Ashley Graham is learning to breastfeed her twins through “trial and error” and lots of tears.
In a second photo posted to Instagram Stories, the Sports Illustrated model sits in a chair to nurse her sons, whose heads are propped up on pillows.
“Double fisting,” the model (34) captioned the photo of her nursing her 4-month-old twins, Malachi and Roman, whom she shares with husband Justin Ervin. The couple also are parents to 2-year-old Isaac.
“My normal position for when I tandem feed the boys,” she wrote. “This took me a solid few weeks of trial/error and lots of tears to latch consistently. My doula, who is also a lactation consultant, was so kind and gentle with me in helping all three of us figure out how to do this together.”
Tandem nursing means nursing an older and younger child at once, although some use the term when describing breastfeeding twins.
“What Ashley Graham is doing is ‘twin nursing’ which is a challenge for many moms,” told Jennifer Meyers, a certified nurse-midwife and Mayo Clinic spokesperson.
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Although experts endorse breastfeeding for the first six months to one year of a baby’s life, it’s not physically comfortable, feasible or desired for everyone.
Infants may not latch or suck correctly because of birth defects, medical problems or other perplexing causes. It usually takes practice, patience and yes, tears to get into a groove.
“It requires a strong milk supply, and often requires extra help and support from family, a spouse or a lactation expert,” Meyers said. “It’s also important for moms who nurse twins to do so frequently, in order to boost their production and tackle any latch issues as soon as possible to keep up with their babies’ demands.”