What to do when the both are screaming at once?

I know this is the place to come for some real answers.... I know what they mean when they say until you have twins you have no idea...


My little ones are one month old and we have been doing great but now my hubby is going to be going back to work soon and I'll be alone with them more often.

what do you do when they wake up at the same time and they are both screaming for food??
My milk didn't come in well and I am pumping and supplementing with fomula so I can't just stick one on each boob
My thought is one is just going to have to wait but I don't want them screaming and no one attending to their needs either.

What is the best way?????.....
I've tryed putting them in the boppy pillow on the floor and feeding them both with bottles but I have to stop the feeding for both when one needs to be burped and the other starts screaming...... I feel so bad

Thanks so much,
Jodi

 

I found My Breast Friend pillow to be much more useful while trying to breastfeed them both at the same time. Its still tricky...but it just worked better for me than the Bobby. I quit producing milk at all around 3 months so I just bottle feed them on the floor at the same time - and I'm by myself all the time dh is always at work and were military so th ere is no family around. Hope you find a solution that works for you. Sometimes they would just scream....nothing else you could do. Hopefully when they get a little older they'll stop that a bit. Mine have overall.

 

When it comes to crying for food, I would feed them at the same time. I would sit in the recliner and have a baby on each side of me (with my legs slightly elevated) and feed them together. When it came time to burp, I would burp one (and let the other cry for 10 secs or so) and then burp the other baby and begin feeding again. Once they were a little bigger (I had 3lb preemies) I was able to prop the bottle of the baby I wasn't burping. It takes some practice but by day 3 or 4 you'll feel like Superwoman!

 

Depends on the situation I say. I will feed both of them at once, usually both in the boppy or one in the boppy and one in the bouncy seat. If one has to cry for a minute while I burp the other that's the way it is. If I'm doing something with one and the other starts crying, it basically boils down to someone has to cry! It's okay for them to cry a little if you are burping or doing something with the other. It bothered me at first but I am only one person and they were fine if they cried for a little. You can do it!

 

I feed the boys in their bouncy chairs at the same time. I bottle feed because I did not make enough milk....bum. Anywho, it takes a bit of practice but you will get it. I just put the bottles down, burp one then the other. They were fussy in the beginning, but now, they know to wait and it will be their turn next!

A little practice makes perfect,
Jenn

 

this is how i fed them at the same time at first:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamsmapte/2965092847/

after i got more confident and figured out what worked for us i would put a swing on either side of me and sit on the floor cross-legged between them. i would start one baby a little early, in other words i wouldn't wait for them to be hungry. i would put one in a swing on one side and put the other in my lap with his head propped up on my knee. i would hold the bottle in one hand and swing the swing with the other as needed. i would also us that extra hand to make sure pacifiers were kept in place. after burping the first one i would put him down in his swing and get the other one down in my lap for a similar feeding.

i was pumping for every feeding at that point so i got a hands-free pumping bra and i would put the electric pump on the floor next to me. i would pump while feeding this way.

 

Put in earplugs and pour a glass of wine. Seriously though, I could never double feed. What I would do is feed the more demanding twin first while I continually stuck the pacifier in the others mouth. I tried double feeding but wasn't a fan, plus my boys needed a lot of burping. It will get easier. :hug:

 

QUOTE(TandC @ Jun 20 2009, 07:32 PM) [snapback]1362276[/snapback]
Put in earplugs and pour a glass of wine. Seriously though, I could never double feed. What I would do is feed the more demanding twin first while I continually stuck the pacifier in the others mouth. I tried double feeding but wasn't a fan, plus my boys needed a lot of burping. It will get easier. :hug:


I agree with you...double feeding is hard and I feel like I am not loving on them enough. I will do it at times and it's ok but I like to hold them and feed them one at a time. I feel like it is my one on one time with them. Seth is much more demanding so I usually feed him first while Hannah is beside me with her pacifier...it usually works out good enough.

I have found in the last month with twins you do alot of juggling...LOL!

Try to relax, we will survive!

 

Thanks so much for the advice... I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could..... wish me luck!!!

 

Do you have an overstuffed couch or a couch with a large arm?

I sit right against the right arm of my couch, I rest one baby with their butt/legs on my leg, and their back/shoulders/head resting on the arm of the couch, kinda against my boob, with my right arm around the top of her head. (Sometimes I put a small pillow behind her back to prop her a bit higher when she's refluxing).

The other baby lays beside my left leg, with his head by my knee and his legs under my left elbow, with his head propped on a pillow.

I hold the right hand baby bottle with my right arm curved around the top of my dd's head, and the left baby bottle with my left hand, and put a small pillow under my left elbow on top of his legs.

