How to bottle feed twins
In the 16 years of my childcare experience, I have worked with over 20 sets of twins and their families, as a nanny and Maternity nurse. Since the Free parenting advice service was launched 2 years ago, I have also helped a vast number of twin and triplet parents via email too.
Many new twin parents always worry about how they will manage to feed two babies at the same time, when left on their own, without an additional pair of hands around to help.
I therefore decided to make a practical video showing how I personally manage when I am working with newborn twins and the way I do the feeding and winding.
At the time I write this, I am currently working with twins who are now 6 weeks old and it is them that I have recorded the video feeding. They are still quite small, as born at 33 weeks, but both are doing well with a combination of breast and bottle feeding.
Their lovely mum, has given me permission to use this video of me feeding them to help other twin mums with the practicalities of how to feed two babies at the same time.
Top tips:
- Get everything prepared before you start-nappies, bibs, muslins, plus extras of everything close enough to reach
- A V cushion is my preferred choice to prop both babies on my lap to feed, but as long as you have plenty of soft cushions or pillows to hand, that will work too.
- Sit yourself upright on a bed or large sofa so you have plenty of room either side of you for the cushions to support the twins.
- Change nappies before the feed and hope that they don’t poop mid feed or at the end during winding. If one of them does then you will need to prop the other one up on a cushion while you change the other twins nappy. If you lay either flat mid feed it can cause them to vomit, so your nappy change needs to be pretty efficient to stop this happening.
- If one gets sleepy mid feed then wiggle the bottle slightly in her mouth, as you will see me do with the sleepy twin. This keeps her feeding even though she’s sleepy.
- All babies feed at different speeds so its likely one twin will finish before the other and need winding. Be guided by them as to when this is. Babies generally begin to get very squirmy and fidget/agitated as they feed when they have wind so you need to stop feeding at that point.
- Scoop her up in one arm, as you will see me doing on the video and put her over your shoulder to wind, while continuing to feed the other twin.
- Continue to feed if she wants more.
- Once they both finish feeding it’s a good idea to sit quietly with them both over your shoulder for a while after the feed to ensure you get all their wind. If it’s a day feed they may still be quite alert and you can use a bouncy chair or the v-cushion if you need to put one down. If it is the late dream feed or a night feed, then its advisable to sit calmly with them, winding over your shoulder, for a good 20 mins after they finish.
This is my view as I wind the twins!
- Once they are both calm and sleepy and not wriggling any more then you can attempt to put them in the cot.
I hope you found this post helpful, Let me know what you think, requests are welcome!
Please like and SHARE to help other parents too and watch out for my other ‘how to’ videos coming soon.
Ahh, I’ve got twin girls who have just turned 3. That’s just how I use to feed mine. Brought a tear to my eye as it remind me when I did that !!! Thank u so much for all your advise. The ‘ no dummies’ rule has defiantly helped with there sleep !!! Thank u xxx
Glad you liked the blog post and great news that their sleep is improving 😉
This has been so helpful in coordinating how to feed twins simultaneously, am I right in thinking that you don’t necessarily wind half way through unless they are squirming and look like they need it?