Getting into a routine from 4 hour feeds

[Clodpole]

Hi. I'm new to these boards and am hoping that someone who has been there might be able to offer some advice. I am Mum to 8 weeks old twins. We are currently on a 4 hour feeding schedule and the boys are taking 5oz each feed (and 7oz around bath time - split feed). We tried Dreamfeed at 11pm one night and it unsettled them for the rest of the night. Maybe I was doing something wrong??

The boys are doing well and are generally contented babies but the feeding is causing me some problems. I'm clueless so require some advice, please!!

Currently I am loosely following BW EASY but finding that it doesn't quite fit to a 4 hour schedule (I think the boys might be too young for the 'A' part. ) I tried to get them onto a four hour as that way there would be a bit of space between feeds - especially in the night. Sometimes feeds and settling have run into each other which is utterly exhausting (Tandem feeding doesn't got down to well as both I and the babies find it stressful!)

I've got hold of a sample 3.5 hour schedul but am thinking whether its a good idea to put them back to 3.5 hour feeds when they are quite happy on 4 hourlys.

The main issue I have is that the boys are waking early for their 4am and 8am feeds. I think this is because during the night we feed, settle and put them down to sleep...and they're not used to/ capable of!(!!) sleeping more than 2 hours at a stretch.

Thank you to anyone who has read this far. Can anyone please advise. Yesterday looked like this (for twin 1 - twin 2 was roughly 1/2 hour behind)
Also, how do I cluster bottle feed bearing in mind the boys are taking? Sorry to sound like a complete dummy but I'm completely in the dark here! Any guidance would be most gratefully received. If someone has some EASY notes for 3.5 hours with amounts in oz that they have and could copy and paste I would be really gratefulThank you xxx

[Clodpole]

Yesterday:
E 0700
A 0750
S 0920
Woke up at 11.20 and I soothed/ he dozed (You can see this isn't working already, can't you!)

E 1200
A 1230
S 1400
Woke at 1500 and did as above

E 1600
A Went for a walk and they dozed in pram
S As above

E 2000
A Bath time (Split feed around bath)
S 2100
Woke at 2340 and did the usual

E 0000
S 0030
Woke at 0315 and wouldnt resettle even though wasn't showing any particular signs of hunger.

E 0400
S 0430
Woke at 0615 nd dozed on and off til 0700 feed.

As you can see, this is a complete disaster with one baby. But I have another one too on an equally messed up schedule. I don't know what to do! I'm delighted that they are eating well but we are all over the place. Can someone please, please, please help. I am at the end of my tether!! If someone has the time and would be kind enough to point me in the right direction (ie tell me exactly what to do and when) I'd be incredibly grateful. Many thanks in advance x

[Ima shel Alon]

Hi and welcome to the boards
First and most important thing is that babies that age are on 3h EASY. Babies move gradually to 4h EASY when they are around 4 months old, which you are still quite far from.
IIWY I'd bring it down to 3 hours between feeds, that way you will not have a problem with the A time and the sleeping.
Secondly, they will slowly learn to sleep longer stretches at night, but for now it's normal that they wake up like that at night. Once you are on 3h EASY make sure you feed at the same frequency at night time as well. I think if you are feeding now every 4h they have calories missing from the day time and they make up for it with NF.
All of the above is right if they are FF. If they are BF it's normal to go even less then 3h between feeds.
The main tweaking I can see that could be done with your EASY is that your babies are on VERY VERY high A time. Have a look here: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164027.0 babies the same age as yours are doing around 1-1:15h A time. Of course every baby is different, but I would still try to put them down earlier.

But sorry, I can tell you exactly what to do, I can only suggest. I know how hard it is, I have been there myself (although with one, not two), but I can tell you it's true what they say that it does get better and easier.