Sleeping and Feeding

I'm sure this has been talked about a million times on here, but I want to get info from other twin parents. Our babies are now 1 week and 2 days old ... What did you guys do about scheduling sleep and feedings? Did you and DH sleep when the babies slept and both got up to do feedings? did one person manage all night when the other slept and then you switched off? how did you work it? I'd just like some ideas of different things we could try ...

What about bottles? I'm not breastfeeding ... Did you make bottles ahead of time and just heat them up? How did you warm them? Everything I read says do not microwave, and every mother I talk to uses the microwave to heat up bottles ... very confusing ...

Thanks in advance ... I know that this time is the hardest part ... and we just want to try to find a way to make it through!

Caba

 

Sleep/nap schedules didn't evolve until about 6 months unfortunately!

I fed them every 3 hours during the day, and let them go as long as they would at night, which usually was every 3 hours in the beginning!

I did all of the night feedings, with no help. But if your husband is able to take a shift, definately take advantage!!

In the beginning, when they were only drinking 2-3oz, it was easy to make the bottles ahead of time, and warm them in a cup of hot water. When they started drinking more, I would make the bottles, adding only the powder to a clean, dry, bottle, and then add room temp water when they were ready to eat.

Congratulations, and :sign0016: to the FY forum!!

 

Congrats on your babies!

We fed every 3 hours at first. They wouldn't go longer than that at night. My DH helped at the 10:30 or 11 pm feeding, and then I did the 2 am by myself (since he had to work), and then he'd help with the 5 am feeding. When I fed them by myself, I would prop each baby in a boppy pillow and hold the bottles, or sometimes I'd hold one baby and have the other in the bobby pillow. When we first brought them home from the hospital (they were there 2 months), I was still pumping, so we'd heat the breastmilk in a container in warm water to bring it to room temp. Once I quit pumping, I would have the water in the bottles and the formula measured out in those travel formula containers, so I could easily make the bottles. I never heated them up b/c I wanted my kiddos used to room temp.

Good luck with everything!

 

we started out using the nursette ready to feed bottles for night time feedings, the hospital sent us home wiht a bunch. They were sooo convenient, but way too expensive, IMHO, to buy and use for every feeding.. When they ran out I started just getting up and making the bottles in the kitchen. If the girls both woke up looking to eat at the same time, my hubby would help and feed one, otherwise, if he had to work the next day, i'd do one, then put them back down and wake the other. If he didn't have to work, i'd make him get up and make the bottles while i changed diapers and then we'd each feed one..

 

When mine were that age, I did the night feedings while DH sleeped. Since I wasn't working, I figured I'd handle it and let him get rested for work......
They slept almost around the clock though, so I'd just set my alarm for 15 min. prior to their scheduled feeding time, get up and get their bottles, then start feeding them just as they were beginning to stir, before the screaming even got a chance to get started. I'd feed one, change diaper, put her back in the PNP then get her sister and do the same routine. I was up for 30 minutes tops, then everyone was back to bed till the next feeding time.

For their bottles, I got in the habit of filling their bottles up as soon as I was done with their feeding, then just leaving them on the nightstand. By the time their next feeding came around, the bottles were warmed up to room temperature. That's how they've taken their bottles the whole time. It wasn't till they got into Daycare 3 weeks ago that they started getting heated bottles. They never had a problem with room temp. formula......

Now that I'm working again, and the girls' schedules are less predictable, we both usually get up in the night to feed a baby. We're only up for about 20 minutes each though, unless one of the babies decides to watch some late night TV.... And at 3 months and 2 weeks, they only wake up once during the night to eat... So rest assured, you WILL catch a break soon!

Congrats on your new arrivals, and good luck for the next few sleep deprived weeks/months ahead.... It will get easier though, I promise.

 

We fed every 3 hours round the clock till out pedi told us we could let them sleep through the night. My DH got up with me for the first week and then my mom, who stayed with us for 2 months after the girls were born, got up with me. I was BFing and then giving them another ounce of EBM or formula at the 1 week point. We heated the EBM or formula in a cup of hot water. Once they were getting bigger bottles I started heating them in the microwave. You will get differing opinions on the heating of bottles. You should decide what you feel comfortable and go with that because you won't get one solid answer.

As for sleep - the girls slept when they felt like it - we didn't have much of a schedule. I tried to get them to sleep a little after they ate - but really they were running the show back then - still are sometimes! I tried to follow the EASY method, Eat, Activity, Sleep, You, though the You time was hard to come by.

 

As far as bottles...I think I am in the minority with this but we used room temp water. It did not get any easier. Every night we lined up all the bottles that would be used for the next day and we filled them with the formula. Then next to each bottle, we had measured out water in those plastic containers that come with breast pump kids (my intention was to nurse). Then when they are ready, you just pour, shake and are ready to go. It killed my mom when she saw that we did not heat the bottles but the boys never knew any other way and love their bottles!

