When did you start your twins on a schedule?

GoodSuri

Hello
Wondering when people started and really stuck to a eating and sleeping schedule for breastfed twins? My boys are 5 weeks old and they eat almost every 1 and a half hours....i cant imagine trying to put them on a strict schedule right now. Also i tried to put them down to nap at the same time in their room and it took over an hour to get them both down..they only slept 30 mins then it was time to eat again. Just wondering if i am kidding myself that this can happen sooner then later. Advice wanted!! Thanks!

suchaglencoco

I don't have a lot of advice, but first I want to give you props for bf both!
I attempted to bf our 5 week old twins and failed so we've had to supplement for over half the feedings and the other half is mainly pumped milk as I cannot find the time to bf consistently.

Have you been pumping after the feedings to get a higher supply up? Our twins were in the nicu a couple of weeks and I worked with a couple of lactation specialists while there. They always encouraged me to pump after every feeding to build supply. They also told me that if they woke up hungry that soon that they may not be getting enough milk at each feeding and we had to start supplementing right away after they ate for 30 minutes. It was rough and not manageable with their nicu schedule so we figured out a different schedule with more formula than breast milk.

Is there a LC you can meet with? Or I've heard great things about La Leche League meetings where you could get more personal support and advice.

I'm sorry they're not on a better schedule. I bet you're just exhausted and drained!

GoodSuri

I am also supplementing with formula. One of my twins had the jitters in the hospital so the doctor wanted him to have formula. I would say they each get at the most 5oz of formula a day...the restmis breastfeeding. Which is the hardest thing i have ever done. I am praying i make it to 6 months. Its hard to pump bc they eat so frequently....i pump like 1 to 3 times a day. They will go to daycare when they are 5 months...i am not sure i will stock enough so we might be mostly formula at 5 months. We can only do the best we can. I beat myself up anout the formula but i realized a stressed out mama is not good for ky boys. Good luck!

kde4

We are just now starting to get the boys onto a schedule at 7 months. Up to this point we had a rhythm, but it wasn't a schedule. It was an eat, sleep, play rhythm until they could go about 4-5 hours between eating (which started once we introduced solids). I'm sure there are all kinds of different approaches, but that one worked well for us until they started solids. Good luck, mama!

DolphinLover2002

We had our girls on a schedule pretty much from birth. At first they'd eat, sleep for an hour, then eat again. They were eating every two hours. As they got bigger, they spaced their feedings out to every 3 hours, which is what we're still at today. They'll be 8 months on Feb 3. They eat, play, nap, wake and eat again. Their naps are sometimes 20 minutes and sometimes 2 hours. If they take a short nap, it's play time or down time until the next feeding. I exclusively breastfeed and pump. My girls have not had one ounce of formula and I have over 1000 ounces frozen. We've been blessed and are very lucky. 

ksgsmu

I pretty much started from birth with a routine then by 3-4 months  I had a true schedule. I pumped and bottle fed so it was a bit easier to get a schedule early and the STTN around 12 weeks.  It really depends on your lifestyle and situation and what works best for you and your family.