Confirm my growth spurt theory?!?

[Nomsie]

Since day dot, I have fed the boys very regularly every 3 hours. They would wake on the dot, and I would feed them, cuddle or whatever, put them back to sleep, and then they would wake again 3 hours later.

But starting yesterday, Beau in particular was very restless, and then today, I have been feeding every 2 to 2.5 hours.

Please tell me this is just a growth spurt and they will go back to every 3 hours? I am so drained!!! :sleeping:

[Bubmum]

Absolutely right! When little people's bodies are making more demands on them, they make more demands on us. How lucky they are to have a Mummy who is in tune with their needs.

[onemummmy]

firstly I am so happy to see youre breastfeeding twins! :yelclap: second yes when they have growth spurts sometimes it feels like they feed ALL day.

[Nomsie]

Phew, what a relief! So, I was thinking about expressing after my next feed so I can have a bit of a rest and feeding the boys using EBM... roughly how much would I have to give each boy at 4 and a half weeks?

[Miss_Vicki]

could be , but maybe they are just needing more ?

I feed by demand an comfort , bubs feeds every 2hrs or so an then a small top up in between

last week thou she had a day it was like she was 24/7 on my boob :( but i love it all the same just so glad im keeping up

not sure if i have any advice but i wouldnt put them on bottle till after 6 weeks

[Nomsie]

I wish I could feed on demand, but with two, it's just not a possibility :(

Yeah, I wasn't sure about EBM... just feel like I need a bit of a break though, alas, I shall soldier on!

So, how long do growth spurts normally last? I have a feeling tonight is going to be a looooong night- I can see me and both boys sleeping on the recliner again!! :sleeping:

[kezzaskids]

oh dear Nomsie I can only sympathise but have no real ideas or wisdom to offer. I fully understand the sleeping in the recliner tho as I seem to be living on the couch atm. samara feeds anywhere between 2-3and a half hourly and the in the early eavening for about 3 hours in a row! You need a medal woman for doing this with twins.

[Hollywood]

Another thing to remember is that their 'awake' time will gradually increase as they get older. As much as we would like them to keep sleeping all day like newborns, there comes a time when they need more and more 'play' time in between the feeds and sleeps.

For the really young ones, like yours, play can simply mean putting them on the floor/bouncers (normally I'd say put on your lap, but I guess it's difficult with two) and you getting down there with them to interact and pull funny faces (and we know how much they love to gaze at us :D). Their attention spans are pretty short, so it's not like you have to do that all day, but as time goes on they just don't need quite so much sleep.

Some people find that the 'feed-play-sleep' routines work for them (for me it was 'feed-play-feed-sleep' because we did, and still do feed to sleep). You might still be able to feed 3 hourly, just try playing instead of feeding sooner, and see how it goes. If they are hungry I guess they'll let you know.

Good luck! :)

[peanutbutter&jelly]

:yes: Quite possibly a growth spurt. Or it could just be that they are going through one of those grizzly stages!
:hugs: its really hard with just one who gets grizzly so often, you seem to be doing really well with 2!!!

[bel_aiden]

if theyve been content little bubs so far, id definatly say growth spurt! it will end, they dont last forever! but they will come back every month or so.
tempting as it can be at these times to give top ups for us to rest, it kinda defeats the purpose, only making the growth spurt last longer. bub(s) is feeding more to produce more milk to meet their demand. a breast pump doesnt drain the same amount as what a buby feeding at the breast does.
so try sleep when they do, feed when they are hungry, and think it should all settle down in a few days.

sometimes it only takes 48 hrs, some times it takes a few extra days, but it gets better!


congrats on feeding twins!:wave:

[AM]

O how exhausting for you...you are doing a marvellous job :yelclap::hugs:

[Nomsie]

Thankfully, they went back to around 3 hourly overnight and it continued today, so I guess it was a very short growth spurt! Thank god for lanolin, I say!! :yes: