Setting schedule for newborn twins

hi, I have 3 week old boy twins born at 38 weeks. they were born with 1 lb difference in size, now are 7.5 lbs and almost 6.5 lbs. I have not been feeding them at the same time thus far because initially they were eating at different rates (I am breastfeeding), one every 2 hours, one every 3 hours. they both now eat every 2 hours which is good because my smaller one is eating more frequently now. I don't tandem feed too much, because my smaller one doesn't breastfeed as well, requires two hands at times. at night so far I haven't been waking to force feeding at same time, partly because i'm delirious from lack of sleep and its so hard to bring myself to wake one if he's asleep and partly because the smaller one really doesn't eat well when too sleepy. did all of you start making them eat at the same time at right from early on? do you think I should be pushing it?

I appreciate any input.

 

I did not breastfeed, but from the beginning, when one would wake to eat, we would wake up the other baby and feed him, too. Since we were bottle feeding, DH could help, and it would cut the feeding time in half. I know it's hard to think about waking the other one to eat, too, but I think in the long run you will probably get more sleep rather than less by doing that. If at some point you can tandem feed, or pump and have DH or someone else give a bottle, that would cut the time even further.

Hang in there - the sleep deprivation is hard the first little while!

 

We did wake them both at that age. When they got a little older (2 months or so) we could tell that one of our boys really wanted to sleep longer than 3 hours at a stretch at night, so we decided to let him sleep longer to see how long before he'd wake to eat. He immediately started sleeping 5-6 hours straight. We asked our doc and she thought it was fine.

I breastfed too, but tandem never worked well for us either. One of my boys (smaller one) just needed too much hands-on help. So, during those night time feeds I'd usually breastfeed one of them, and DH would bottle feed the other with expressed breast milk.

 

I did feed them at the same time at night for the first 2.5 months. If one woke up I woke the other and fed him/her. I don't know if I would say I got any more sleep because yes, you wake up a baby that isn't quite ready to be awake to actually eat, so they don't eat much and you end up getting up an hour or two later anyway. It was tough and I am not sure there is a right or wrong answer to the nighttime feedings. I got so tired of it at night I quit feeding tandem and now I fully feed on demand (I breastfeed). At night I just feed whichever one wakes up. I just started bringing them into my bed and feeding them there. I felt I got more sleep that way as I didn't wake up and watch t.v. sorta thing.

 

I bf'd mine and woke them up when they started tandeming. It took about a week for my big boy to get proficient at nursing, but once they did it was on. I do think I got more sleep that way as otherwise I was up every hour with one or the other. This way I could be up for an hour, go to sleep hopefully for another hour.

 

I agree that there is probably no right answer at this point. I tried it just about every way possible. My babies were born at 32 weeks and we had a big boy who needed to nurse every 2 hours and a little girl who would ONLY nurse every 3 hours. I tried making him wait a little longer (by plugging with pacifier), I tried waking her (and of course she was too sleepy) and in the end I decided I was investing more energy trying to get them on the same schedule, so I stopped. My pediatrician assured me that it was OK to let her sleep and eat when she was ready. He also confirmed that it was probably silly to try to get them on the same schedule because the weight difference was significant enough that they had completely different nutritional needs. Who knows??? Anyway, It seemed like once, I stopped trying to control things, it got easier (maybe because I was worrying less?? or maybe because I was soooo exhausted I couldn't care!!)

Regardless - good luck! And know that each day/week/month will get easier for you (from a nursing and sleep deprivation point anyway

 

I always kept them both on the same schedule with both sets of twins one born at 36 weeks and one 37.2 I just made them eat and sleep at the same time adn they learned to want the same schedule I also have always tendem fed (after the first 2-3 weeks) as I needed the time and then they wouldn't be crying when I was feeding the other one. If you don't have a twin nursing pillow get one. i can nusre them with no hands at all. It is great. I love my EZ-2-nurse pillow. Get one. You are still in the early days but I would try to get them on the same schedule now that you ahve a few weeks under your belt.

 

we got really lucky with good latchers and nursers, and I started tandem nursing as soon as the girls were home from the NICU. I rarely feed singly. But I'm probably not one to ask as I haven't been able to get the girls off supplements. (We supplement after nearly every feeding.)

 

We woke to feed ours in the beginning. It doesn't feel like it at first-but it will let you get more sleep in the long run! As sometimes if you'd feed one, spend 1/2 hr and get them back to sleep, only to have to wake up 15 mins later b/c twin 2 woke up hungry! It helped with the frustration of sleepless nights or lots of night wakings!

During the day we feed at the same time too in beginning. But then around 3 months I noticed twin1 was becoming a better sleeper. so i tried not waking her at night and some nights she slept longer! it's still hit or miss - they're almost 4 months old. some nights twin1 can go 6.5 hours and then the past 2 nights she's woke every 3 hrs with her brother. sigh. lol.

 

Thanks for all the advice! I think I am going to give waking them at the same time a try.

 

I am also breastfeeding, and my girls are almost 4 months old. We've finally found a strategy that works well for us at nighttime, and I actually feel rested (mostly anyway) and don't need to wake up the hubby anymore. The real trick was to learn how to nurse lying down! I cosleep with one baby on either side and just nurse them as they wake up. I roll from side to side all night as needed. I get much more sleep this way because once they're latched on, I can sleep until the other baby wakes up and then roll and repeat lol...the only trouble is when they both wake up at once and need to be fed. In that case, usually my husband will take one until I finish nursing whichever is hungriest. I would totally recommend cosleeping, everyone gets more sleep!

 

We started tandem feeding in the hospital. The nurses and doctors encouraged us to keep them on the same schedule, and I am so glad we did. One of course is a better sleeper than the other, but after the first couple of weeks, of feeding them at the same time, it really made a difference. I agree with LV Twinmama, get a twin feeding pillow. We have the MyBreastFriend and you can feed without hands. Tandem feeding especially at night, will help you get some more rest. If they are on the same schedule, you know there are a couple hours at least in between feedings.

Hang in there! It will get better and you will get more sleep once they are waiting longer between feedings.