how do you bottle feed both at once?

my twins wake up wanting to eat at the same time and now that all my family has left and my husband is back to work, i am alone with them during the day. they do best when i can feed/burp one then the other. but when they are both screaming hungry i don't know how to tackle feeding both at the same time. i have tried feeding one in the swing or bouncy seat but their neck is too squished to their chests and the milk dribbles down their shirt. and they need to be burped mid-feed, so i am not sure about how to burp one while still feeding the other?

what do other people do?! thanks!

 

my couch has a chaise lounge at the one end and I would sit on the chaise lounge with my legs in front of me and put one twin on each thigh (propping their heads up) with their legs facing down my legs (basically I was behind their heads holding the bottles over them)...when they needed to burp I would stop both of them, burp DS first (since he was the bigger spitter) and then burp DD and then go back to feeding them again...

 

Two Boppies on the floor. Babies propped up in the Boppies. Two burp clothes bundled up propping their bottles up. I burp who needs it when he needs it. Its certainly not ideal, and we prefered to hold when at all possible, but this was the best I could do when I was alone.

 

I propped one using a boppy while I held the other. We also had two infant to toddler rockers that I used all the time.

 

One in the lap, one in the car seat. It worked like a charm.

 

Boppies on the edge of the bed and I would kneel in front and hold the bottles. I didn't like feeding them at the same time though because they needed burp breaks and one would always scream while the other was being burped. I tried to put one in the swing while feeding the other and then switch, but on those rare occassions where both were screaming to be fed RIGHT NOW (!!!), the boppies on the bed worked.

 

I mostly BF, but whenever DH has had to bottle-feed both at once, he'd sit in the middle of the couch and rest a baby's head on each thigh, with their feet pointing back toward the corners of the couch. Not easy, but it worked. GL!

 

Sat on the couch, one on each side, in a boppy. When I had to burp one, I would either use my bottle propper (didn't work very well) or they would just have to wait. Now that they are 7 months I don't really burp them until the end unless they slow down alot, but I still use the same technique.

KS

 

I put one propped up in the boppy next to me and the other laying down on my legs. I plan to get another boppy so I can have one on each side of me. Usually when I am burping one, I stick a pacifier in the other's mouth.

 

Yup I do just like allot of the PP's. I put them in the boppy and use the Podee bottles (they are a life saver). It allows me to be hands free and tend to each one individually - if not I think I would go insane.

 

I was using boppies but just recently started using bouncy chairs. I face two bouncies towards the couch, rest my back on the couch, and feed them at the same time. I stop midway and burp them each and then let them finish the bottle. It is very comfortable is working very nicely.

 

Don't forget about the all powerful/wonderful podee bottles. they are hands free!

Laurie

 

i put them intheir car seats and sit on some pillows on the floor. then i take turns burping them. then they end of falling asleep in the carseats for a little while

 

I bought the EZ 2 nurse Twins pillow with the intention of using it for BF, but that didn't work out. So, I strap the pillow to my waist, put a bed pillow behind my back on the couch, then put one boy down on one side of the couch and the other boy on the other side of the couch, sit down and put them both up on the pillow. I can then have them right in front of me and hold both bottles at the same time. When they need to burp, I put the bottles down and pick one up, put him on my shoulder, burp him and then the other one. It works great and I don't know what I'd do without it., And it's actually pretty comfortable because of the soft pillow behind my back. BUT, if I don't strap the pillow to me, it will slide and they will fall down in the crack between the pillow and my waist. I also like the Podee bottles, but using the pillow makes me feel a little more in control and have them closer to me. I am also at home with mine by myself all day.
Good Luck!

 

I sit on the couch with their heads in my lap and their legs to each side (one on right and other on left). It worked great when they were little--if I needed more leverage, I just put my feet up on a foot stool or the coffee table. Now that they are a little bigger, it is very comfortable for them. It also helps with burping because I don't have to pick them up and put them down from a seat or anything. I've tried other ways, but this is easy and comfortable--no strain on your back and no leaning over seats.

 

To be honest, I was never able to feed both of mine at the same time until they were over 4 months old. I hope that doesn't depress you. They were just too floppy, drippy, and fussy. Around four months Evan started to settle down during feedings so I would put him in a boppie pillow on one side of me and I'd hold his bottle/prop it with rolled-up receiving blankets or (even better) a stuffed animal. I'd sit right beside him, feeding James in my arms (he's our wild, refluxy feeder and could never relax during feedings).

Before I mastered this double-feeding system, I'd feed them one after the other (one a little early, the other on time). There were quite a few tears. I'd put the non-feeding baby in a bouncy at my feet. Sometimes I'd feed James 1/2 a bottle, then Evan 1/2 a bottle, then James 1/2 a bottle, then Evan the last of his bottle. I also made sure to schedule any visitors during feedings so I could get people to lend a hand.

Now I either feed them at the same time or one right after the other. They can polish off a full bottle in 5 minutes so it's no big deal for someone to wait for his brother.

Good luck. I know it's hard but believe me, you'll come up with a few tricks.

 

My husband went back to work when the twins were 2 weeks old. I had to master this and quick! In the early days, I fed them both in boppies on either side of me in bed. We have a king sized bed, so even in the middle of the night I would put them each in a boppy and feed them. I would stop both and burp one then the other and resume.

I also used boppies downstairs on the couch during the day when they were younger, with me sitting in between them. This worked great, until they started moving around a lot more.

Now, at 5.5 months, I feed them both in their bouncy seats. I have been doing it this way for quite a while. I put them in an upside down V shape and put my legs in the center of the V. Their bouncy seats are high enough off the ground that my legs fit under them. I sit on the floor and feed them both. They are really used to the routine now, and know when I stop to burp that I will burp one, then the other and then they will get more food.

In the early days I tried bottle props but hated them.

I have some podee bottles to start trying to use here soon, but so far this is working well for me.

Hang in there, I promise, it can be done!

 

I usually sit on the couch and have a baby on either side of me in a boppy pillow. I have these really great, thin pillows that I put on top of the boppy so the baby doesn't sink down in too far. It makes the boppy more like the newborn boppy lounger. The boys are comfy and are at a good angle for feeding. For burping, I just watch to see how far they are in their bottle and stop to burp at the right time. When they first came home, I was able to burp them both at the same time, but they're getting bigger so one at a time is best for us!

 

QUOTE(first-time-mom @ Dec 24 2007, 10:53 PM) [snapback]545816[/snapback]
I sit on the couch with their heads in my lap and their legs to each side (one on right and other on left). It worked great when they were little--if I needed more leverage, I just put my feet up on a foot stool or the coffee table. Now that they are a little bigger, it is very comfortable for them. It also helps with burping because I don't have to pick them up and put them down from a seat or anything. I've tried other ways, but this is easy and comfortable--no strain on your back and no leaning over seats.


Ditto, I put the boppy around me and then place both babies with their heads in the center and bodies off to the side, works great. When one has to burp I pick them up by the back of their shirt (now that they have good head control) and put them over my shoulder while I still feed the other, it was tricky to master at first, but practice makes perfect. DH prefers the 2 boppy method.