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Absolutely. You pump and they do feedings whrn you're not th ere, but they almost alaays provide housing close to the hospital so you can be there for feedings.

When my son was in nicu i was allowed to be there 24/7. The times I had to leave I left bottles with pumped milk and will tell them what time I would be back.

Quoting ℳizz ℊiz. :" Already planning for our twins to be early especially since they are in the same sac. But I am so worried ... [snip!] ... be so hard to be away from our babies after I have them. I wish we could just bring them home with us. This is gonna suck.  "

Stop planning for a NICU already. Plenty of twins (identicals too) make it to term without NICU stays. I have fraternal G/G twins that were born 38w6d and not one second in the NICU. We have a momma on here that went 40w 3d with her identicals and not a second in the NICU. Be positive.

The nipples they use at the hospitals are easy to transition with as well. Plus, they are sterile. You will not be allowed to bring in your own bottles for that reason.

It's going to depend on a variety of factors (how early they are, whether or not they can suck), but yes, you can breastfeed. If nothing else, you can pump and they will give it to the babies. They only keep breastmilk in the NICU for 24 hours, though, so you'd have to pump every day. When my daughter was in NICU, I was able to stay with her. It was family centered.

Quoting ℳizz ℊiz. :" Already planning for our twins to be early especially since they are in the same sac. But I am so worried ... [snip!] ... be so hard to be away from our babies after I have them. I wish we could just bring them home with us. This is gonna suck.  "

When my DD was in the NICU they strongly encouraged bfing. They even had the lactation consultants in there which helped me a ton. I would bf her on demand the whole time I was there & then when I left I would pump every 2 hours and whatever I got the night before I would bring in for her to eat there at the NICU when I wasn't there.

Quoting Not tellin:" Stop planning for a NICU already. Plenty of twins (identicals too) make it to term without NICU stays. ... [snip!] ... easy to transition with as well. Plus, they are sterile. You will not be allowed to bring in your own bottles for that reason."

Yep, my best friend went full term with her identical twin girls...they came out healthy as can be & didn't need any NICU time.

After I had my son..he had a feeding tube put in the next day I had to pump I couldn't give him the breast ..but when u first have the babies ur lucky to get a few drops out but they ask for even the drops..they have to give the babies a higher type of formula for primiee babies to gain weight so for the first two days it was bottles and feeding tube..then let me try n breastfeed ..but it went breast, tube, bottle ..after they see how well they eat from the breast they will do breast n tube..but after ur milk comes in u can do all breast milk..then they will cut down on tube feedings and let u breast r bottle feed..then the tube will come out and but then u should be home..

It depends how early they are and how much you're able to pump. If they're born around 32 to 34 week range, they might not be able to bottle feed or nurse at all and they'll use a tube to feed them until they're big enough and developed enough to try it the other way. They have this reflex called the suck/swallow reflex (basically until that kicks in, they can't breathe and swallow properly and forget to breathe) and that needs to be working before they can try bottle feeding/nursing. Bottle feeding can also wear them out very quickly, so chances are if they're preemies, they will be tube fed at least a couple of times.

The hospital will normally provide standard containers for pumped milk with labels, etc. You will also be given a pump while in the hospital. You might have to talk to the nurses beforehand so that you can have it in the room as soon as possible.

While i was in the hospital after my c-section, I was paged by the NICU every 2 hours to try and breastfeed him. If he was too tired or unable to nurse, he was given formula. NICU babies are normally fed on a very strict schedule. Unlike fullterm babies, they won't always wake up to eat.

I don't think the NICU will use the bottles you provide, but you can always ask.

Some NICU's have special rooms where the mom can stay if she's nursing. There are requirements though. The baby has to be a certain gestation,etc. You'll have to ask to find out what's available at your hospital. You could probably call the LC at the hospital to get that info. Some NICU's have tours, but they've been locking that down because of all of the flu issues everyone's been having.

Even though my son was given formula several times while he was in the NICU, long term it wasn't a big deal. I still nursed him over 14 months.

They had me exclusively pump I bought milk in as they needed it, he was inky bottles fed I wasn't able to breast feed him...I loved using the hosp pumps, I usually pumped during change of shifts, and would bring him fresh warn milk  

<blockquote><b>Quoting ℳizz ℊiz. :</b>" <blockquote><b>Quoting Not tellin:</b>" Stop planning for a NICU already. Plenty ... [snip!] ... be allowed to bring in your own bottles for that reason."</blockquote> Same sac twins are not allowed past 36 weeks."</blockquote>


Even then, that doesn't guarantee a NICU stay.

Quoting ℳizz ℊiz. :" <blockquote><b>Quoting Not tellin:</b>" Stop planning for a NICU already. Plenty ... [snip!] ... be allowed to bring in your own bottles for that reason."</blockquote> Same sac twins are not allowed past 36 weeks."

There is no such thing as "not allowed". That is a comfort zone for the Drs. Just as c-sections are for multiple births and inductions are. All about their convience. How do you think that it was 50+ years ago? Plenty of identicals same sac or not went the term of the pregnancy without inductions or manditory c-sections. My mom is a twin and my grandparents had no idea that they were going to have twins. They didn't have the medical technology at the time. They could guess but, things have come a very long way since 58years ago. If they are healthy and doing fine in utero, why bring them out to fight in the NICU? I am not a DR and you aren't even close to delivery yet so really, this would be a moot conversation but, the facts are that you don't have to deliver them at 36 weeks if you dont' want to. Personally, I would ONLY if there was an immediate posing risk. Otherwise, I would carry along my normal day until it was time. As a mother of twins who was forced into a c-section, I would have fought that a little harder had I known better. I knew in my heart I could have delivered them vaginally. I knew it. The Dr disagreed and sure enough, as soon as they pulled Baby A, Baby B went head down and ready.

Either way, you aren't the first mother to have twins. You aren't the first in this situation. Before you hand over the reigns, check a few things out. Talk to other mothers of identicals in your similar situation that didn't have the 36w delivery and went further. Get as many stories as you can. I am sure you will make a decision based on what you feel is best. You are a mother. You already have that instinct. Run with it. Don't plan for the worst because your Dr tells you to. Prepare for it but keep in mind that it isn't always the case.