Family | Homepage - thisisoxfordshire

Bringing your babies home with you is a cause for celebration, but it can also be daunting to take on the responsibility of caring for twins or more. Looking after one newborn baby can be hard enough and when you have to split your time and energy between two or more it’s easy to become overwhelmed.

The Twins and Multiple Births Association (TAMBA) advises that the best way to cope with caring for twins is to develop a routine that suits you. Think about your babies’ needs – feeding, sleeping and playing – and develop a routine around these activities that works for the whole family.

If your babies have been in Neonatal Care they may already be in a routine and it’s probably worth sticking to this when they come home. But remember with all babies you need to adapt your routine as they grow up and their needs change.

Creating a routine

Whether you choose to breast or formula feed your babies, you will need to create a routine that suits you and your babies. Some mothers choose to feed both babies at the same time, some prefer to feed one after the other, while others feed on demand, whenever the babies seem hungry. 

You will need to adapt your method based on your babies’ needs. For example if one is smaller and needs to feed more often, feeding at the same time won’t be possible at first. If you want to you can work towards bringing feeding routines together as your babies grow.

If your babies are small or were premature, you should always follow your doctor or midwife’s advice on feeding.

If you have any concerns about your babies’ growth you can take them to your local baby clinic to have them weighed to make sure they are putting on the correct amount of weight. Your health visitor can tell you where to find your nearest baby clinic.

Feeding

The decision of how you wish to feed your babies is one that most parents take very seriously, partly because it is important from a nutritional point of view, but also because feeding will take up a lot of your day in the first few months of your babies’ lives.

While all parents will make their own choice as to which method of feeding suits them best, it is important not to be put off breastfeeding just because you are having multiple babies.

It is possible to breastfeed twins and in some cases triplets, and many are breastfed until they are weaned. The advantages of breast milk for your babies are the same as for single babies.

However as multiple babies are more likely to be born prematurely there are even more benefits to breastfeeding. Breast milk is better for premature babies as their gut is immature and it is easier for them to tolerate and digest breastmilk.
 
Formula feeding may be necessary in combination with breastfeeding if you have triplets or more, or you may choose to formula feed your babies.

For more information about breast and formula feeding see the Birth to Five Planner, which will give you all the information you need so you can make an informed choice about your method of feeding. 

For specific advice on how to breastfeed twins see the Bump to Breastfeeding DVD which is available from all hospital antenatal clinics.  You can also read Expecting More Than One (£5 non-members, free for TAMBA members) and Breastfeeding More than One (£5 non-members, free for TAMBA members) from TAMBA, which offer advice on establishing a feeding routine in hospital and breastfeeding twins or more.

The Multiple Births Foundation booklet Feeding Twins, Triplets or more (£3.50) offers advice on all aspects of feeding.

Weaning

At around six months you can begin to start weaning your babies by introducing solid foods. It is not unusual for one baby to be ready to begin weaning before the other so let your babies dictate when you start to wean them. For more advice on when your babies are ready for solids see the Start4Life  website.

Unless one of your babies has a serious infection it is safe for your babies to share spoons and bowls as they will be exposed to the same germs anyway. Even if you do try to stop them from sharing, most twins will grab one another’s spoons and cups, so there isn’t much point trying to keep their feeding utensils separate.

You can find detailed information about weaning, including advice on what foods to use, in the Birth to Five Planner.