Twin eating less than the other

Hi!

My twins are three weeks old today.

After they were born they had to spend a week in NICU as feeders & growers, as they were only 33 weeks old.
Upon their release from NICU, they were both eating 2.5oz.
For the first couple of days at home they ate really well from the ready made enfamil enfacare formula we were given. But after we ran out of the ready made enfacare formula, we had to start using the enfamil enfacare powder. Once on the powder, my ds started eating less. He is now down to around 2oz per feeding on average. My dd is the total opposite to her brother, she eats on average around 3.5oz per feeding. Sometimes even more!

The twins do have a lot of gas though. We will call the pedi on Monday & see what she recommends. I did post a question yesterday in regards to their gas, thank you to all of you who responded. I have found bouncing them on my knee does help.

Did you have a similar problem with feeding one of your twins? If so, how did you remedy the problem?
I have mentioned changing formula to our pedi, but she says enfacare is the best for preemies...(?)

In case you were wondering, last week Tuesday my ds was taken to the pedi & he had picked up 1lb! The doctor was amazed when she found out that he only eats 2oz per feeding on average.

We are monitoring him VERY closely.

 

Would you consider going back to the ready made for him?

K&K never ate the same but I never considered it a problem. Kyle was up to 8 ounce bottles after a couple months, Kayla never got beyond 7 the entire year we used bottles/formula. As long as he isn't seeming to be abnormally fussy (like he is constantly hungry) then I wouldn't worry about it. No two people eat exactly the same amount all the time. My guess would be he will hit a growth spurt next week and be drinking more than he ever has, they love to play with us like that.

 

Of course only their Pedi can tell you if your son is eating enough, but I did want to tell you that mine ate different amounts too.

Ryan would have any where from .5-1 oz more at some feedings, but he just needed more. I tried to not compare (easier said than done!!) ^_^ them in this way, telling myself if it was just Colin or just Ryan, would I be concerned about how much he is eating????

As long as they are being fed when hungry/scheduled and there is weight gain, I don't think there is any cause for concern.

(FYI, Ryan still eats more than Colin, and at *every* weight check at the doctor's they weigh exactly the same!!)

ETA: the enfacare formula has more calories so it is recommended for preemies to help them get their weight up.

 

Try not to compare Mine have never ever eaten the same amount, not even similar amounts really. They are different and will eat/grow at their own rates and as long as both are healthy, it's fine. Sounds like you're doing a great job

 

My tiny girl actually takes about .5 more per feeding right now....about 2.5 ounces total -- while my little guy usually tops out at 2 ounces. If I try to get down an extra .5 ounces, he spits it up, so I don't force it.

And, sure enough, Karina is putting on weight a little more quickly -- but, I figure as long as they're both healthy, they'll grow at their own rates!

It's good to "see" you over here, Denise!

 

Thanks for the replies & advice!!

Did you have your twins on a schedule? We have tried to keep ours on a three hour feeding schedule, but it seems as if our dd is changing that. How do we keep the schedule going??

Yeah! Great to 'see' you too Becca!

 

Hi and :sign0016: to the FY!!!

My boys also ate the Ready to Feed while in the hospital. I tried several times to switch them to powder once we got home with no luck. They were always extremely gassy and had horrible gas pains from the powder. We went back to the RTF and never had a problem again. It is much more $$, but really worth it as the result was always happy babies!

 

my dd has always eaten more than my ds, right from birth....try not to worry if they are both gaining weight consistently, but i would ask your pedi and see what he says. ....my ds was also very gassy but it seems to get better as they get older, my pedi says that it starts to get better around 3 months or so