As far as night wakings, we tried different things. At the beginning, one one woke, one of us would feed them and we would switch when the next woke. When they got a little older, we started waking them together and then one would do both and the other got to sleep until the next time. All I can say is that my dh got up from the beginning even though he 'went' to work everyday. My position was that I need just as much energy to take care of 2 babies the next day. Since he did it from the beginning, it was just what he did and not much of a big deal.

 

I did/do all night feedings. I put one in a boppy right next to me, & one goes on my legs (prop'd on the coffee table, my legs, not the baby ). At first we too used those ready made mini bottles...the nurse sent us home w/2 big bags full. It was really nice. Then we started making a big batch of formula & filling bottles up ahead of time. We use the microwave to warm them up. We just make sure to shake them really well to get rid of any hot spots. I tried to go room temp route, but they eat them so much better warm.

Sleep, we had them on a 3 hr schedule, but let them sleep at night for however long they would go...which was 3 hrs, LOL.

 

We would feed on demand, however, if one woke up, we would wake the other. My dh helped me with almost all of the night feedings. I would prepare 24 hours worth of bottles ahead of time. We kept a large tupperware bowl in our room so when we heard a baby he would get up and get the bottles and put them into hot tap water in the bowl in our room to warm them. I would go and change the baby awake, he would then take that baby and start feeding while I changed the other and then I fed her. He worked 2nd shift so he would go back to bed after the first morning feeding since I was able to get to bed before hiim at night.

 

Our DDs are 5 months ( 11 weeks adjusted age). Those first couple of months were difficult, but it has gotten so much better!! I pumped for 8 weeks, but now they are on formula...so, they have always been bottle fed. I have always fed the girls separately, execept the few times where they have been just starving at the same time. I enjoy feeding them separately and getting the individual time with each. Although feeding them together saves time I have always found it to be a little chaotic...maybe because one DD is really high-maintenance and I feed she needs more attention while eating. We make the bottle ahead of time and warm them in a big cup full of hot water for about 15mins (little less at night).

Anyway, during the nights my DH and I have always each taken a baby to feed every night. We don't switch on and off. It has worked well for us that way. I know that a lot of people wake one when the other wakes, but we found that the one we wake wouldn't eat much at all and then she would be hungry later. So, in order to keep the "wake ups" to a minimum we just let them wake on their own and each of us feeds one baby. They have gotten to the point where they only wake up once each, if that. During the day, they eat every 3-3.5 hours...they used to eat every 4, but it was suggested that if they eat a little more frequently during the day they may sleep better at night.

I know that a lot of moms who are on maternity leave take all the night-time feedings, but I never did. My reasoning was that I worked just as hard at home as DH did sitting at a computer programming all day. Plus, I was physically trying to recover, too. I have to say that although it is BY FAR the MOST rewarding job, being at home is also the hardest job. I hadn't actually proved my theory until I went back to work (unfortunately) 2 weeks ago and INDEED being a SAHM is much harder!! So, my point is that I don't feel bad for having my DH pick up his share of the feedings at night while I was on maternity leave

 

Congratulations on your babies!

We bottle fed every 3 hours. I also pumped every 3 hours for months. My MIL helped us during the night as well. My DH, MIL, and myself would feed the babies. Sometimes DH and MIL fed while I pumped. Some nights we each took a feeding off and slept through and the other two did the feedings. My DH worked and I did not; however, I still needed sleep in order to go all day with the babies. I had a hard time napping during the day when the babies slept. It wasn't until 4 months that they were on a decent schedule and slept at the same time (some).

Yes, we made bottles ahead of time and kept them in the fridge. They were each drinking 8 bottles a day. We would wash bottles in the morning and prepare for the rest of the day and then wash again in the evening to prepare for the LONG night. I know many others prepare a days worth of bottles in advance. I just didn't want that many bottles hanging around my sink. I used bottle warmers to warm bottles at home. If I were away from home then I would use a microwave if necessary.

Good luck figuring out what works for your family. I believe it is a lot of trial and error for the first few months. Keep coming to this sight when you feel overwhelmed . . . we all do!

 

my DH helped with each feeding during the night... once they got a little easier to feed we took turns during the weekend. Then during the week he stayed up until about 12 doing those feedings and I took those after 12 so he could sleep for work. (I went to bed about 8 or 9 so I got in about 6 hours).
we premade bottles and used a bottle warmer..what a life saver..originally we used hot water but when you have 2 babies screaming the last thing you want to do is wait for it to heat in a cup of water. We tried making the bottles as you go with bottled water but at 2 am I could barely figure out what I was doing let alone measure. I would drop things and not measure right..it was a mess.