Same schedule vs different, advice pls

Incrediblelife

So I had my gorgeous frat boys last week at 38+1. They are absolutely divine. Now here's my question...my boys came out being on the exact same schedule! I know, a dream right? However, I tried tandem feeding them and that was a bit of a gong show at this point with trying to teach them to latch etc (ended up ripping my nipples up ouch!!). So, wondering how best to do this? Ideally bf individually but keep same/similar sleep? Am I dreaming? Any suggestions? They both wake at the exact same time screaming for food. And if I'm not doing tandem (yet) then what?

yinyang124

Congratulations! Keep practicing and try to stay relaxed. Tandem is totally the way to go!

Try to mentally block out the crying--they are OK and just hungry. The calmer you are, the faster you will get them to latch and be quiet. Sit on your bed or couch with the breastfeeding pillow around your waist. Have the babies lying next to you on either side, in the position that you want to place them on your breasts. I think having them both football is the easiest in the beginning, but you will find what positions work best for you and babies. Place them on the breastfeeding pillow and lean over them a little so your breasts are closer to their faces. If you have a better latcher, latch him first then the other. Lots of fumbling in the beginning, but soon you will be a pro and wonder how you ever thought of doing anything other than tandem. Lanolin is your best friend for at least the first 6 weeks. Good luck!

Ylvelill

You can always fb one, pump the other breast and bottle feed all at the same time

JTA2426

I took mine home from the NICU on te same schedule. At the beginning I bfed one while someone bottle fed the other, then I pumped. I alternated who bfed each feeding (A at 8 and 2 and J at 11 & 5 around the clock). Around week 6 I started tandem feeding and by week 8 we had it down. They're 9 months old today and still tandem! I love love love having them on the same schedule.

carrotcake06

We tandem almost exclusively. I like to sit on my bed bc I can lay them on the bed, get my pillow set, put one on the pillow and then the other and then latch.

The first few weeks are trial and error. All of you are doing something completely new and there is A LOT of learning goingon. It isn't going to be perfect every time from the very first time. And that's okay. Try a few different things and you'll figure out from your successes and mistakes what works for you.

I do one up, both up. That was key for us, but not everyone likes it.

Stephanie2167

I also agree with one up, both up. I had the same issue you had which is why I started pumping. Pumping is a pain but I'm able to keep up with them, someone can help me feed them and it keeps them on the same schedule and a lot less crying. We still nurse occasionally (I'm super lucky they still latch) but they are mostly bottle fed. Keep at it. You're doing great.

hootie123

I am going to give you a different perspective - I am with you and tandem was chaotic and painful at first.  I have been doing one right after the other and that is working well for me - mine are 12 weeks old (6 weeks adjusted).  I still tandem when they are both screaming and need to eat that very second - but otherwise I do each individually - I think I would have given up breastfeeding otherwise. 

PurpleIris30

I am the same as hootie. I prefer to feed them individually so their eating schedules are slightly staggered. I really only tandem feed when they are both melting down at the same time, which doesn't happen that often now that they are bigger and can be distracted for a few minutes. Pumping is a huge time suck so I avoided it as much as I could once my supply was established. Breast feeding is hard at first, but if you can stick with it and find a system that works for you, it saves soo much time in the long run.

macchiatto

For us, same schedule was a MUST. They each took close to an hour to eat for the first several months and were eating every 2.5-3 hrs. Tandem feeding was challenging for sure but better than the alternative.

If your babies are quicker nursers and you can handle feeding them one at a time, it might be worth a try. The other problem we ran into is if we tried to individually feed whoever woke up first, inevitably brother would wake up crying mid-feed and we'd have to pause the feeding to go get brother up, diaper changed, get him situated and start feeding him ... and the first-up baby meanwhile would be wailing at having his feed interrupted. (Some people find bottle-propping works in those situations but it didn't work for us.)