Crying together?

[claireinmodena]

So what do you do when they both cry or need feeding at the sme time?

I am mixes feeding and find it v distressing if one starts ceting wgile I feed the other.. Any uaedul tips??

My twins are nearly 4 weeks

Have you had any luck feeding at the same time, one boob each? In guessing not from your post but if you want to try a good cushion can help - Ez2 nurse is one I'd recommend.
It gets easier...

Babies just do cry a fair bit in early weeks, have you got anyone who can help administer cuddles to one while you feed or cuddle the other? Can you schedule friends visits around feed times or even book a mothers help or babysitter ro just come & feed or cuddle, if you get really desperate?

Around 8 weeks or so they will be more interested in what's going on around them so it isn't like they're either asleep, feeding or crying - they discover things that'll hold their attention and you can leave one on playmat or watching baby Einstein while you feed the other. Also at this point they feed quicker and are physically stronger (relatively!) so dual feeding gets easier too.

I'd really urge you to stick with feeding together as otherwise you'll spend all day feeding... Good luck, I know it's tough. Hang in there!!

I bf both of mine, so if there wasn't someOne there to help me get them into position, one would have to wait. it's hard, but as untamedahrew says, once they get a bit bigger they're whilst to feed and easier to distract.
If you are bottle feeding then you can sit them both in the car seat and feed them both at the same time.

That should say they're quicker to feed

we found a swing chair invaluable at that stage (luckily we borrowed it from a friend). It kept one quiet for long enough for you to sort the other out.
A bouncy chair that you can rock with your foot, or a rocking car seat might work too.

But I think it is a fact of twin life - you do have to get used to one crying sometimes while you deal with the other.

No idea why but laying on a towel without a nappy would often keep mine quiet for a bit (but maybe not as young as 4 week).

Second the bouncy chair and nudity ideas. I have an EZ cushion I'm about to sell on if that's if any interest - getting both on the boob at once does stop the crying, and you feel like superwoman, but its bloody hard.
Sometimes I would bf one in bed, then bottle feed the other sat up in the crook of my knee.
Or just singing loudly and tunelessly over the top, distracts them and you for s few moments.
Cant pretend there haven't been a fair few occasions when I've joined in the cry-athon too though.

I agree that sometimes it just goes with the territory. My strategy other than crying too at times was to console myself that it was unlikely to go on for ever and in an hour things should be a bit calmer... or stick them in the buggy & go out for a walk.

Hi Claire - I know getting them both bfing at the same time isn't possible. I sometimes fed mine individually if their sleep was out of synch or they really needed one to one attention. It did get easier as they got older - feeding was much quicker and they could be distracted more easily. I probably got better at spotting cues and sorting one out before the other kicked off. Having said that I still had to call for DH last night when I was trying to resettle both of them at 1am so am probably not a good source of advice.
Bouncy chair and eye contact worked best for DT1. Nothing worked for DT2 so I tried to make sure he wass fed first if possible.

Thank you all for your responses and tips.

I realise sometimes this is just the way it is with twins... I sm just not used to leaving a baby cry desperately (i havd two older dds as well).

I have a babysitter that comes a couple of times a week, which is a great help, but cang really justify thd exprnse of having her more often, family all live away, and dont want thrm stay here long term, so not an option.

Dd1 (nearly 11) helps a lit after school, but I cant take too much advantage, as she does have homework etc.

They do not seem to like their car seats much, but I will look into bouncers. Any recommendations for one where you can bottle feed easily (have looked in shops here but they all seem so fancy, I luve in italy and the choice here is very poor, but can always order on line). They seem to be v slumped in my carseats.
Tandem feeding not an option unfortunately, I bfeed and then if necessary top up, it lasts forever, but I dont mind too much (except at night), I waited 7 years to have these babies and am thoroughly enjoying them! Minus the cry-athon! (lol love this word).

Sorry for not replying personally but I am
On my phone and cant look back, but its good to hear your experiences. To be fair they dont cry that much, mainly only for hunger, except dtb who is very windy and a bit difficult to settle.

Thanks again

When I used to bottle feed mine I would sit on the floor with each one in a bouncy seat either side of me, and hold a bottle in each hand. Used to do that for spoon feeding them later as well.

You can tandem feed while breast feeding- you just need to work out how to get them in the right position before you start. One of those cushions that wraps round you makes a world of difference.

You will work out what works for you soon.

My husband did the bottle feeds (dream feed) here and he just wedged them both in a bean bag

Because they were in SCBU for the first month, I got used to expressing and then feeding them the previous batch of milk while expressing the next. I didn't start routinely breastfeeding both until about 2 and half months, by which time I'd got the knack of getting them both on simultaneously. Luckily they didn't seem to mind the milk being cool, and the HV said so long as it was expressed into a sterile bottle and immediately covered, it wouldn't go off unless I left it in a warm room for hours... must have been right as no upset tums.

A good position to get both on BTW was in bed, lying back, with lots of pillows to prop self and babies on.

For bottle feeding, I found it hard to use bouncy chairs until they were older and could hold their heads up. So I use either a v shaped pillow, with one twin on each side of the v. Or I lay them down next to me, put their heads on my lap (one on each side) and can feed them both together like that. Can send you a photo if you like! So you could perhaps give them a small bottle (enough to stop the crying) before bf each individually?

Also, at this age I guess they feed as soon as they wake up. So could you wake one twin up and get a sneaky feed in before the other wakes?

We bought 2 bouncers that are pretty reclined and now they are 6 months they don't like those ones so are in more upright ones (the upright ones are dd's old mamas and papas one and a cheap one from Asda). The flatter ones were Fisher Price ones - one we were given 2nd hand and they loved it so much that we bought another. I mix feed but try not to feed together very often as I find it uncomfortable and like the 1-1 time with each baby, but it doesn't always work out so I have tandem fed breast and bottle. I found a standard pillow propping them up a little worked best when they were tiny.

on the plus side, leaving them to cry while I sort out dd1 (4yo) or the other baby has meant they are fab at settling themselves and I recognise their different cries, with dd1 I fed her everytime she cried!

V quickly, thanks to everyone who posted. I have read all your responses, just not have had time to write a more articulate answer!