# please could anyone give me any tips on feeding



## Clare (Nov 2, 2002)

Hi

My twins have approx 4oz of milk every 3 hours, however just lately they are waking after 2 hrs in the night screamimg for food. I have tried the dummy, checked nappies etc before feeding and they are hungry especially Harvey.
As you can imagine I'm very tierd as it takes an hr to feed so I'm getting an hrs sleep in between.
In the night they don't always finish the 4oz no matter how hard I try and I've even tried the hungier baby milk but it just seems to fill them up and they stop drinking.
Do you think I should give them less in the day even though they're hungry? Sometimes in the day they would go longer than 3 hrs but I wake them up so they don't require maore feeds at night.
They are now 4.5 weeks old and weigh 7.5 and 6.12.

I can handle 3 hourly and we were going along swimmingly but 2 hours in the night is abit of a nightmare can anyone help please 

Thanks

Clarexx

PS we do have a bedtime routine in place

PPS Harvey has a snuffly nose at the moment could that be a problem do you think?


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## Mel (Jan 1, 2002)

Hi Clare

I hope Jeaneete can help you out - i have the same problem with Jessica, she likes to sleep of a day and eats more during the day but of a night she is back to 2 hourly but wont feed for long although she does like to stay awake after a feed for about an hour and just scream if i put her down in her cot therefore i have to lay awake and cuddle her until she goes off - i know what tired feels like Clare and can sympathise with you - so can most of the mums on here i can imagine.

Mel

x x


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## Jayne (Jan 26, 2003)

Hi Clare (& Mel) 

The night feeds are really hard going aren't they, and I understand totally. It wan't too bad with Ben, but with Jack, boy did I get sleep deprived. I could barely talk some days  Mel - Jack was like Jessica and I had to stay up for about an hour to an hour and half (sometimes more) before he'd go back to sleep - nightmare! 

Clare - One thing I've found with feeding my 2 from bottles (they were both the same in this) is that they like the milk quite hot and as soon as it goes off from that correct temperature then they're not interested, even though they still want more. What I sometimes do with Ben (and I know it's even more time consuming and a real pain - especially if you have to do it for 2!), is warm and give half a feed first, then change his nappy, then warm and give the other half of a feed. This way, there's a bit of time inbetween to let the first part of the feed go down, and I can usually get lots more into him than if I just use one bottle and let it go a bit colder than he likes - even though it feels perfectly warm to me  Might be worth a try in the night for a few extra hours sleep afterwards 

Love 

Jayne xxx


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## jeanette (May 3, 2003)

Hi Clare

Sorry to hear that you are having a tough time at night time. Snuffly noses do disturb babies and can interupt their feeding pattern so that they feed more frequently with littler amounts. Babies will only have what they want so if you reduce amount during the day they will just end up crying. Clare, are you sharing the night feds with dh?

They dont know day from night at this age, but it does come as they become more alert and start taking an interest in whats going on around them. During the early months your babys will sleep when they are tired. 

Remember, babies have small tummies. New babies grow rapidly, their diet is liquid, and formula milk digests quickly. Very young babies need to be fed every two to four hours — and sometimes more. During the early months, your babys will have growth spurts which affect not only daytime, but also nighttime feeding as well, sometimes pushing that two- to four-hour schedule to a one- to two-hour schedule. 

Nighttime is usually the most difficult time, your babys may become windy. Some babys 'top up' their feds as well, often at night time especially if they are windy or if they are having a growing spurt. Often its a case of just trying anything to see if that helps, as you have done.

Some mums find dummies useful, the only difficulty being that if your baby drops the dummy they will wake up. You may want to look at another comfort such as a soft toy which can be within easy reach.

Fantastic that you have a night time routine. Thats really good. You are a great mum. It will get easy, these first few months are very tiring both physically and emotionally. Why not have a word with your health visitor and ask her to see you at home so that you can discuss in private as opposed to a busy clinic setting. Look to see if there are any TWINS groups in your area- your HV will beable to tell you.

Come back to me if I can be of any furthur help.

Take care

Jeanette xxxxxxxxxxx


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