Bottle Feeding my Twins

Is anyone else bottle feeding? I had my twin boys on June 16th just shy of 36 weeks. Today was my original due date. I had an emergency c-section due to having preeclampsia. Due to this complication and the twins being premature (5 lbs 6 oz and 5 lbs.) I was told in the hospital I could only breastfeed two to three times a day for 10 to 15 minutes so that the babies would not use all their energy breastfeeding and I could rest and recover. The babies have been bottle fed since then. Does anyone have any tips or tricks on bottle feeding two babies? I try keeping them a half hour apart with their feeding times but sometimes it doesn’t always work that way and they’re up at the same time. Any advice?

 

Mine have been bottle fed from day 1. I had them either right after eachother (waking the other one up), or in the beginning, I would usually sit on the couch with a baby in a boppy pillow on each side. Or I put them in bouncies next to eachother and I sit on the floor with them (I still do that latter, but now they hold their own bottles, and I only burp them at the end). I also started using the Podee system at 3 weeks and they did great with it from the beginning, however mine were born full term and big, so that may have helped, since I heard a lot of babies have trouble sucking everything through the straw when they're little. I am not using it anymore, the bottles just work out fine, now that they're holding them themselves. We're practicing with sippy cups to make life even easier ...

 

I tried to keep them one after the other too. Another thing I did, in a pinch, was to use 2 boppies. I'd prop each baby in a boppy in front of me and hold the bottles. Unfortunately when I had to burp them one would have to cry while I burped the other but it didn't last too long. You could also use 2 bouncers if you have them or a bouncer and a boppy or one of those and put the other baby in your lap.

Maybe the mods can move this to the 1st Yr forum.

Congrats on the arrival of your babies!

 

I would put them side by side on a pillow when they were teeny..now I put them both on their own boppy's or in the bouncers and feed them both. If they're in a good position to do so, I'll try to prop one of the bottles..I like to have a free hand just in case..but now that they're moving all over the place it's hard to prop

 

We bottle fed from day one as well. I had a very bad experience with my first, and decided not even to try with the twin thing. I fed them at the same time all the time, and still do. We have 2 boppie pillows that I would prop them up in, or I would sit up up against the wall with my legs sort of crossed (indian style maybe it's called?) with a baby's head propped on each thigh so they sort of face the wall. One twin always ate faster, so she was on the right so I could have my right hand free sooner (I'm right handed) to help with the slower eater. And then I could play with the one that was finished. Supposedly you could do the same thing on the couch, but once they start moving a little - no way. Good luck!

 

We're currently bottle feeding expressed breast milk. We do the feedings at the same time. Either I feed one and DH feeds the other at the same time, or we each feed both of them at the same time. DH likes to lay both babies across his legs and then use one hand for each bottle. I like to use my EZ 2 Nurse pillow (nursing pillow specifically for twins). I bring one baby to the couch, prop her up on pillows while I get the other baby. Then I put each one on top of the EZ 2 Nurse, bottle in each hand for each baby... and presto! The feedings usually only take about 20 minutes when I do them simultaniously rather than tandem.

 

I used Podee bottles. They saved my sanity! Several TS moms sell them and you can find them pretty easily on the boards.

 

I feed mine at the same time also. If DH is home we each feed a baby and take turns each feeding so we get time with both. By myself, I use two boppies and bottle bundles. I lay them on the couch (with the ottoman pushed up against it). The boppy allows them to be positioned just right and the bottle bundle keeps the bottle at the right angle. I can lean over and talk to them and then burp one at a time about half way through. It works great.