MoMs- Help me navigate feedings!

ebrooke

So our twins were born at 34 weeks and spent 3 weeks in the NICU. They feed well now but only from bottles (we're working on breastfeeding with very minimal, slow progress). I pump about every 3 hours and the babies are on a 3 hour feeding schedule. I haven't had to supplement with formula yet and hope to avoid doing so for as long as possible. Our last grandparent helper is about to leave and so I'm a little freaked about being on my own.

Here are my questions:

How on EARTH do you bottle feed 2 babies, change, and burp them every 3 hours AND pump? Right now it takes me an hour to pump and feed & change 1 baby. So, I'll be adding a second baby to that routine and I'll be taking more shifts.

How did you split shifts with your DH so that you were able to get some rest? 

I'm also welcome to any and all advice about how to make things efficient.  

janjag

so it looks like you have been home for just over a week! 

the thing i REALLY wish i did early on was learn to do tandem feedings.  week after week after week of pumping AND feeding separately really wore me down.  and i had the feeling i just couldn't handle things on my own... not a good feeling.  some put their babies in infant carriers, some put them in boppy pillows.  i had a hard time with the boppy pillows, but i just didn't experiment enough with different positions and extra blankets to prop them up. 

re. night sleep... sometimes we would take turns.  i would do the 9-2am, and he would do the 2-6am.  it seemed there was ALWAYS someone awake since we didn't have them on the same schedule after about a week or two home from nicu (this is another thing i wish we'd maintained).  with pumping on top of this, mom doesn't get much sleep.  so sleep whenever you get a chance, even if you think it'll only be 20min.   

good luck! 

 

LMK8605

You have to find a system that works for you.  I would pump every time they napped - but it only took me 20 minutes to pump.  That being said.. when I was alone without helpers consistently is when I gave up pumping and switched to formula.  It was way too hard on me and giving it up meant I got to rest when they did.  That DOESN'T mean you will have to.. plenty of women still do.  Just do what works best for YOU and the BABIES!!! 

I can't speak to the splitting shifts.. DH works alot so I did almost everything on my own shift wise.  He helped on weekends but I wouldn't call it shifts. 

I would try to read Baby Wise.. it made my life so much simpler!  It isn't for everyone but it was a god send for us!  It is basically a eat - play - sleep schedule.  Plus there are alot of babywise mom's on here to help if you need it.

 

GOOD LUCK

lgurian

you must feed them at the same time! one on each side in a boppy is what we do. it takes an hour to feed both, burp and change. then i play for a little while, then i put them down for independent play or nap and thats when i pump. as for getting some rest, i still had to wake up to pump when DH feed them, but that only took 15 min instead of the hour and 15 min so it was still nice when DH feed them. we follow babywise and they were STTN at around 9 weeks. GL. 

ahava2005

Husband does a lot.  He does the night shift and feeds them from expressed milk while I pump.

During the day, I pump while they nap.  So while they are on an every 3 hour, my schedule is slightly different:  every 2.5 hours during the day, and I switch to every 3 at night so husband is feeding while I pump. 

MNheidi

We did that.  My boys wouldn't latch so I ended up pumping but we did supplement almost from the beginning.  I figured as long as they were getting as much of my milk as possible a little formula didn't hurt. 

I'm not going to lie, it was stressful when my help left and I had to pump/feed/care for the babes by myself.  After I bottle fed, I'd pump right away b/c the boys were usually pretty content in the bouncy or swing for 20/30 min.

My dh got up for EVERY feeding for the first couple months.  he'd feed the boys while I pumped so I wasn't up for an hour but we were both up for 30mins or so.  Then, the last feeding of the night (like 4 or 5am) we switched off so every other night one of us was getting a good stretch of sleep.

I'm going to suggest trying EVERYTHING possible to get them to b/f.  I wish I would have tried harder b/c EPing twins is very stressful.  Can be done but not fun.

good luck

ErinLR

I pump for 20 minutes before their scheduled feeding time, but I have to supplement with formula.  Then I make up bottles, and feed each girl separately, changing their diapers immediately before feeding each.  I would say that starting at diaper through burping, it takes each girl anywhere from 15- 20 minutes, depending on the day.  I've tried putting them both in their vibrating seats to feed at the same time, but I have one girl with reflux and she needs some management to eat and it's too hard to feed my other daughter at the same time. 

For the middle of the night they get exclusively formula since I elect not to pump and add that awake time.  I'm a SAHM so I tell hubby not to help with that feeding, but he usually does anyway.

They eat every 3 hrs. during the day and just once during the night, generally around 3 am.

sunshine32496

I had no help from the start so I feed them together. Boppys and a pillow I put one baby in front of each other and just bottle feed them. It was hard but you get through it. GOOD LUCK