How do I get my twins to eat more at their morning feed?

[Mum of twins]

Hi all,

I am just starting to implement the EASY schedule and I'm new to this forum. I want to start my day at 7:30 however my twins are never hungry for their bottle at this time. They are usually waking up about 4 or 5 am for their night time feed and take about 5 or 6oz and then they go back to sleep until about 7-7:30 and they don't usually take their bottle until about 9am! This messes up the schedule for the rest of the day! They woke up at 2am for their night time feed last night and they still weren't hungry for their bottle until about 8:30! I tried to feed them at 7:30 and they took about 2oz but were just playing with the teat and weren't really fussed about it. How can I get them to be hungry for their bottle at 7:30? They are 3months old and formula fed.

I will appreciate any suggestions!
Thank you! Xx

[Lolly]

This is a very common problem! You can do a couple of things, you can reduce the oz you give them at the nightfeed so it's enough to tide them over until morning or you can give them a full feed and then just a top up before their first nap to get through the nap. It is also sometimes a sign that they need to drop the nightfeed. Do they have a dreamfeed at all?

Laura

[Mum of twins]

Thanks for the reply! I will try just giving them a few oz's in the night and see how it goes. Only thing is that they usually are really hungry for it at this time as theyve gone so long! They don't have a dream feed, we put them to bed at around 7 and they usually go until 4 or 5am (although the last few nights it's more like 2 or 3 for some reason) and then they usually wake or I wake them between 7 and half past. Do you think a dream feed would help? They usually take a full bottle just before their first nap but then it means that the rest of the day they are eating and then sleeping rather than the other way around!

Thanks,
Sarah

[Lolly]

I would try a dreamfeed, it may push them until wakeup time. You need to pick them up asleep and just put the bottle in their mouth and they should suck in their sleep. You shouldn't need to burp as they are so relaxed and then just lie them back down again. Try it for at least a week to see if it makes a difference as it can take some time for them to adjust to it.

If you can get them to go from DF to wake up it should help you to be able to get the EAS pattern!

You sound like you are doing well managing twins though!

Laura

[Mum of twins]

I didn't think about dream feeding to be honest, would be amazing if they slept through until wake up time. Definitely worth a try!

Thank you, Luckily they have been really good sleepers at night from quite young which definitely helps. You can cope with anything in the day if you have a decent nights sleep!

Sarah

[Lolly]

Lucky you on the sleep! I have two refluxers, my first didn't really sleep properly until after his sister was born - I don't know what we were thinking at the time !

Try the DF, let us know how you get on and if it doesn't work we can think again!

Laura

[Mum of twins]

Hi Laura, just thought I'd post a quick update. I gave the boys just 3oz when they woke in the night and they settled fine in their cots after their feed. They are hungrier at a more reasonable time now in the morning - result! Joshua has even slept 7pm-7am a couple of nights now I can't believe it! We've had one night where they both slept through on the same night woohoo! I plan on only giving them an oz or 2 if they need it to settle in the night and hopefully we will have cracked it! However they both seem to be teething
now so watch this space!