Be it hired help, grandparents, or friends, you absolutely must have backup support when you're bringing home multiples. Ideally you'll organize your recruits well before birth, but this isn't always possible given the unpredictability of due dates with multiples. Think about designating a trusted friend or relative to delegate tasks — someone who's organized and dependable. Try not to stick your spouse with the job; both of you will have your hands full when the kids are finally here.

Schedules, Schedules, Schedules

Depending on the number of babies you're juggling and whether you're breast- or bottle-feeding, it might seem easier at first to just feed them all on demand. However, that strategy can eventually be at the expense of sleep and sanity. Without a little nudging, they will continue to follow their own timetable, the one that has you grabbing your shuteye in twenty-minute stretches.

So how do you get your little ones with the program? A rigid feeding and sleep schedule is doomed to failure; newborns need to know you're there for them no matter what the agenda says. A more practical and flexible approach is to wake up all the babies once one awakens to eat. Feeding them all simultaneously and then laying them back down to sleep will get them on track toward a feeding schedule that's more or less in synch.

Breast, Bottle, or Both?

The moment you learn of multiples, breastfeeding takes on a whole new dimension. Visions of becoming a twenty-four hour, all-you-can-eat buffet for this litter of babies can have you revisiting your plans to nurse exclusively. Before you make any rash decisions, know that mothers of multiples can and do breastfeed (and live to tell about it!).

At the same time, don't let anyone tell you that it will be easy. It will take a lot of hard work and persistence — and an equal amount of support from family and friends — to nurse your babies successfully. But the health, bonding, and cost benefits can make breastfeeding multiples well worth your while.

Why breastfeed your brood? First of all, breast milk is cheaper and more convenient for a single baby; multiply that time and money savings by two or more and you end up with quite a deal. In addition, multiples can get an even bigger immunity boost from breast milk because of their tendency to be preterm and low-birth-weight babies, two factors that raise their risk for other health problems. And breastfeeding provides special one-on-one time with each child, a rare event in multipleland.

Your babies will probably not sleep longer than two hours at a stretch to start, so having them in your bedroom or getting a comfortable bedroll or inflatable mattress for the nursery floor is a good idea for those nights when even finding your way back to bed seems too time-intensive.

Many moms of twins find that nursing both children at once (tandem nursing) is the most efficient way of taking care of feeding time. This can be a little tricky to master at the outset, but you'll get better with practice. An appointment with a lactation consultant is also a good idea for breastfeeding mothers of multiples to get pointers on scheduling, logistics, and more.

Football hold

Parallel hold

Criss-cross hold

Front V hold

Mothers of multiples can nurse two babies simultaneously in a number of positions — including the football, parallel, criss-cross, and front V holds.

Bottle-feeding can have its advantages as well, particularly with higher-order multiples. The biggest benefit is that your husband or other helpers can get in on the action, a huge plus if you're trying to get two or more babies on the same feeding and sleeping schedule. And if you have an impatient eater in your crew, you don't have to worry about making him wait his turn while the others nurse.

Really want to provide your children with the health benefits of breast milk, but find the physical toll of nursing multiples overwhelming? Some women choose to rotate a formula feeding among their multiples while the others feed at the breast. However, this can result in a diminished milk supply over time. Consider augmenting a few breastfeedings a day with a bottle filled with pumped milk instead. (For more on breastfeeding, see Chapter 19.)