On the other side with herbs andteas, because I'm a huge
proponent of herbs and teas,whether you're pregnant,
breastfeeding or not, I thinkeverybody should incorporate
(30:16):
different herbs and they'regoing to look like Moringa. I
know Moringa has been kind oflike a popular thing. But it's
super, super nutrient dense. Andit's also really good for milk
supply. So whether you buy thepowder and you dump it into your
smoothie, whether you make aMoringa latte, or whether you
(30:38):
buy the herb and put it in atea, I'm a huge proponent of
that. I'm a huge proponent ofnettle. Stinging nettle is
another good one. It is like amultivitamin. So it has got
everything. Your iron, yourcalcium, your vitamin A, B, C,
D, it's got everything in it. Soif you're drinking a cup or two
of nettle every single day,that's going to help with your
(30:58):
milk supply, because it's, it'sreleasing all these good
nutrients for you. And beingable to boost your supply. So
those are two key ones. Anotherone I'm gonna say is just it's
fennel. It's, again, you cancook with fennel, you can make
the tea. So all of these arethings that don't have to be
(31:19):
like, really complicated. Theseare things that you can find in
the store. And you can justimplement on a daily basis into
your diet.
Amanda Gorman (31:27):
Awesome, super helpful. I seriously really
admire anyone who's breastfedmultiple babies much less at
once. But I think thisconversation just really took it
to a whole new level. So I justwant to thank you very much
Aimbriel for for coming andsharing with us. It's really
been a pleasure to hear andlearn from your experience and
(31:51):
your personal story. We'd reallylike to have you back. Because I
know there's a lot more in thathead of yours. You you see a lot
of our moms and your own momsand they love you. They
absolutely do. We hear suchgreat things. So thank you.
Aimbriel Lasley (32:08):
Yeah, for sure.
I appreciate it.
Amanda Gorman (32:10):
Yes and if our listeners want to get to learn
more, how can they get in touchdirectly with you?
Aimbriel Lasley (32:16):
For sure I live on Instagram. That is where I
live for the most part. So myprivate practice page is
Holisticlactationcare, that'sjust straight one word. And if
you want to learn more aboutplant based foods, or how to
feed your kids, or how to getthem to eat more vegetables, or
all the things, then my otherInstagram is black_mamavegan. So
(32:43):
I spelled mama "mama" so again,that's black_mamavegan. And I
post a lot of recipes and whatlike I said what we're eating in
a day and things like that. Soeither one of those you can find
me on there pretty much everyother day. Drop me a message.
Amanda Gorman (32:56):
Well, thank you so much. And you mamas and
mamas-to-be that is today'sshow. If you have a topic or a
question or any ideas aboutbreastfeeding, we should
certainly hear from you as well.
So please send us a message onInstagram or Facebook
@breastfeedingunplugged or visitour website at
www.breastfeedingunplugged.comfor everything you need to know
(33:19):
and the transcript of today'sshow. So until next week, it's
me Amanda wishing you lots oflove and luck on your
breastfeeding journey. Boo bye.
[Outro] Breastfeeding Unplugged.
Breastfeeding Unplugged.
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