How Long Does it Take to Bottle Feed

We use Dr. Brown bottles and formula.

At night DH and I each feed a baby and then hold her up for 20-30 minutes. It seems like if we lay them down after eating they always spit up. So between changing the diaper, feeding her a bottle, burping her and then holding her up the whole process takes about an hour. So for every 3 hour stretch we get only 2 hours of sleep.

I'll be on my own with them during the day and am looking to speed up the process.

What does your feeding routine look like and how long does it take?

Thanks!

 

My boys used to take an hour just to bottle an ounce so I know the feeling. Maybe instead if holding them up you could put them in a chair or get a wedge for under their mattress. My boys spit up all the time and for that reason they slept in their chairs for the first two months and it seemed to help. They still sleep with the wedges under their mattresses. I also try to feed them both at the same time once they started eating better. Good luck

 

When my girls were infants they each took 30 minutes to take a bottle. I also used Dr. Browns. But when I was alone and feeding them one at a time it took me an hour and then I only had 2 hours before it was time to start feeding the first baby again.

 

It takes about 30 minutes for me to feed each baby. We used Dr. Browns bottles also. I started out feeding them one at a time, but for the past month I have been feeding them at the same time. I put down 2 boppies on the floor next to each other and prop their bottles up with a rolled up receiving blanket. Until they got back up to their birth weight, we were told to feed them every 3hours during the night and then after they reached their birth weight we could let them sleep for as long as possible. So when that happened we would each take a baby at night. Then during the day I am feeding them every 3 hours starting at 7:30a. They are both STTN now.

Also in the crib we started out by putting towels under the mattress to raise one side, but that is not needed anymore.

 

I know the feeling! Mine are the same way and during the day I only get an hour break. Since they have both gained about two pounds now, I stopped waking them up at 3 hours and wait for them to tell me when to eat, which my pedi doesn't agree with. We did get one of them to breast, which has cut her down to about 45 min for a feeding. I prop one up in a swing while I feed the other.

 

I fed them both at the same time, and it took me 30-45 minutes each time they got up at night. I had refluxers too, and for the first 3 months or so I sat Emma up in the swing, and Jake was in bed with me on a wedge.

 

Yep, same story here. At least 30 minutes to feed, held them upright for at least 40 minutes, and then start the process over again in less than 2 hours. I only survived the first year due to coffee.

 

That sounds just like what we went through! Our solution was to put the little ones in their bouncy chairs after eating rather than holding them. Thirty minutes to feed the first baby, them put him in a bouncy chair, another thirty minutes for the second baby and then into a bouncy chair as well. Just don't forget to let them back out of the chairs

 

One of my twins spits up and I try to delay laying her down on her back after feeding for as long as possible. I feed both twins at the same time, either with both of them propped up in boppy pillows or one in my arms and one in the pillow. I then hold my spitty one upright in my arms after the feeding or sit her in the boppy pillow. We also use wedge-shaped sleep positioners in the crib which seem to help. I am not sure how you burp them but I never pat their backs, just gently rub and sit them upright. Luckily my spitter burps very easily (and loudly!!) so I usually just need to sit her upright and out comes the burp. The feeding takes about half an hour or less depending on how hungry they are. Sometimes I am lucky enough to get it over with in 15-20 minutes but then I have to change them and pump so I am usually only left with an hour or an hour and a half (they are on a 3-hr feeding schedule). Good luck!!

 

How old are you babies? Ours would take about 20-25 mins to finish a bottle during the night because they would keep falling asleep. My DS had horrible reflux and we too had to hold him vertical for 30 mins after feeds and he still spit up. I put pillows under the mattress so that he wouldn't be sleeping flat on his back. It helped alot.