Wondering how to piece together a solid daily flow of feeding and sleeping for your newborn and infant twins? Take a look at these helpful resources to come up with a quality pumping schedule for twins (that actually works for YOU) in those initial months!
When it comes to the just-right pumping schedule for twins, there are a lot of factors to consider like their size, whether or not you’re hybrid feeding, and more.
Inside this article, we are sharing some of our most helpful pumping, breastfeeding, and sleeping resources in order to help you come up with a schedule that will work well for you and your twinnies. Because what works perfectly for one twin family may not work quite the same for another.
Before we dive into some sample schedules, let’s answer a few basic pumping questions!
How many times a day should you pump for twins in the newborn stage?
It may sound overwhelming, but once your twinnies are here, it’s recommended to pump 8 to 10 times a day about every 2 – 3 hours. And each pumping session should last for about 15 to 20 minutes per pumping session.
If you are breastfeeding as well, then a breastfeeding session would simply take the place of a pumping session. Just make sure that at each session (whether pumping or breastfeeding), that you completely empty both breasts each time. This will help your body do its best to keep up your supply in the beginning!
A caveat here: While pumping and/or breastfeeding may be a priority for you, please do not overlook your own health and physical capacity. In the midst of recovering from your twin birth (whether you had a c-section, a vaginal delivery, or both) and the overall demands of caring for newborn twins, squeezing in all those pumping sessions may feel overwhelming in the beginning.
To this we say, you are NOT alone in feeling the weight of wanting to pump while also juggling the new realities of twin parent life!
Please keep in mind that these are general guidelines in supporting you with reaching your maximum breast milk supply for two babies. But pumping (and breastfeeding) don’t have to be an all-or-nothing thing. If you can’t get in all those sessions every single day, try your best not to beat yourself up over it. You are already (or will soon be) juggling so many responsibilities at once.
Twiniversity tip: If you want to feel more supported in figuring out a pumping schedule for twins that works for your unique circumstances, working with a twin lactation consultant can be a complete game-changer!
For more guidance on best practices for exclusively pumping for twins, check out this article!
Sample Pumping Schedule for Twins – The First 6 – 12 Weeks
Here’s a look at a basic pumping schedule for twins for the first three months:
- 12 am
- 3 am
- 6 am
- 9 am
- 12 pm
- 3 pm
- 6 pm
- 9 pm
Again, this is general guidance and reflects that target goal of 8 minimum pumping sessions a day. If you want to squeeze in an extra session or two or have a slightly longer stretch to sleep overnight (like 4 hours), then you would adjust the timing a bit.
Just keep in mind that in the initial weeks, it’s not a good idea to completely skip pumping sessions overnight as this could harm your supply or lead to clogged ducts.
If you aim to do 10 pumping sessions, a sample pumping schedule for your first few weeks may look like this:
- 12 am
- 2:30 am
- 5 am
- 7:30 am
- 10 am
- 12:30 pm
- 3 pm
- 5:30 pm
- 8 pm
- 10 pm
Of course, adjust the exact timing as needed! Once you feel like your supply is beginning to regulate, you can begin to consider dropping a pump session and altering your pumping schedule.
While sticking to a strict pumping and feeding schedule feels very supportive for a lot of twin parents, other twin parents may find that it feels better to have a more “go-with-the-flow” approach and leaning into each twin’s hunger cues, especially if they’re also breastfeeding.
Of course, do what feels best for you and your situation, but remember that if keeping up your supply is important to you and it feels manageable, then try to get those sessions in and make sure to completely empty your breasts each time.
Twiniversity tip: Keeping a log of your pumping and feeding sessions can help you get on track in the beginning. Here’s a sample twins’ daily log you can try out!
What to do if you want to boost your milk supply for twins?
There’s a lot going on in the first few weeks (and beyond) with little twinnies. If you’re finding it difficult to keep up with your twins’ demand for milk, sometimes adding in power pumping sessions can help.
If you go that route, then the rule of thumb is that one power pumping session would take the place of one regular pumping session.
Sample Pumping Schedule for Twins – 3 Months Old
When your twins begin to cross the 3-month mark and they’re staying on track with their weight, it’s time to talk to your pediatrician and lactation consultant about transitioning to a slightly more stretched-out feeding schedule.
