Nursing positions: Google "breastfeeding twins positions" and you'll find all sorts of sites with drawings of nursing positions. Many of them won't tell you much about how to get into those positions. It can be really tough with newborns; you may need some help, and you may end up nursing your newborns separately for a while. It's worth looking at some of the sites you find though for the "standard" twin positions as well as a ton of information.
Lying down position for twins: After my twins were old enough to crawl to me to nurse, a friend told me about another position she used when her twins were teeny-tiny. I wish I'd known this one, but at least I can pass it on. The trick is to know that some babies are perfectly happy nursing when you are lying down and they're lying on your chest. This site has pictures, labeled the "face down lying position" and the "cross-body lying position." If you think it's one of those nursing positions born of extreme fatigue, I expect you're right.
Extrapolating this position, my friend would have one baby at her left breast with its body across her body toward her right hip. The other baby would be at her right breast with its body going back across her right shoulder. You probably could also have one baby at the right breast with its body going to your right hip and one baby at the left breast with its body going to your left hip. You could do this either lying on a big bed, maybe with some pillows around you, or on the floor, again with pillows around you. At first, you may want help with positioning babies. Eventually, if you use the "both babies straight down" position, you may be able to place them on the floor, lie down between them, and postion them yourself by rolling toward one, attaching and holding on, then rolling to the other and doing the same (while holding on well to the first one). It will take practice.
When the babies are older and can hold up their heads, crouch, etc., try lying on the floor with one baby on each side of you -- they'll crouch there and nurse. I can't recall at what age they can start doing it, but it's very easy and quick.
I've mentioned before that I didn't do a great job with getting the twins on together early enough. Looking back in my journal, I see the following entry at 17 days old: "Last Monday night/Tues am, I had them eating together on the pillow for about 6 feeds in a row. Since then, it hasn't worked so well, so I'm feeding them fairly constantly!"
Look how close I was! Six feeds in a row at a couple of weeks old? So it was difficult! That was no reason to dump it completely for...many months. I can't believe how much time I wasted because I fed them one after the other instead of together. So my advice is to keep trying to get them on together, even if it's just once a day or once a week. Try it at different times of the day, maybe when they're not very hungry, maybe when they are very hungry... But keep trying because at some point, you'll figure out the trick to it. Because I didn't keep trying, it was quite a while before I did this.
When the babies are older and can hold up their heads, crouch, etc., try lying on the floor with one baby on each side of you -- they'll crouch there and nurse. I can't recall at what age they can start doing it, but it's very easy and quick.
I've mentioned before that I didn't do a great job with getting the twins on together early enough. Looking back in my journal, I see the following entry at 17 days old: "Last Monday night/Tues am, I had them eating together on the pillow for about 6 feeds in a row. Since then, it hasn't worked so well, so I'm feeding them fairly constantly!"
Look how close I was! Six feeds in a row at a couple of weeks old? So it was difficult! That was no reason to dump it completely for...many months. I can't believe how much time I wasted because I fed them one after the other instead of together. So my advice is to keep trying to get them on together, even if it's just once a day or once a week. Try it at different times of the day, maybe when they're not very hungry, maybe when they are very hungry... But keep trying because at some point, you'll figure out the trick to it. Because I didn't keep trying, it was quite a while before I did this.
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