How or do you bottle feed your twins at the same time?

One of my girls is still in the NICU, but is expected to come home soon (next week). I am wondering if any of you bottle feed your young twins at the same time? My girls were born at 34w5d, so they are still pretty little. Is it even possible? I am just looking for ways to be more efficient with their feeds, especially at night with sleep such a precious commodity!!!

I wish both girls would have come home at the same time, then I would have never known what it was like to care for just one!

TIA for your advice!

 

My babies were born at 37wks so I'm not sure if you could do this with your babies, but eventually anyway. I lay them on the couch, feet to the back, I sit between them and feed them their bottles. The sell these wedges that are helpful if your babies have refluz (DS did so we had to use one) wedge. It saves a ton of time feeding them together, and they are still close to you, v/s feeding them in bouncy chairs. GL!

 

Mine came home at the same time from the NICU and the first couple of weeks they were still in the NICU schedule feeding about
1/2 apart. I say that was the most easiest..change, feed and burp and back to bed. Now they are on their own schedule and
tend to wake each other up. I put my son on a boppy pillow and I hold my daughter - my son actually eats better if I don't hold him
and dd has a bad case of reflux so I have to watch her closely.
Have fun and enjoy your babies

 

mine were born at 30 weeks and spent 5 weeks in the nicu, they came home on a 3 hour schedule, 1/2 hour apart, but alot of times i fed them at the same time. i used a boppy when they were real small, i would put them both in it together. when they got a lil bigger i would use 2 boppys, or now i set 1 baby up and prop the bottle while feeding the other

 

I tried to use bouncy seats when they were first home...didnt work too well, but I think it will work better when they have more head control. So, what I've been doing is sitting on the floor with my back leaning against the couch or chair I put 1 boppy on each side of me (their heads closest to my thighs) and feed them that way. I think in a few weeks I'm going to try the bouncy seats again.
It is hard at first and kinda hard to get the hang of it...but just keep at it, you will get it! Good luck!

 

My girls were in the NICU for 8 weeks and were just barely 5 pounds when we came home, so we didn't feed them at the same time for a couple more weeks. They were just too small. After they got to be a bit bigger, I sat in a large recliner with one baby propped on a pillow next to me and one propped on my knees. It's hard to explain, so I'll see if I can find a picture. That worked until they got too long and started kicking me in the stomach while I was feeding them. It did take several attempts for me to get used to it and get a system that worked. The hardest part was figuring out how to get us all in position, but once I figured out how to do it, I got really good at it.

Here are a couple of pictures:
Feeding Babies 1
Feeding Babies 2

 

I'd sit on the side of the couch near an arm and put a boppy pillow on me. I'd put one baby on the boppy and then I'd put the other baby in the crack b/w the arm of the couch and the arm of the boppy.

I had it down to a science, I could feed both babies and still have a free hand to change the channel on the tv or talk on the phone, lol.

 

We would put the babies on a boppy, prop up the bottles with burpie clothes and be on our way. It worked out well for us! Good luck and congrats on your new little ones!

 

Like many of the PP's when mine came home from the NICU and I was alone during the day I sat on the couch with a boppy on either side and fed them that way, we had to stop after every ounce for my littlest as he had/has reflux issues. I gave the one that was not getting burped a soothie paci and then burped him after the other was done, etc., we repeated this until the bottle was done. It was hard at first b/c they were not good feeders!!!! Hang in there it DOES get better!!!!! Oh, sometimes it seems like their heads were smooshing the boppy in the center so we would stick a tea towel underneath to elevate it a little while feeding. Congratulations, I am happy for you that they will both be home soon!!!!

 

I put one next to me and used a boppy while the other was angled in my lap. (Their heads were close together.) It took a few tries and few different positions before we got one that worked for us.

Play around with different ways to do it and find what works for you. Good Luck!

 

I didn't see anyone else with the way I do mine but: First I get everything I need in arms reach, bottles, bibs, phone, remote, etc. and then once I get the boys out of the crib I sit in the recliner. I put a pillow across my lap and put the boys in my lap, feet towards my sides. this way I can hold the bottles with one hand if needed to chance channel, answer phone, drink, whatever. Plus they usually stare at me while they are feeding.