Often, this look like feeding every 4 hours during the day instead of every 3 hours as you see in this schedule:
- 7 am feed
- 8 am tummy time and play
- 9 am nap
- 10 am wake and play
- 11 am feed
- 12 pm tummy time and play
- 1 pm nap
- 2 pm wake and play
- 3 pm feed
- 4 pm tummy time and play
- 5 pm nap
- 6 pm wake, bath, and book
- 7 pm feed and down for the night
- 11 pm feed and back to bed
- 3 am feed and back to bed
In the case of the sample schedule above, you can aim for 5 – 7 pumping sessions alongside these feeding times or stagger them a half hour before or after feeding depending on whether you’re exclusively pumping or also breastfeeding and what works best for your schedule.
Twiniversity tip: If you plan to continue pumping and you have to go back to work, check out these tips on making that transition work for you!
When you transition to less feeds, it’s up to you if you want to also alter your pumping schedule! As your twinnies grow, they can handle taking more volume at a feeding session which means you can space them out a bit more.
If you want an extra stash of milk for down the road, perhaps you don’t want to drop any pumping sessions quite yet. But for some twin moms, this may feel like a good time to make a pumping schedule change!
When you make any changes to your pumping schedule, you may notice temporary fluctuations in your daily total milk supply. You also want to be careful to make the transition somewhat gradually over the course of a few days so that you avoid any complications like clogged ducts or mastitis.
Again, it’s a good idea to work closely with a twin lactation consultant for transitional phases like this to help keep you on track and supported with your overall lactation goals!
Sample Pumping Schedule for Twins – 6 Months Old
When your twinnies reach 6 months old adjusted, you are likely beginning to introduce some purees and solids. This is another phase when your twinnies may be taking in less milk or formula overall which means you may wish to adjust your pumping schedule. This can look like dropping down to 4 – 5 pumping sessions each day.
Here’s a sample feeding schedule for 6 month old twins that can inform when you pump!
- 7 am feed and pump
- 8 am tummy time and play
- 9 am nap
- 10 am wake and play
- 11 am feed and pump
- 12 pm tummy time and play
- 12:30 pm solids
- 1 pm nap
- 2 pm wake and play
- 3 pm feed and pump
- 4 pm tummy time and play
- 4:30 pm solids
- 5 pm nap
- 6 pm wake, bath, and book
- 7 pm feed and pump; babies go down for the night
- 11 pm feed and pump and back to bed
- 3 am feed and back to bed (until pediatrician gives you the OK to drop this feeding)
Keep in mind that around this 6-month mark, you’ll want to talk to your pediatrician about when it’s okay to no longer wake your twins up for overnight feedings.
And remember, your pumping journey is uniquely yours! Make decisions about altering your pumping schedule based on what feels aligned for you and your circumstances. There’s no one “right” way to pump for twins, only what works for you and your twinnies.
No matter what your twin pumping schedule looks like and whether you pump for 1 day or for 600 days, we commend you for all the hard work you are doing in raising your twinnies! You are amazing!
Get even more support with pumping for and breastfeeding twins:
- Book a consultation with a twin lactation counselor who understands the unique challenges of breastfeeding and pumping for twins
- Join our First Year With Twins private Facebook group to tune into insights of other twin moms who’ve been where you are
- Enroll in our On-Demand Breastfeeding Twins Class which covers a comprehensive array of twin breastfeeding topics inside over 40+ videos
Want to learn more about pumping for twins or breastfeeding twins? Check out these articles and classes too:
- When Does Breast Milk Come In With Preemie Twins?
- How to Hand Express Your Milk: The Ultimate Guide
- Breastfeeding Twins BoobCamp
- Pumping for Two Class
- The Beginner’s Guide to Breastfeeding Twins
Paige Figueroa is a mom to fraternal twins. After teaching English for 9 years, she now works from home as a content marketing strategist and entrepreneur so she can spend more time with her children. She loves helping other moms and women enjoy more freedom in their lives by monetizing their passions. You can follow her on IG and TikTok @mombossfreedom.
