Almost 7 week old ebf twins... Please help/advise/encourage as it still seems to be constant feeding....

[legallyblond]

Hi

Twins are 6.5 weeks, born at 37 weeks. I am ebf them - I had a head start having ebf DD until she was two and therefore had the confidence to ignore the MWs who said I must top up with formula... They've both jumped up and over the centile line where they were at two weeks!!!! Boy twin now up from 9th to above 25tg and girl twin up from just over 0.4th to 9th

I tandem feed as much as poss, but that usually involves waking twin boy as twin girl is more needy and feeds v often, while he'd happily go 3-4 hours...

But.... Given I have DD, who is just three, and there are two demanding my attention, I'm finding it tough....

They are still (especially girl twin) feeding very often and pretty randomly, unless we go out in the pushchair when they'll sleep for a couple of hours. They seem to feed constantly from 4pm ish then will go down to sleep in the cot (they feed to sleep but stay asleep when out down)?from 9 until 12.30 ish, then wake every two hours. But this afternoon for instance, poor DD, I've just been feeding ALL afternoon....

Please remind me when this gets better and what I should expect... I just can't remember from DD!

Ps excuse typos, tandem feeding!

Also, twin boy is v chilled ... Twin girl is (still?) very much either asleep (easily woken), feeding or crying.... There's no content awake time. I don't remember this from DD. twin girl will settle if held... But I have twin boy and DD... Argh!

No advice, but just wanted to say omg I am in awe of you! Am ebf 5 week old dd and finding that hard enough! If its any use - she also pretty much constant feeds from 4pm ish untill around 9 when she finally gives in but for bed time she has to be fed to sleep. Whereas in the day for naps she will self settle to sleep. And I also have the guilt re my other children - and they are older than your dd.
I'm sure it will get better, if you compare to say when they were 2 weeks old it is already slightly better (not much I know but slightly!)

Can't advise as each to their own where breast and bottles are concerned, and rightly so. But I can tell you what I did and hope that it helps.
DS1 was 9, Ds2 was 3 and DS3 was 16mths when I had twins, DS4 and DS5. I could not see any alternative but to stick to a strict schedule, I feed every 3hrs during the day. Which meant night feeds were the same until week 8 when they became least frequent, I feed on demand during the night but each feed would have minimum 3hrs between them. By 12 weeks they were sleep through. I went to bottle at 20weeks just for easy.

I hope you find a solution.

Congratulations, it sounds like your twins are absolutely thriving! I know nothing about twins but I think what you are describing sounds pretty normal for the early weeks of BFing. Many women report they notice things getting easier around 6 weeks, and then again around 3 months. However, as they were on the earlier side, I don't know if that might mean it could be a little later for you? And hopefully today was just a little growth spurt, and things will improve soon.

Also, I am guessing this stage would be hard no matter how you were feeding - twin girl would still want to be held, and they'd would both still need a fair few feeds however you were feeding them.

Best wishes and - you are doing amazingly, I am especially impressed at the typing while tandem feeding!

Also think you are doing brilliantly

Another two weeks ish and they will start going a bit longer. DS fed every 40 mins until 9/10 weeks when he stretch out to 2-3 hourly. You are nearly there!!

Thank you all!!

I think that maybe they are stretching out... But just wanting constant feeding from 4.30/5pm.... But I can't really complain as that is typical cluster feeding time.... And they do do a 3 hour stretch then 2 hours at night and settle in their cot.....

Budda - if I did a three hourly routine, I would have a screaming baby (or two) for at least an hour every two hours and I don't think I'd handle that very well....

It's all just rather exhausting.... ... But at least I've proved every MW and HV wrong!

I think you're doing amazingly!!

I'm still feeding 18 months old DS and am massively pro BFing but always wonder if would have the stamina to feed twins, especially with another child too.

Big respect for proving them wrong

legallyblonde I had to stick to a strict schedule because hubby work away! no family locally and had just moved to a new area, so no local friends. I had one child I needed to get to and from school, as well as another 2 at home plus the twin. For me there was no choice! But the twins did learn very quickly to take a big feed and were very rarely complained. As I said, it wasn't advice but what I did.

Hopefully your girl will settle and life will become easier. You are doing great and the fact you are breast feeding twins with a toddler around is amazing and impressive.

Mine fed every two hours until about 5 months! I got one longer stretch over lunch if in the buggy and moving. But that was through the Summer heat wave - once that subsided, they went 3 hours during the day.

It eased up at about 8-10 weeks, cluster feeding in the evening also started to ease back around then and stopped at around 13-14 weeks. That's when they sort of started to have an actual bedtime.

Hang in there. Smiles are just around the corner!

