Mastering Feeding Time with Newborn Twins, Triplets or More: 13 Tips for a Smoother Experience

In this episode, I’m diving into one of the most challenging aspects of raising newborn multiples—feeding time! Whether you’re breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, or doing a combination of both, the demands of feeding twins, triplets, or more can feel overwhelming.

But don’t worry—this episode is packed with 13 practical tips that will help make feeding time more efficient and less stressful. I cover everything from enlisting help from your partner, friends, or family members, to tandem feeding, and even how to make the most of tools like bouncy chairs for bottle-feeding.

If you’re looking for ways to streamline your feeding routine with multiples, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn actionable strategies that will help you feed your babies more smoothly—and feel more in control of those hectic newborn days.

As always, feel free to reach out with questions or ideas for future episodes. Enjoy those newborn cuddles!

PS. In this episode, I share a resource that can help you visually see the different holds for breastfeeding two babies. You can find it here:

https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/resources/breastfeeding-twins-triplets-or-more

Thanks for listening! If you are a soon-to-be or current parent of multiples, be sure to head over to my website http://www.fiercekindmama.com to get my FREE resources designed specifically for you!

Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook too.

Credits:
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/aylex/with-you
License code: YLMJTQCPKRANEOVB

Transcript

Dr Cristina Cavezza

Welcome to the Fierce Kind Mama of Multiples podcast. This podcast is for anyone raising multiples, twins, triplets or more. I speak to inspiring parents of multiples who have healed from unexpected pregnancies and birthing experiences and who candidly share the highs and lows of raising multiples.

I also speak to the professionals that work with multiple birth families.

Together we cover the practicalities of raising more than one baby at a time, as well as enhancing the emotional wellbeing of caregivers and children alike.

Come join us as we laugh, cry and share our personal and professional wisdom on all things multiples. I'm your host Dr Cristina Cavezza, and I am a Fierce Kind Mama of Multiples.

Welcome to another episode of the Fierce, Kind Mama of Multiples Podcast. I'm your host, Dr Cristina Cavezza, and today I am going to be discussing another topic that has been requested by listeners of this show. Earlier in the Season I went over some parenting hacks for busy parents like yourself. If you haven’t listened to that episode yet be sure to check it out. It’s the current season. Season 4 Episode #4. And in that episode, I asked you if you wanted me to do an episode on streamlining the process of feeding newborn multiples and the feedback I received was yes please! So here we are. 

But before I get to today’s content, a gentle reminder that I have a free resource available for those of you who are pregnant with multiples. 

If you want to learn more about how to be fully prepared for your multiple birth journey, then this guide is for you. In this guide, I take a holistic approach to help you prepare physically, financially, and emotionally. 

And if you know anyone else who might benefit from this guide, please tell them to head over to my website: www.fiercekindmama.com 

And click on the free resources tab. 

Alright. Let’s get into discussing the process of feeding newborn twins, triplets or more. Now if you’ve listened to my podcast before you already know that I am a parent of twins. While I have personal experience feeding twins, I don’t claim to be an expert in feeding twins, or higher-order multiples but I have over the years spoken to many other multiple-birth parents and collated some of that advice for the purpose of today’s show. So, my hope is that you find something useful from today’s episode that might help you on your feeding journey and if you still have any unanswered questions, please contact me. The best way to reach out to me is via the contact page on my website. You can easily find the link to my website in the podcast show notes. 

Now it will probably come as no surprise to you that feeding newborn multiples can be a challenging task, but with some strategic planning and a few helpful tips, you can streamline the process and make it more manageable. So today I am going to cover some tips for streamlining the feeding process but before I do I want to share a personal story that I hope will resonate with you and that I hope may make you feel less alone if you are currently in the newborn haze of what feels like an endless cycle of feeding, burping, and changing nappies or for my North American friends diapers. 

I will be perfectly honest with you. I don’t remember much of the finer details from the very early days of our newborn twin journey. I do of course have some standout memories. And one of them was being in hospital after my babies were born. They were born prematurely, and my milk hadn’t yet come in. So, the nurses advised me to hand express as well as pump in addition to putting my boys on the breast and topping up with formula. My memory for the order in which we did everything is hazy but I what I do recall was that we were doing this long-drawn-out process day and night. At one point in the night when I was utterly exhausted, the nurse who was helping me said “now get some rest because in about 20 minutes you’ll have to start the whole process again.” And I remember looking at my partner who was there with me, and we both had this look on our face that said we were thinking the same thing which was: “that’s it! We only get 20 minutes to rest.” And to this day that is one of the standout memories of the very, very early days. 

