BOTTLE FEEDING TWINS
BTC is a voluntary self help group and this information is intended for interest only. For medical advice, please contact your GP or Health Visitor
I think one of the first things to remember if you bottle feed your twins, either by choice or by necessity, is not to feel guilty about it. There is no reason to believe that you won’t “bond” properly or that your babies won’t grow into perfectly healthy well-adjusted children just because they have been bottle fed.
You do however, have to be slightly more organised, and most people who bottle feed their twins seem to find it easier to make up the days’ feeds in one go rather than fiddle about making two bottles every few hours when the hungry babies are perhaps both screaming for food at the same time.
I very quickly got into the habit of making up the night-time and next days bottles after our evening meal each day. This had two advantages, one being that my husband was usually around to give me a hand, and secondly whilst we were clearing up the mess of our evening meal it seemed a good time to make just a little more mess.
There is nothing more annoying than having boiled a kettle and then cooling it to make up bottles, than someone kindly arriving and putting the kettle on to make you a nice cup of tea, only to make the water too hot once again. I got around this problem by buying a second, cheap kettle and keeping it solely for the feeds. A second steriliser is also very handy although the steam sterilisers are so quick you may not find it necessary.
It seems a little daunting at first making up to as many as 12 or 14 bottles at one time, but once you get used to filling each bottle with the required amount of water and then going along with the appropriate number of scoops of milk powder it can be done very quickly. My fridge always had its top shelf stacked with bottles for the next day and it really did save time and panics in the long run.
One problem always seemed to be telling each baby’s bottle apart when you put the bottles down to wind the babies or you were perhaps interrupted. You can of course buy separate bottle designs for each baby or you could just put an elastic band around one of the bottles. Eventually all my family and friends knew that Connor’s bottles had a band around them so anyone could take over at a moment’s notice and not get the feeds in a muddle.
It is obviously very difficult to be too regimented about times of feed, but many people find it easier to try and feed the twins at the same time. Although it can take a little time to get the babies into the same feeding pattern, it does give you more rest in between feeds. Until I tried this, I found that no sooner had I fed one of the babies it was the other ones turn and during the night especially it can be very tiring. I found that when one of the babies woke up for a feed, I would wake the other by changing its nappy by which time it seemed ready for food and very soon their waking and sleeping patterns were very similar. The obvious advantage of this is that when they are both asleep you can put your feet up and if you are very lucky eat some food yourself!
Feeding them both together if you are on your own takes a little planning, but I used to alternate which baby I cuddled to feed and which baby I laid on a soft bean bag cushion, this gave baby a safe snuggly place to lay while taking its bottle.
One very big advantage of bottle feeding your twins is of course that anyone can help you. My family and friends all very soon got used to being handed a baby at feed times and even at 2:00 am my husband helped me. Don’t let the excuse that he has work the next day deter him from helping, looking after two babies and perhaps a toddler during the day is just as important!