It works great, is pretty easy once you figure out how to get everyone positioned. Yes, they have to cry when it's burp time, but by about 3 months old I stopped the middle burp and only burp at the end once they are both done eating. They actually don't burp, they belch! :laughing: A big old man belch, but it does the job!

 

If they are on a fairly regular feed schedule you could try starting one 10 mins early so that they are 1/2 way done before the other starts wanting food. That's what we did with Naomi and Luke, technically their feed times were 15 minutes apart (although I always counted that as them being on the same schedule). Luke was the slower one to feed-he had reflux and was on a special formula-so I would start him first, feed 1/2-3/4 of the bottle, burp him, feed Naomi all of her bottle, burp her, feed Luke the rest of his bottle, burp him again. If your babies get upset during the others feed I'd lay them right next to where you're sitting so you can touch/talk to/soothe them as you feed their twin. That way you won't feel so bad. Also if they have to cry for a few minutes then they have to cry, it's not the end of the world and I promise you they won't be scarred for life!

 

i feed them in their svan bouncers which allow me to get a good angle compatible with their reflux. i would stop and lean them forward to burp them every 2 oz or so when they were younger. now they burp at the end of the bottle. they would fuss or scream a bit when i would burp them during the bottle, but i just learned to pop a paci in their mouths and that put a stop to that.

 

QUOTE(TandC @ Jun 20 2009, 07:32 PM) [snapback]1362276[/snapback]
Put in earplugs and pour a glass of wine. Seriously though, I could never double feed. What I would do is feed the more demanding twin first while I continually stuck the pacifier in the others mouth. I tried double feeding but wasn't a fan, plus my boys needed a lot of burping. It will get easier. :hug:



I agree with this post completely.

I couldn't double feed at the same time...neither baby would latch properly. Also, I could not produce enough milk (I breastfed, pumped like crazy and supplement only when absolutely necessary). When both were crying, I would feed the baby that was crying the most. I also tried to feed prior to them crying (but someone always seemed to cry). I would put the baby that was crying in a swing or bouncy chair and rocked the bouncy chair with my foot while feeding.

If there is one thing I learned from listening to other mothers on this forum...its okay if one of them cries. I read that over and over and that is what got me through it. I hated them crying but I did the best I could. And trust me, they will be okay. My twins are 10 months old and they are two of the happiest little girls.

Just try to relax while your feeding one and the other is crying. I know it is easier said than done. But if you can remember that it truely is okay if one cries...it will get easier. Since having my twins, I have learn to have patience (more than I thought I ever could)...and that is what gets me through the times when all 3 cry at the same time (whether for whatever they may be crying about).

Trust me, it does get easier. And I know it is hard with your breastfeeding situation.

Good luck!!!

 

I just joined and haven't even put a signature together yet but wanted to respond . . . my girls are 4 1/2months but 9wks adjusted. If you want to nurse one - you can put one on the boob and the other in your crossed legs. Hold one with one arm (same side as boob they are on w/their but resing in your lap) and feed the bottle with the other hand and the baby on the same side. Make sense? The bottle baby could be in front or to the side of you also. If I can figure out how - I will post a picture. Then you can switch next time and have the opposite baby nurse/bottle. I do this on the bed alot or sitting on the floor. Just have them close enough (the bottled baby) to reach easy. THEY will require less burping as they get older and it will be easier. I now am able to wait till they slow or stop before I burp them - instead of every ounce like in the beginning (my one had severe reflux and would throw up the entire bottle through nose and mouth). By that time they are usually calm and not crying while they wait for the other to burp. I agree w/ everyone else - sometimes they have to cry. In the begining - they used the pacifiers alot. If you swaddle - you can pull it up around the bottom of the pacifier to help it stay in while you watch them. I have also put one close to me (touching my leg) while I feed the other and that works sometimes. Definately try to catch one early and start with that (but I know it doesn't always work that way - especially at night). If you are bottling both - then always make both bottles. When I'm exclusively bottling - I usually feed in a shared boppy (although they are getting to big to be together now) but have also done the car seats, travel swings, etc.. I do sometimes tandum nurse in a glider using the breast friend (since it straps around me). You can do that with bottles or 1 bottle/1breast also as long as you set it up first.
Have to run - they are crying now
Anyone know how I can post a pic? Do I have to put it online first or is their another way?

Good luck - it will get easier in that department anyway!
Triciaism

 

take a deep breath and say out loud in response to the screaming " I love you too!" then do the best you can
I was able to tandem nurse but didnt prefer it so I got mine on a staggered schedule of about 15-20 minutes. I fed one right after the other.
I do know of lots of mums who used a boppy type pillow or other and could feel them both, then when one needed burped put that one over your shoulder and burp with the same hand you are holding them with while still bottlfeeding the other one.

Best of luck, you can do it, and remember if one has to cry its OK - youre doing the best you can, and teachign them a valuable lesson - patience!!!