Sorry I’ve taking so long over a new post. It’s been pretty busy here …. I’ve been in the beautiful Peak District with twin boys. The boys were 9 weeks old on my arrival which just goes to show my routine can be started and work successfully a little later on from birth. The twins were on a three hour feeding routine, being breast fed but separately and not sleeping or settling well. They grunted , grizzled and farted constantly, typical boys! which caused unsettled day sleeps and waking three times a night . Mum was rushing into them every time they cried and cuddling or rocking them back to sleep so they had not learnt to settle themselves.
You may have already drawn your own conclusion to the main problem the boys were having; digestion. The babies had tummies full of air. Winding your baby regularly through the feeds helps get rid of wind as you go. Changing your diet while breast feeding will make a huge difference to your baby’s comfort between feeds. Check out my previous blog post for what to eat and what not to eat whilst breast feeding.
Next thing to address, their sleeping positions, swaddling them at night and making sure they are tucked in well during day naps. Newborn’s involuntary movements, called the startle or mono reflex, where their arms jump and twitch in their sleep can cause them to wake up. Using a swaddle in the day or just tucking the blanket over the shoulders and tightly into the side of the Moses basket or cot will help your baby sleep well. Next task was to teach mum how to dual/tanden feed her twin boys which will keep the boys on the same routine and cut down the time taken to feed them both.
Every baby on my routine needs at least a breast and a half of milk so mixed feeding the twins with formula top ups makes sure the boys are full at each feed. Breast feeding one breast each for 20-30mins then formula on top.
A more comfortable tum, better quality of sleep, stopping Mum rushing in to settle the boys ( only by 3-5 minutes at a time) , increasing their milk intake and oh, of course, my magical routine!!!! of which I can’t give too much away, sorry! resulted in the boys on night one of my arrival going from waking three times in the night to once. Night two and they were sleeping through the night, 8pm -7am, and have kept on doing so ever since. Job done in 48 hours!