Happy New Year Assunta and everyone!

Yes, I'm once again caught up on my Lactnet.  Thanks Terriann, Opal and Pat
for your input.  I was out on a date seeing that great movie Titanic (yes,
the breastfeeding sketch was wonderful) when Lactnet came back up.

There are a few alternatives to carrying twins facing out, sitting up while
only using one sling.  They can both face inward, sitting up to nurse
simultaneously (challenging but still possible to be discreet).  Can also
face inward, "lying prone" against mother with their heads on her chest,
legs hanging straight downward, sling snug across their backs and behinds.
When they are small, both can lay down with smaller baby's head resting on
bigger baby's belly (or thereabouts).  Some of the moms I've worked with
have enjoyed one baby facing her while the other sits facing outward.  We've
also had lots of fun with the babies sitting sideways looking at each other!

Two slings can also work but is sometimes cumbersome.  Much depends on the
mother's size and shape.  I generally suggest a sling slightly larger than
the mom would use for one baby.

I have also used the Medela Little Navigators more with older children.
They can be worn one on front, one on back or together on the front.  (I
wore Kendall and Carlie while sweeping up after the elementary school's
Thanksgiving feast and really expanded some of the teacher's horizons.)

For small twins, there is a special twin carrier, Gemini, available by mail
order.  It costs about as much as 2 singleton carriers, holds babies up to
14 pounds each and can be used for one baby at a time thereafter.  It's big
advantage is that it is easy to nurse both babies discreetly - a big plus
for building confidence in nursing 2 in public.  Unfortunately it's not
nearly as good once the babies are over about 10 pounds each.

As twins get older, one in a front carrier or sling and one in a "good"
(with padded waist strap) backpack works well too.

There are two photos of us in the Parenting Concepts newsletter nursing in
two separate slings and facing forward in one sling.  Kay Hoover has photos
of us in just about every carrier and position we could think of.  There's
even one of us walking out of an airport bathroom stall wearing the girls in
the sling!

Hope this information has been helpful to everyone and not to confusing - a
picture really is worth a thousand words!

Kym Smythe, IBCLC