 

I nursed and bottle-fed, and the EZ-2-nurse pillow really helped with both. Also, I would sit on my couch or a bed with their head propped up in my lap. Another thing that worked was one across my lap and one cradled in my arm when they were really small.

Yay that your DD is coming home soon!!

 

You got some great tips. I just wanted to say that mine were born at 32 weeks and came home at just shy of 35 weeks gestation. I had to feed them separately because they didnt really have any head control and would just flop in the seat or boppy and they werent very proficient eaters. I had to do a lot of coaxing to keep them awake too. But once they matured the boppy, bottle proppers, and the boucy were lifesavers for double feedings.

 

i had 33 weekers and had a tough time figuring out a good way to feed both when their head control was so minimal. i tried putting each in a bouncy chair and feeding them with a bottle in each hand but their heads would slump forward.

i have a new method that works reasonably well these days where i sit on the floor with everything i need within reach. i either have them in bouncy chairs or infant carriers (reflux so they have to stay sitting up), one on each side. whichever one seems hungrier goes first, and i place him in my lap to feed. i use my crossed legs to help position and prop him, which leaves one hand free. if the other one seems like he's only mildly hungry i give him a pacifier and my free hand is available to pop it back in when he inevitably pops it out. if he seems hungrier i can give him his bottle with my free hand and i'm better positioned to help correct his head angle if he slumps (not as much of a problem these days). they're both pretty good about pausing every ounce or so for burping so i can pause both, burp one, burp the other, and then keep going. when the first one is done i put him in his seat and pick up the other one to finish him off. that way he gets some one-on-one time, too. on the next feeding i try to make sure the one who was fed in the chair gets first dibs on lap time with mommy. it helps me feel like i'm getting close one-on-one time with them when i have two to feed.

 

We fed them at the same time but their was two of us for the first little while. Then we'd use the bouncy chairs when we had to do both at once. This worked great until they got more active. I still use the bouncy's but now it proves to be much more difficult as they move around much more. They actually prefer the bouncy's now over our laps. I guess they got use to the freedom. We also use their high chairs occasionally, and I guess this will be the way of the future for us.

 

I tried regular pillows to no avail, as the babies kept sliding off them and sliding together (when very young), and when they were about 2 weeks old I bought them boppy pillows, and haven't looked back. Total lifesavers that mean I can feed them by myself with no problems. We still use them at every feed, but we need a rolled up towel under the middle of them now as they have started to get a little flat and the babies want to be higher up.

 

I used to sit on the couch with a baby either side of me and feed them that way. Either that or put them in their bouncychairs and feed them like that x

 

Like others, I sat on the floor with my back against the couch with a boppy on each side of me. I used burp clothes/blankets to help prop bottles too as long as I was right there.

 

My boys just kept sinking into the middle of the regular boppys. DH got me a boppy newborn lounger and I loved it. I could put one in that next to me on my left on the couch and then hold one with their head in my left arm. That way if necessary I could hold both bottles with one hand for a sec to change channels or something. Once they got a little bigger I would do boppies in the floor on either side of me. Now we are out of luck they are too squirmy to feed themselves or sit still while you feed both if you aren't holding them.

 

Whenever I bf my boys, they are in the "football hold" (feet facing the back of the couch) - so when they are getting bottles, I put them in the same position using the Boppy pillow and instead of using my hand to support their head (like I do while bfing) I use my hands to hold the bottles. I love it b/c they are still cuddled close to me and each other. Plus I can look right at them - well, at least before they became so distracted by all of the exciting things happening in our family room (aka their 4-year-old big brother!).

Congrats on bringing home baby number 2!!!

 

It depends on how well they take a bottle. At that age, my two were still pretty bad at it and it took a lot of concentration to get most of the milk in their mouth. They dribbled a lot and got tired. By 1 month old, we could bottle feed them together anytime we wanted.

 

The Boppy Newborn lounger has been one of my best friends since my twinkies came home! I have two of them... I sit in the middle of the couch, place a baby in the lounger on either side of me, and feed. It's the best!

 

I think I have the only babies I was never able to feed together. One had problems opening her mouth, and both were moving their head all over the place, making it impossible to leave a bottle in the same spot (they still do it). The only few times I tried, it was on the bed, and they were each in a boppy, I was holding their bottles, and it ended with two babies screaming.