Newborns & Feeding "Schedules"
JustcallmeGG2
member
Hi all! Life has been crazy since our son came home. His sister is still in the NICU but doing better.
I have a question about feeding schedules. The NICU put them on a strict every 3 hour feeding schedule, which was pretty good the first night. Ok on the second.
Went to pedi visit today and Dr. said just take them off the schedule, he should eat when he wants, however much. I challenged him and said that I have heard that twin parents only remain sane if their babies remain on some kind of schedule.
He wasn't gaining as much weight as the pedi wanted, about 2/3 an ounce a day instead of 1. Recheck is going to be in 3-4 days.
Thoughts? Is the schedule the way to go?
Also, NICU nurses said don't give him little "snacks" between meals because then he will turn into a "snacker" and that is pretty bad too.
Re: Newborns & Feeding "Schedules"
Married 6/25/10**TTC #1 July 2011**BFP 11/1/11**EDD 7/11/12**U/S shows TWINS!!! 11/30/11
Fraternal girls born at 35+4. Slow down baby girls!!
YES I think a routine/schedule is. I think what he's saying is if the kid wants to eat sooner, let him. Some people take the every 3 hrs thing too seriously. It should be no LONGER than 3 hrs. And we'd still try to feed at the 3hr mark even if they ate sooner -- so we treated the "earlier" as if it didn't happen in the timing. This worked out to be a pseudo on demand thing. The snacking is bad, yes, but I think early on, especially if weight is an issue, you have to let the kid eat when he's hungry. I'd say try burping the crap out of him when he's done then reoffering, so hopefully he'll start eating until very full and will snack less.
At 6/7 weeks we went to a 3hr EASY routine -- still feeding early if they needed -- and it's been amazing. If you think of it as a routine instead of a scheudle it allows for more flexibility for growth spurts, hunger, sleepiness, etc.
DEFINITELY do "one up, both up" all day when they're both home. Our boys eat at the same time (in the beginning it was w/in 30 minutes b/c I was BF'ing as exclusively as possible, though we supplemented from the beginning) and we attempt naps at the same time. At night this saved us. If it means your partner needs to get up with you, so be it!!!
Oh and re: the weight thing and eating.
Gabe was a "lazy" eater, and wouldn't let us know he was still hungry when he was done. So for a week or so we would feed him at the boob and then offer him a bottle of formula, even if he didn't make any indication he was still hungry. He took it pretty much every time.
So he could still be hungry even if he isn't offering cues, you know? I'd try the burping a lot then reoffering thing every time for a while and see if that helps.
Sorry I keep posting.
I want to say I sympathize with how utterly exhausting the every 3 hrs thing is. By the end of the 2nd or 3rd week Jake and I were falling asleep talking to each other. He hallucinated babies in the bed (he actually handed me a blanket as if it was a baby). It's horrible as you go through it but we just laugh about it now. You will, too
Thanks for the response NinjaBride!
Ayden really isn't a burper. We feed him in nothing but a diaper because he gets sleepy. Usually I try to re-clothe him which makes him cranky, and then he takes some more.
Hubbie and I are rotating night feedings right now, but I don't know if we will both have to tag team them at every feeding once Sydney comes home. (ughh, only 2 1/2 hours sleep at a time)...
I'm a huge proponent of schedules. We still eat on a schedule and my twins are almost 20 months old.
We came home on a 3-3.5 hour schedule, not from the NICU or the nursery, just from feeding on demand in the hospital because I really had no idea what I was doing, and because mine were kind of sleepy and didn't cry that much (at first).
The first pedi we saw when we got home said they were underweight (DS was just over 6# and DD was just under 5#) and needed to eat every 2 hours and she switched us from regular Enfamil to Enfacare. I was freaked out, wondering how this suburban pedi could know better than the pedis and neonatologists at the large teaching hospital where they were born. Long story short, I called BS on that doctor, continued our 3-3.5h schedule, switched back to regular Enfamil, and found a new doctor. DS has been in the 90th percentile for weight since about 4 months old so clearly he did not need the extra calories. DD has been around the 50th and has followed her curve, too. Our new pedi (who is much younger than the first one we saw) was very supportive of us feeding on a schedule, knowing that we had to have some method of survival. He basically just said don't go beyond 4 hours.
Follow your gut as a MoM. I kind of feel like, if they do it in the NICU with itty bitties, it can't be that horrible of a thing, so long as you're not starving a baby to keep up with your schedule. Also, remember that a pedi is medical professional but not a failproof reference manual on raising children.
Yes! Keep the schedule. Obviously, feed earlier if they are hungry but that schedule will be a life saver when they are both home. I still keep mine as close together eating and sleeping as possible.
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Congrats and I hope both your little ones are home soon.
I think a schedule is a must with twins. Doesn't mean you can't ever make an exception but having a plan and coaxing them toward that keeps your sanity.
I've worked out a hybrid of feeding on demand and keeping my girls on a schedule. When one is hungry, I get them both up to eat. It took about 2 days for them to be totally on the same page (I usually had to struggle to keep one awake to eat), but now they actually both wake at the same time to eat.
It's totally worth it, especially for night feedings. It means the difference between being up for 20 minutes or being up for an hour.