4 week old ebf twins.... Please remind me what's normal!

[legallyblond]

Sorry - I should know all this... I breast fed DD (three today!!) until she was 2, but I just can't remember!

Twins are 4 weeks old... After a vaguely rocky start (not really, but felt like it in my post cs hormonal mess!) - girl twin was low birth weight (5lb 3) and kept failing blood sugar heel prices, so I had to agree to top up every feed with formula to be discharged... Grr - they are bf really well, gaining brilliantly and I mostly tandem feed.

They had been pretty easy - mostly put down between feeds (out of necessity... DD to take to school and entertain from 12.30..), feeding 1.5-2.5 hours apart in day and 2-3 at night, sleeping in a cot together next to me and I feed in bed.

But yesterday and today they have wanted to be held and fed so so much (at night too). I don't think I've been able to put them down for 36 hours....

I do remember DD being like this but can't remember if it was one offs (ie day or two at a time) or constant. With her I just went with it and had her in a sling, sometimes co slept etc... We had no routine at all. But I just can't do that this time what with them being twins and having DD.... For example, I've had DD all day today (she's at school four mornings) and she came into our bed with a bad dream at 4.30...

Arrghh.... Is this normal. Is that "it" now and they'll be bad sleepers etc..?!?! Is four weeks still "Slippy - they monitored the baby only occasionally (every hour or two) with the elastic thing that goes round your tummy and listens to the baby's heartbeat. Even with it on I could bounce on the ball if I held it in place. I spent a lot off time standing up leaning on the bed.

flow as much this time... Don't know what to do!!!

Sorry - my iPhone totally buggered that up... From "Slippy" onwards is another post!!

Should read: is this still "newborn = anything goes" time? I was very baby led with DD but I just can't be as much because they're twins... If anything, they're DD led, as I have to do school run etc... I don't know what to do!!!! And I just can't remember what's normal. I think I'm going to have to be more "routine - y" than I was with DD but don't know where or when to start... School mornings are already by necessity in a routine though.

Grr... And MIL is staying at the mo and said "you can't be that tired, you've just been sitting there feeding all day" and "they can't be hungry again - perhaps they're crying because they're over fed"..... Not a good day!!!

Normal normal normal. Hang in there. Mine fed constantly for about 10 weeks. Remember that they have to get your body working twice as hard as a singleton does. It takes time to build your supply for them and every growth spurt in the early weeks requires mammoth feeding sessions. I do feel your pain, it was one of the most difficult things I've done and I felt crap when DTS fed for hours and was still inconsolable hours later! But I am still feeding at 8 months and watching my pair tackle pasta, strawberries mango and banana.

At about 8 weeks, it settles down. Then properly settles at about 14-15. Also smiles are not far away - that helps!

Oh I had nothing approaching a routine until about 4 months. Fed about every 2 hours during the day, which used to take an hour. Used to get one 2 hour sleep out of them if lucky. I think I ignored any scheduling until they were about 4 months when they put themselves in 1 hour early am nap (on me), 1 hour late am nap (on me) late afternoon nap (in moving buggy) routine. At 5 months, they submitted to the cot, thank god!

Thanks - it's just so difficult to juggle DD and all the 'normality' that requires at the same time...! If they weren't twins it would be a breeze - doing most things one handed while feeding and sling the tear if the time would be so so easy!!!! To deal with DD (bedtime etc) the twins have to take turns while I bathe her etc.... Which means quite a bit of crying ...

Sling the tear???? Sling the rest of the time!

In a sense DD has given them a routine. Feed at 7.45 then nap on the way to and from school. Feeds at home any time 10-11.45 then nap at midday on way to and from school. Feed at 1.30/2 ish, then kind of free for all taking turns feeding and sleeping etc until feeds constantly from 7.30-9 then sleep (maybe)....

Very normal, our routine was led by 2 yr old ds1 too...at that age they slept the entire time we were out of the house in the mornings (we went to playgroup etc every day), by the time he started preschool they were waking up a little when we were out.
I was going to bed when they did at this stage and the night wakings sound normal too I'm afraid.
The only thing I did at this age, other than go at at the same time each day because of ds1, was give them a night time eg they came to bed with me at 7.30 pm! Although sometimes dh was walking them up the street at 11pm in a vain attempt to get them to sleep on bad nights!

I distinctly remember a conversation with vicar's wife(she had loads of kids) at playgroup where we both agreed that, awful as it sounds, we just had to accept there would be a certain amount of crying because we had only got 2 hands and things had to be done.
Another conversation with a mum who had twins a few months before me. We both confessed that in the early days we would sometimes ignore it if a twin smelt a bit pooey if we were actually finally going out of the door and then we would change them when we got back from the preschool run. I swear they never got nappy rash

Noooo.... They seem to have lost the ability in the last 48 hours to be out down to sleep in their cot once fed... They want to be attached to me or on me 24/7 suddenly.... With DD I just did that, but it's just not physically possible in the circumstances now.... I have to look after DD and it am 100% pinned to the spot with two babies on me... Sling Eric doesn't work with two . Arrgh!

Sorry, to be "put" down to sleep..

I found DD could be rocked in the pram and the I could sling DA. Worth a try?