How long does feeding your twins take you?

With how much time we spend in the high-chairs and for naps, I'm starting to feel like my kids will never have a lot of play-time!

Right now, it takes me a MINIMUM of 45 minutes and upwards of an hour to get them in their high chairs, feed them, wait for them to eat SOMETHING (really, I'll take anything--even just a morsel , then wipe them down, wipe the floor down and clean off the high-chairs. And the last 10 minutes are always filled with the lovely sound of the twins whining to get down (I make them wait until they and the floor are/is clean, because I don't want them to spread the food all over the place).

Just wondering if they'll get more efficient and when?!

FWIW, Snacks are better because I limit the food to the "dry" variety and I put a signing-time video on so the duration is set by the video length.

Also, how do you control the mess (on your twins--do your twins really just get bibs dirty and all you have to do is wipe their hands/face and take of the bib?--mine spread food all over themselves--I actually bought body bibs because of it, though rinsing them off after every meal adds more time to the clean-up...

 

it helps with mine that they are very hungry when we start to meals....I don't do am snack because there is not a huge amount of time between breakfast and lunch and do always have a monster breakfast.
pm snack is just a couple cheerios and some fruit, and I never let them snack under 1 1/2 hours before meals.

my meals take about 30min...I use good size bibs and also tuck in a large burp cloth on their lap as sometimes they eat in nicer clothes....you might want to consider take some old t-shirts, long or short sleeve, and use them as "eating" shirts....so you don't have to worry about cleaning those body bibs....as you say, chairs, trays and floors takes enough time.

I usually clean the floor when they drink their milk (which I give towards end of meals) or when they have some fruit...I use the thin gerber burp clothes for wiping their hands/arms and face....I do it about every 10min during meal, just quick, so it does not start to dry and they like to put their hands in hair so you know where that goes.

once I take them down, after about 30min total of meal, I really just have to wash down the trays and wipe the chairs a bit, since we do not have any baby/jar food anymore, it's wayyyy less messy, and I do bath only in evening if we do anything with red sauce.

they are good eaters and not very messy so I am lucky, as for finding time to play....when they nap, I prepare the stroller, their outfits, hats, sunlotion, I am totally ready with that loaded, lotion is already on me and so when they wake, I change and dress them both, which takes about 10min and I am out. so that gives us about 1 1/2 hours in the am (after am nap) and about 2 hours in afternoon (after pm) nap.

GL and let me know if you need more info,
alexa

 

It really depends on how they're eating. I would say on average it takes about 30 minutes. Sometimes a little more. I just clean their hands and face and let them get down. They go play and then I clean up their trays and the floor.

 

The boys nap from 10-noon & 2-4pm so I usually make a mental note on what I plan to make them during their down time rather than get them in their highchairs & savage through all the cabinets until I can make my mind up. On occasion, I'll usually prepare their meals 20 minutes before they get up, so that it's ready. Usually though, on average, it only takes me about 20 minutes to feed both kids including sippies. I'm very punctual :lol:

 

It's getting better, but I'd say 40 minutes or so including cleaning (the dogs do the floor though ). And about 20 minutes of preparation...

 

For me it depends on the meal and their appetite. For breakfast, I actually cook them scrambled eggs before they eat, so they play in their pack-n-plays while I cook, then they play in their playroom while it cooks off and then they eat it. I give them toast and fruit with the eggs as well as milk in a sippy cup and other bread type items like waffles or french toast from the toaster. Breakfast probably takes 30 min? I have my superyard set up next to our high chairs in our finished basement so the kids go in there to play while I clean up the high chairs (we put a fridge and microwave down there too so I prepare their meals in advance and put them in the fridge and then heat up their meals 30 min before they eat them). Lunch, heat up the meal 30 min before so they can play while I do that, then they eat for about 30 minutes, a lot goes on the floor but I too am lucky, my dog gets most of it. I have a tablecloth underneath the high chairs and whatever mess isn't liquid can also be tossed outside via shaking the tablecloth out there..... I wash it once a week.....dinner is the same as lunch....

Hope that helps!
PS We only do snack at night to fill up for bed and I agree that is a lot easier to clean up, just cereal mostly.....and a lot quicker too, and it is also in front of the tv so quieter as well!

 

For us it also depends how hungry they are. On average it takes about 30 -45 minutes to eat. Mine are not too messy with the food unless we give them the spoon and then it's messy. If I think they are going to make a mess, I will strip them down to the diaper and let them have at it. Most of the time, I use bibsters and those contain much of the mess. Sometimes mine will wolf down food like someone's going to steal from them and other times they are more leisurely with it.

 

For us, it is highly variable. I'd say an average of 20-60 minutes, depending on what they are eating and how hungry they are. I do hate clean up, but I like that I can usually get a few kitchen chores done while they are contained in their high chairs.

 

Probably about 30 min average. I get them in the highchairs and give them something quick like Cheerios and then I get other stuff ready. For example I'll give them some Cheerios, get some water boiling for pasta, and while that's going on I chop up some green beans. They eat the beans while the pasta cooks, and I usually can wash the dishes as I go too. I still feed them some things with a spoon, like yogurt, so that cuts down on the mess, but they still practice by spooning themselves pasta and veggies etc. I do use a lot of microwave or toaster stuff so that decreases prep time. We also have a dog so the floor is easy to clean; she gets all the big chunks. The only problem I have is their hair. They have a lot of it and they tend to put food on their head or run their dirty hands through it while eating. I need hair nets!