We survived our first week but need help feeding

I survived my first week home alone with my 3 week old babies. Actually, we all survived! I really enjoyed it and find it so much more fun than I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, there was a ton of screaming and they were constantly yelling at me but I guess their crying doesn't scare me anymore. My DD has such discomfort while eating and after... she also screams every time she passes gas or goes to the bathroom. We are taking her in on Monday to see if she may have reflux. It breaks my heart when she wakes herself up while sleeping because she is so miserable - she turns all red and starts arching her back and pushing and crying and then she goes right back to sleep when it is over.

My biggest challenge is feeding them at the same time. I tried tandem nursing but my son just could not latch on and everyone ended up getting frustrated and turning red and getting too upset to eat. I need two hands to nurse him and that is too hard now because they both want to eat at the same time. We are mostly on formula (nutramagen) now and I find that feeding time is our most frustrating. I would appreciate any advice you have. I prefer to keep them on the same schedule as it makes nights a bit better for DH and I.

Here is what we are doing now:

I prop them up on the boppies and try to hold their bottles in at the same time. When I have to burp one I try to prop the other's bottle on a burp cloth but they can only really hold it for a minute and then it falls off and they are crying. To make it even more difficult, my DS seems to forget how to eat for the first couple of minutes and does not actually get anything in his mouth unless I hold him in my arm and feed him. This makes it difficult to hold DD's bottle in for her. Also, DD's disgestive issues make constant burping necessary which makes it nearly impossible to apease DS. So, what I end up with is a chaotic mess of me trying to feed both of them but they scream the entire time (whichever one does not have a bottle in their mouth throws a fit until they get picked up or a bottle in their mouth). I am afraid they are going to be scarred for life because their eating time is so chaotic and upsetting to them. Someone always has to wait and no one wants to wait...is this how it is for everyone with twins?

Thanks,
Amy

 

I usually will do one of two things:

Use a poddee bottle (these are WONDERFUL!) It is a bottle with a flexible straw on it that the baby can feed itself. I find them only at BRU

Or

I put them in their bouncies, I sit in between them and feed them. If I have to burp one, I quit feeding the other. He will be OK. Just angry he is not getting fed.

 

Congrats on surviving by yourself. I found feeding them by myself very challenging too. I did exactly what you are doing, and they did cry if the bottle fell away from their mouths when I had stopped to burp the other one. I tried feeding them in the bouncy seats, but when they were really small, I had a hard time with that. I would suggest finding a bottle prop or trying the Podee bottles. I tried the Podee, but mine had difficulties with sucking since they were born so early, and they never could get the hang of the bottles. They have to have a pretty hard suck to pull the milk up the straw. Finally when they were several months old (and I had some brain cells regenerating, I guess), I saw these little ponies they have and got the bright idea to use them as a bottle prop. I'm including a picture, so you can see how I did it. It was a lifesaver! The way these ponies are shaped made it perfect to prop in their mouths and the bottles not fall over. They were given to me as a gift, so I don't know where they're from, but I'm sure Target or BRU would have something similar - probably cheaper than the bottle holders sold online and faster to get. Good luck!

BottleProp

 

Congrats Mama! :bow2:

Is there a possibility that you could stagger their feeding times so that you can feed each baby individually?

Make sure you keep the dd you think has reflux upright after feedings, one TS mommy would lay her dd tummy down on her bouncy seat. The angle and uprightness was really soothing to her.

 

i use my boppy and put both of them on it and tandem bottle feed....when i need to burp them i put them back on the boppy, just like for tummy time and they both burp this way quite easily.....hope this helps

 

QUOTE
I put them in their bouncies, I sit in between them and feed them.


Ditto, that was the easiest way.

 

I never fed mine at the same time, I staggered their feeds about a half hour apart. I felt that it was important to hold them when they ate and get one on one attention from mommy...

 

Podee bottles!!!!!! There are several places to get them, including here! There are some TS mommies who sell them!

 

most of the time, feeding both by myself feels like a train wreck, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it!

i either stagger the feedings (which has gotten easier to do as they've gotten older/bigger) or use 2 boppies, with me in the middle. Kellen is a lot more patient than colby so if I'm using the boppies, I can always start colby first then stop him for a minute while i start Kellen, if necessary, though I can usually get a bottle in each of their mouths at the same time. I stop both when it's burp time. If one falls asleep or needs some encouragement to suck, I use a finger from the hand that's feeding them to stroke their cheek. I have podee bottles, too but haven't used them yet - I totally forgot I had them! but it seems like that would be a lot easier!

 

Congratulations!!

If I can, I try to feed them individually, but when I do feed them together, I typically hold William (he tends to be harder to feed, squirmy, pulls off the nipple, then cries, etc.) and put David in the boppy. I feed William in my arms while feeding David in the boppy. It's not easy, but I do manage it. I sit David up in the boppy to burp.

Both my boys had terrible reflux for the first 8 weeks. It was awful. They seemed to outgrow it though, as their digestive system matured.

 

I used the car seats and big blankets. I could bunch the blanket just right to hold the bottle in place til I was done burping the other. The sides of the car seat were high enough and shaped just right that it worked really well. My dd had reflux so I totally understand how feeding time can be!