Hi legally, you sound like your doing amazingly! I bf my twins (bg too!) but didn't have an older dc so I imagine this is v hard. Dtg was similar to yours, v unsettled, always feeding or crying. I think you've just gotta ride it out if poss, I know that a feeding schedule would not have worked with my dtg. I wouldn't bother waking dtb to feed if yes not asking as often as dtg. Maybe he takes more when he does feed.

I did introduce an evening bottle for dtb so that dp could do bedtime for one while I bf the other. I tried with dtg but she wouldn't take a bottle. Anyway, this really took the load off me and in hindsight I think getting dp to do a bottle night feed might have helped he too (but I didn't do it because I was worried it would affect supply)

Good luck!

Just one tip..try and get out to a friend's house and the feeding suddenly seems less irksome because you appreciate not having to carry bottles around, and dd will be entertained by the outing.
Also that this is possibly the worst point in breastfeeding and it can only get better from here and that your dd will GAIN your time for as long as you aren't having to sterilize bottles and make up feeds.
You sound like you are doing brilliantly - I don't think at this point it is ever easy whether breast or formula

Congratulations! You're doing wonderfully, and it does get easier, honest (Still feeding my b/g twins at almost 15m). The ups and downs in frequency are completely normal, as you'll probably remember from first time round - it's just harder with 2, especially at night! Routine for us didn't really work until after 6m when they started to have a vague pattern of feeds/sleep around mealtimes, but if routine/waking other baby to feed simultaneously/stretching out feeds sounds helpful to you I'm sure loads if people will be able to advise (I'm just too lazy for that, and my two are about as different as babies could possibly be).

Things I found helpful - co-sleeping - double bed in their room, shoved into corner and boxed in, I chose to express and offer that to one when out and about rather than tandem feed in public (emergencies excluded!), worry not about tidy house and all that. Hobnobs help too, chocolate ones doubly so.
Big feeding cushion was great for the first few months for tandeming. Mothering multiples is a great inspiring read, if you haven't already. Not related to BF, but life will be a million times easier if you learn to sling them - chucking one on back and one on front allowed me to potter around playing football etc with ds through the cranky phases.

DS1 was just 4 when our babies were born is probably slightly more independent than yours. We had boxes of quiet toys in strategic locations for feeding times only, he invented his own card games that we'd play, quiet chatty games (I spy etc), and there's nothing wrong with a bit if cbeebies now and again ;) He got lots of extra attention from grandparents and daddy while I was focussing on the early months of feeding constantly and seems to have come through unscathed - he absolutely adores them and loves telling people about "his" babies. Up until about 4m (when they became bottle refusers!!), I'd occasionally leave them with OH and take DS1 out for quick bites of quality time.

Cheering for you from the sidelines here. You can do it (and indeed, you are doing it!!). If you're absolutely committed to EBFing, block out the negative influences (HVs in my case!) and question and suggestions re top ups, seen too many twin parents get into that viscous cycle. Obviously, if formula is required or desired then that's fine, but if you keep going as you are it's almost certain not to be needed.

At some point soon there'll come moments when you'll think "wow, this is easier than the alternative"... Then you've cracked it ;)

Good luck!

Disclaimer - not saying it's easy (is anything with twins?!) - it's bloody hard work - but there are definite advantages in terms of portability and bum-on-sofa time :)

The constant feeding is totally normal at this stage, whether one baby or six. It settles just in time for the 4 month regression to kick in :-S

All worth it though.

This site needs a edit button!! Probably noticed it's not a viscous cycle and all the others. Stepping away now. Sigh.

I love the viscous cycle! so apt really...all those liquids of varying consistencies.

I know you probably already know it, but the constant feeding is normal and healthy and most importantly IT WILL END I PROMISE!!!

You are quite amazing. And congratulations.

Are you getting anytime to rest/sleep or just put them both down and stretch your arms for a minute?

I don't have twins but just want to say how brilliant I think you are. I am shattered feeding my 18 week old single!

Bless you, this could've been written by me although all boys in my case. DS1 was 2.8 when DS2 & DS3 came along. I EBF them and felt like I had become part of the armchair at one point. It was tough on DS1 in the early days, lots of daddy time and Cbeebies but also reading with mummy by perching on the arm of the chair during DT's feeding time. It does get easier, they'll soon get quicker at feeding and going longer in between. I tandem fed in the day as it was much quicker but at night would never wake the other twin, tandem feeding in bed was just so uncomfortable, did it when I had to ie if they both woke up (throne of pillows!) but whoever woke I co slept with then swapped back into his cot when the other one woke. Meant I could get back to sleep while they fed. It's really tough but so much easier in the long run I think, I really couldn't be faffed with making bottles in the night and the cost of the formula too helped me keep going! I'm still feeding them and they were 1 last week. Good luck and hang in there you are doing a great job and your DD won't hold it against you (my DS can't even remember it now xxx