24 Weeks - Twin Questions

jamalina

Hi girls,

I am 24 weeks with my twin boys. I have a few twin questions:

I am going to try nursing. I was wondering if you have any advise?

Where did your twins sleep the first few months? A friend of mine who has twins told me she used a pack and play with twin bassinets and they slept in there for the first 3 months.

What items would you recommend registering for that helped you with your twins?

Any survival tips? LOL My hubby and I are so excited!

Thanks in advance!!!!

americana

I didn't try BF. So I'm no help on that. With the bottle feeding we kept them on the exact same schedule. If one woke up hungry we'd wake the other one up. It helps them to get on the same feeding schedule so you aren't stuck with them alternating wake times - which means no sleep at all for you. I'm not sure how the BFers work the schedule though.

Ours were in the NICU for 9 days. When they got home, they slept in the in the twin pack n' play bassinets on the main level of our house for about a week or so (just until I felt healed enough from my c-section to clambor up and down the stairs a bazillion times). Then they moved to their own separate cribs (they never slept together - guess they got sick of being scrunched together in my belly).

Boppy pillows are good. The double snap n go stroller is good too. I also love the Fisher Price Space Saver high chairs. And since babies grow quickly, take time to even register for the stuff you'll need down the road - like convertible carseats (if you are going with infant carrier to start); nice double umbrella stroller (I recommend the Jeep Wrangler Twin Sport); a nice regular double stroller (like the City Mini). It's been so long, I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

jamalina

Thanks, You've been very helpful!

Rynleigh

Are you planning to BF only, or pump & bottle, too? 

If you plan to pump & bottle in addition to the BFing, definitely check with your insurance company and see if they cover electric pumps as a medical device - ours did with our second child, and we ended up investing in a double-Medela for only a $50 copay - it was a lifesaver, and well worth it if your insurance company covers them. 

I haven't had my twins yet, but with both of my older girls the pumping was so helpful - allowed me to get some sleep now and then while Dad got up to feed them what I'd pumped earlier in the day. I can only imagine how  helpful it will be to pump while they sleep so I can get my own Zs later. With the singles, I would feed them on one side and pump on the other simultaneously, switching sides with each feeding. 

The boppies were great for singletons, and they make bigger ones for twins, too - which could be very helpful for you.

Frankelberry

I tried BF but we had to supplement with formula in the hospital as they lost more than 10% of their birth weight. I pumped for 6 weeks and was only getting enough for them to each have a full bottle of breast milk every other day. At that point I quit as it was too much for me with the little bit I was getting. 

We started with them in a pack and play in our room. That only lasted for about a week. My daughter was such a loud sleeper she was constantly waking me. One night I was so tired after one of their middle of the night feedings that I decided to try putting them in their cribs. They slept great in their own cribs and we haven't looked back.

The best advice I got was one up both up. We have always fed them at the same time, even if that meant waking up one of them. It kept me sane and it didn't take long before they fell into the same schedule. At four months now DD takes a longer afternoon nap than DS. We let her sleep and I get to have some one-on-one time with DS.

We have had a set bedtime with a routine since two weeks old, put them down drowsy but awake and I started them on scheduled feedings around 6 weeks. I used their cues to set the schedule initially but now we stick with it for the most part. I know some people on other boards say you can't schedule a baby and it leads to failue to thrive, etc. but it has worked for us and my babies are happy and healthy. Obviously if they are going through a growth spurt or extra hungry we feed them...I'm not going to let my babies cry because they aren't on my schedule.

It is hectic at times but I wouldn't change anything. When they are both laughing and smiling I think to myself "this isn't that hard".

I have a love/hate relationship with my DSNG. The thing drives like a bus but I love that it's lightweight and I can just snap the car seats in.

 Good luck!

ColleenS629

Congrats!

I am still EBFing my twin boys so it can be done! I read Mothering Multiples for tips on BFing multiples. One thing that really helped me establish a good supply, I think, was pumping a few times a day after feeding them. The first LC I saw in the hospital told me to do that. Some of the nurses were like "Uh... why are you doing that? You don't need to..." but I kept doing it for the first couple of weeks. I still pump once a day, after their morning feeding. I've never had any supply issues. I'd also recommend seeing an LC as much as you can in the hospital and having someone come to your house if you get home and still don't feel like you have the hang of it. When we got home, one of my boys started refusing the breast. I had an LC come out to help when they were 2 weeks old because I was totally burnt out from BFing, pumping, and bottlefeeding every feeding. She helped me get them both on the breast and she helped me tandem feed them which was a huge time saver (get a twin nursing pillow- I have the EZ2Nurse Twin). Nurse on demand but don't go any longer than 3 hours from the start of one feeding to the next to make sure they are getting enough and you establish a good supply. If they want to clusterfeed, let them... they are telling your body to make more milk. Giving in and giving them a bottle will just tell your body they don't really need the extra milk. Other than that, just try to learn as much as you can about BFing (the book I mentioned is great, as is kellymom.com). This was really important for me because a lot of pedis don't know that much about BFing. The NP that we were seeing for weight checks told me R wasn't gaining enough just because he hadn't kept up with A (4oz/ week vs. 7oz/ week) and she wanted me to start offering him bottles. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, he was in normal range for BF babies. I did a weighed feeding with my LC and I was confident that he was doing okay without bottles. The next weight check, he had gained 8oz that week without bottles. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or on the BFing board.

My twins slept in a PNP at first but then they developed reflux and were more comfortable in the RNPs. They slept in our room for I think about 3 months. We went through one period before we sleep-trained that they would only sleep in the swings, which were downstairs so DH slept on the couch so they wouldn't be alone all night.