Routines and tandem feeding - help!

[willow3006]

Hi

My twin boys are just over a week old and we seem to feed them every 3 hours at the moment or one earlier if they start crying in the night before the other one! They seem to just feed and sleep during the day (which I assume is normal) but at night they feed less because they are so sleepy but wake up more often.

We were thinking of doing some kind of routine (I read the Gina Ford book but wouldn't follow it to the letter because I don't think I'd ever have time to leave the house!) but just wanted your opinions on what sort of age you should try to start the routine? I presume 2 weeks is too early as they sleep ALL of the time they aren't feeding at the moment so I guess there's no such thing as a nap time!

Secondly, I bought the harmony duo feeding cushion to try to tandem feed (I'm bottle feeding only) but on the 'blue side' I'm supposed to put them on, they seem to be lying completely flat? Does this sound right? I always thought the babies should be propped up a bit? I've tried propping them up on cushions but their heads seem too floppy to feed this way! It's fine right now as my husband is on paternity leave so we both take 1 twin each all day/night every 3 hours but he goes to work next week and am terrified how I'll manage feeding!!

Any advice appreciated!

Willow

Congratulations - I hope you are all well.

I'm not an expert (particularly on bottle feeding) but this is what we did....

At about 2-3 weeks we started doing a regular morning 'wash', change into daytime clothes, afternoon walk and evening bath routine. This was more for my benefit than theirs but by 11 weeks they went to sleep straight after bath for a few hours.

I tried some of the GF stuff but quickly moved off it, and just worked out what by boys wanted/needed re sleep/feeding/play. I found bfing on demand didn't fit in with her timings at all although there were some useful techniques like the split feed round bathtime. And yes, I sometimes had to get out of the house before 3.45!

I bfed every 2 hours so 3 hours sounds ok to me especially if the gaps lengthen at nighttime. I use the Harmony cushion but for bfing. I agree that it seems tricky for bottles. I think other people have put twins in bouncers for simultaneous bottle feeding???

I hope you find what works for you and best of luck!

Hi

Congratulations :)

My twins are 7 weeks old and were just over 4lbs at birth and I'm bottle feeding.

I agree with the above, try and start them having a bedtime straight away - mine nap in their moses baskets in the lounge during the day then go to bed in their cots after the 7pm feed. I also try and make sure they have a solid couple of hours nap after their 11am feed, they will usually nap from 11.30 / 12 ish to 2 / 2.30ish. This has enabled me and my hubby to plan trips out on a weekend to coincide with this and we've had meals out, met friends etc, it's helped to keep us sane!

I also worried about them only eating and sleeping but it is perfectly normal! As they get bigger they will be able to stay awake more. I read Gina Ford and tried keeping them awake at set times at the beginning and it was very stressful and in retrospect I feel not the right thing to do.

Personally I prefer the book Baby Secrets by Jo Tantum - it's very similar to the Gina book but I find easier to read and follow and also more flexible.

I fed mine at the same time right from the start, every 3 hours then moving on to every 4 hours (give or take 15 mins). It was hard doing this at first but definitely worth it. I try and feed the one who is most fretful first and amuse the other in a swing chair or on their mat whilst waiting. Sometimes I've given one half a bottle then swapped but prefer not to as the one who started can get sleepy and not take the rest of their feed.

I find feeding together at the moment too difficult, I've tried in bouncy chairs and car seats. For me they're too young to do this as they were dribbling, needing winding a lot, not sitting up straight etc and I found it more stressful than doing both separately. it's also nice to have that time with them feeding and you will get quicker! I may try again when they're older / stronger to feed them sometimes together.

Get your hubby to wash and steralise all your bottles for the day before he goes to work if he can.

Good luck, you will manage and find your own ways. Let us know how you get on :)

xxx

Sorry, just re-read your question! Yes I think 2 weeks is probably too young, depending on their weight too. My boy is now over 8lb at 7 weeks old and has only just started managing to stay awake after feeds for usually no more than an hour - a bit longer if I sing nursery rhymes jingle toys for him etc.

I would go with the flow at the moment regarding naps and concentrate on the feeding routine. If you can keep them awake a bit after a feed during the day it's useful though I think, even if only for 10 minutes or so, so they start to recognise the difference between night and day.

xxx

Thanks guys. Will wait till a few weeks I think to start a proper routine and will concentrate on the feeding routine instead. Will let you know how it goes!

Willow x

Congrats on your little boys :)

I read the GF book, and the Baby Secrets one (loved it), but couldn't really get my head around following either for the first couple of weeks. We stayed on the routine the hospital gave us when we came home, which was basically feeding every 3 hours during the day and then leaving them to wake naturally at night. So we did 7am, 10, 1, 4, 7, and 10pm. I forgot about leaving the house to start with, it was just added pressure and I wanted to take things at my own pace.

After a few weeks I started the Baby Secrets routine, which wasn't dissimilar, but found at about 8 weeks I was really really struggling to get them to sleep in the evenings. I was bf'ing them, with one bottle feed at 10/11pm, and the MN bf pushers kept telling me I just needed to let them cluster feed on me all evening until they'd settle. I found that too depressing a prospect I'm afraid.. ;) Another friend gently suggested I try Gina Ford again, and well - it was a revelation. Suddenly I was putting them to bed at 7pm, and had my evenings back. You don't have to follow it to the letter, but the split feed works wonders at making them so milk-drunk they sleep brilliantly. And after a while I didn't find it particularly restrictive, on the contrary I loved knowing exactly when I would be free and when I wouldn't, and could plan my life around that.

Good luck :)

Hi LondonLottie

I was thinking of perhaps giving Gina F another go (loosely!) soon now they're a bit older and bigger.

Any tips on keeping them entertained / awake in the day with out them just screaming / falling asleep / or me sticking dummies in and then feeling like a bad mum :( I've started a new thread with this quesiton too.

I suppose as I've said above as they get older they'll be able to stay awake more, but this week they seem to be waking from their nap wanting to be awake but just crying or falling asleep whatever I do with them

Firstly DON'T feel like a bad mum for sticking dummies in their mouth! They're looking for comfort and dummies do give them that, no matter what people might say or think.

Hard for me to remember exactly what I did because mine are now 23 mo - but I seem to recall that with GF you feed them pretty much as soon as you wake them, at that stage. Then it's more a case of keeping two non-hungry babies awake, which is harder in a way but less stressful because hopefully they're not crying.

I would recommend giving it a go again, most twin mums I know had great success with it and all would probably say they didn't follow it to the letter but took the bits that worked, with the bedtime routine (split feed around bath time) being the common denominator.

Please can you advise on which Gina Ford book you're referring to?

Sorry for really late reply - it's 'a contented house with twins'

x

Hi there

Well, the daytime routine is ok and they seem to be taking to it ok but the boys are still waking at least twice in the night. I don't even think it's for food as they don't seem at all bothered by feeding, it's just habit I reckon! Anyway, still little sleep for me (no more than 3-4 hours a night broken sleep) and they're 10 weeks now! They cry a lot less in the day though. I kept trying to budge their times 15 mins forward but it's been ages now and they still wake up at the same times they used to!

With regards to feeding, I'm much more confident. I just prop a cushion each side of me on the sofa and pop them on it and feed. I give half the bottle like that and then do the second half separately so that I can wind them properly. They still throw up a lot but I'm coping with it all a bit better now!

Let me know how you find it all!

Willow x