Cole and Imogen are just on 4 weeks old now, and since we've been home (3 weeks tomorrow!:ura1: ) have continued on the same happy little routine that they were on in Neonates (NICU) - feeding every 4 hours. As a rule they're both happy, contented little babies who are pretty settled and who really are pretty easy going (touch wood!).

Recently (in the last few days) we've had a couple of times when they've both slept through their next feed - this has almost always been after their 6am feed (D gives them a bottle of EBM)...and when I've tried to wake them for their 10am feed they've been bears - not wanting to wake up, ending up with everyone frustrated etc etc. Since they're still both quite little (Cole is now 6lb 10 and Immy is 6lb 7 - up from 5lb12 and 5lb11 respectively at birth) my midwife has said that we really should wake them up and make sure they eat every 4 hours. But, if they're clearly not wanting or ready to wake up, should I be letting them have a sleep and let them figure out when they are ready to wake up? Or are they still too little to go that long between feeds?

I'm thinking that having a generous dose of EBM with Daddy (without having to work for it like at the breast) might be what's filling them up more, and since D wants to keep doing the 6am feed I thought that if we decide to let them sleep then I might not give them quite as much for the 6am feed, but let them each have a little top up of EBM after their 10pm feed...encourage the longer sleep at night rather than day (though mommy is loving the sleep in!) What do you think?

Ugh, I am constantly amazed at how clueless I feel about some things now...I always thought I was fairly confident in my abilities, but boy does that change once you have two little people depending on the decisions you make! On the one hand I think that they're instinctively wired to know when they want to wake and when they want to sleep, and we should work with that rather than impose the clock on them, and on the other hand, I don't want to inadvertantly mess with their weight gain or growth...ack! So, who's the expert on when to eat - the babies or the midwife? (I'm leaning towards the babies - that's the way I'm wired as much as anything, but I'd love your input on this - am I putting them at risk by letting them sleep?)
The way this issue has been playing on my mind you'd think I was talking about something seriously life threatening!!!! Actually, that's kind of how it feels:shuffle: ...welcome to the surefootedness(lol) of motherhood, Jo!

I know alot of twin mommies that advocate Schedules, but I never had mine on a schedule and fed on demand :nod: If I were back in your situation (and I have been there) I would let them sleep and feed them when they are ready to eat. The exception would be if they began losing weight :nod:

Sorry I'm not much more help :lol:

I should add that if one wanted to eat, I would latch them both on so that I wasn't feeding 100% of the time, however, probably 90% of the time, they woke to be fed at roughly the same time :nod:

Personally, I don't believe in waking a sleeping baby. We never had a schedule, I always fed on demand. It's my belief that babies will wake up when they're hungry.

Saying that, I never had preemies or twins for that matter. Maybe other twin mummies might be better to answer this :dunno:

ITA with Clare....having never had twins or a preemie, I can't speak from experience, like Shanna...but my instinct suggests letting them feed when THEY feel like it, as long as they are both happy, chirpy, thriving and gaining weight properly. Good luck, Jo!

Hi Jo :wavey:

Paddy was 5lb11oz at birth and we were encouraged to wake him too during the day and night to BF, more because he was a slightly jaundiced than anything else. I think at this stage that if they are gaining weight and seem like happy healthy, contented babies, let them sleep.

Although your idea about reducing the amount of EBM they get in the morning may help.

:hug99: I also disagree with waking a sleeping baby and always feed on demand with my babies...

BUT as a side note, I would keep an eye on there weights, if you find that they aren't gaining as much as they should then start waking, but if they are still gaining nicely with out waking them.. then I say all is good.

Jacob startied sleeping through the night at a very young age and as I had that rule of thumb about not waking a sleeping baby (it workedwith my 1st two)... I wasn't waking him and enjoying the sleep...I didn't get him weighed in a while and when we did weigh him, he was under, so I had to start waking him through the night so he would start gaining again.. in hinde sight I wish I had kept on top of weighing him so I would have seen the "non weight gain" sooner...

But being these are twins and your first I am sure that you will be way more diligent than I was with the weighing :lol:

So I say go for it! :hug99:

Katie was one who slept through feedings almost immediately. I remember having a little argument with one of the nurses in the hospital about it.

Especially after Maggie and her horrible sleeping habits, there was no way I was going to wake up a sleeping baby to force her to eat. Especially when forcing her didn't have her taking a whole feeding, which just messed things up going forward anyway.

So, I'm another one who says let sleeping babies sleep. As long as they are still gaining weight, I don't think there is anything to worry about. And, as a bonus, you get a little extra down time, too. And if changing around the feeds leads you to believe that it is the EBM that is helping them sleep, I would definitely move the EBM feed to a time when it would help them sleep more at night. :nod:

Oh, I had this exact dilemma at just about the same time. Connor and Lilly were bigger than Cole and Immy (6 lbs, 6 oz and 6 oz at birth) and, if I remember, the were about a week or so older at birth (that sounds weird -- they came at 36 weeks). Our doctor at the hospital and pediatrician both recommended waking them after four hours to feed them, round the clock. At birth with had jaundice issues, and I had nursing issues for the first several weeks (Lilly would have to be stripped naked, poked and sometimes be wiped with a cool wash cloth to keep her awake long enough to eat. Connor didn't like to latch reliably til nearly six weeks old), so I did everything by the book, including keeping a chart about who nursed where (I couldn't tandem nurse til around six weeks old), what was in the diaper, the amount of spitup and whether or not a burp was produced.

Suddenly, I realized it was making me crazy and I talked to my mom about it. She informed me that I was in charge of these babies and I knew better than anyone what they needed. And if a problem arose, I could very easily change my approach. Out when the charts and the waking. I fed on a schedule from the first feeding of the day (6 a.m. generally) til bedtime (I was aiming for around 11 p.m.). At night, I stopped waking a baby to eat, and lo and behold, Lilly would sleep 4-5 hours at a time. Connor would wake every two hours or so to eat. It worked beautifully. More often than not, Connor would spend the night in bed with me and would go into his bassinette when Lilly woke. Then she'd stay with me til Connor woke again.

Also, that big sleep after the morning feed lasted til around 3 months with us. It was heaven!

That was a lot of rambling, but in short, I'd say trust your gut. :)