Now unfortunately, I don’t have any magic solutions to make that process easier. I think if you want to establish breastfeeding, it will take some time and work to make feeding more efficient, particularly if you have premature babies. My best advice is to seek out a lactation consultant early and take a breastfeeding class. In fact, I was recently asked to offer my expertise on mental health and breastfeeding for an online breastfeeding course for parents of twins. This course is jam packed full of practical tips and information, written by other parents of multiples, or industry experts, like me.

If you are interested in checking it out, or have any questions, please contact me. If you do decide to complete the program, be sure to let me know what you think. I place a huge emphasis on improving the work that I do, so your feedback is really important to me.

Ok, so let’s move on to some tips that many parents of multiples report make feeding newborns easier. 

Tip #1 -Synchronize Feeding Schedules

Consistency: Many parents report that they feed their multiples at the same time which helps to create a consistent schedule. It establishes a routine and makes it easier to predict their needs. So, if one baby wakes up hungry, gently wake the others to feed them simultaneously. This prevents you from having to feed them individually throughout the night which many of us find to be the most challenging feeds. 

Now while many parents say that this is what they did to survive, I also want to highlight here that this may not be a straightforward process. Let’s say you are breastfeeding, and one baby doesn’t latch as well as the others. It can be really tricky for some parents to tandem feed and if you have triplets or more, then feeding simultaneously is obviously not going to work unless you decide to breastfeed one or two and bottle feed the others. Some people do this by the way so it’s not impossible but clearly you will require some support in making this happen. 

The other thing I want to say here is that another one of my vivid memories was receiving a book from a dear friend who thought it would be helpful for me to establish a routine with my boys. She gave me this book when I was pregnant. And I remember that the book was a generic baby book on how to maximise sleep with a newborn and there was a chapter or two on routines for twins. And I kid you not, that book completely overwhelmed me. I remember reading the routines and thinking “oh my god, how will I ever maintain this?” I later came to the conclusion that while the book may be helpful for some parents, it was very focused on trying to make your babies fit a schedule. And as you can imagine, not all babies’ needs are equal or the same. Your babies may not neatly fit a routine that you try to impose on them and yes, that may make your life a bit harder but in my honest opinion, the sooner you let go of trying to force your babies to sleep or eat at a specified time, the freer you will become to simply connect with them. 

So, while my first tip is synchronising feeding schedules if you can, I also want you to be mindful of the need to be pay attention to your individual babies’ cues and to be responsive to what they need. As for me, yes, I did wake up the other baby if one woke up and yes, I fed them simultaneously at the breast for as long as I could, but I also had to adapt. I was mixed feeding and pumping and that was killing me. I wasn’t enjoying it to be honest and then to make matters worse, my boys started to show a preference for the bottle, and I could simply not keep up with the demand. I had very big babies who were very hungry and I was not producing enough milk. So, long story short. I had to respect my babies’ preference for the bottle, and I made a decision to stop breastfeeding earlier than I had wanted even though it made me feel like a failure.  I share this with you not to discourage you from feeding the way you want to feed, but to remind you that there are many ways of nourishing your babies and feeding them breastmilk or formula is only one way we nourish our babies. 

The other point to make here is that if you have triplets or higher-order multiples, tandem feeding is really hard. In fact, some guidelines suggest that it’s not a good idea to feed all the babies at the same time by yourself and that having them on a slightly different schedule, roughly 30 minutes apart is actually safer. It is supposed to get easier as the babies grow and get bigger but in those initial days, it will be super important to get some help with the feeding. 

In the case of triplets, I know that some parents feed one or two babies at the same time and put the third in a bouncer that they rock with their feet. Other parents feed one baby individually and put two babies in bouncy chairs and then each feed they rotate which baby was held in their arms to be fed so that they get that individual cuddle time with each baby. 

Be mindful if you are using bouncy chairs from birth, that you check the weight range on the product before you buy it because you may have very small babies, and some chairs would simply not be suitable for your babies. To save money, you might want to wait until they are a bit older before investing in two or more of the bouncy chairs and see if you can find them second hand. 

Ok let’s move on to tip #2. 

2.  Use Feeding Pillows

Ok, so there are twin feeding pillows and I’ve recently seen a triplet feeding pillow online too which I thought looked pretty neat. Whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, a support pillow can come in handy. I used a twin nursing pillow which I loved because it meant that I could comfortably tandem feed. The position that worked best for me was the football hold. I’ll pop a link into the podcast show notes for you so you can see what I mean visually. 

https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/resources/breastfeeding-twins-triplets-or-more

There are also feeding pillows that can be used for both breastfeeding and bottle feeding. So, if you are mixed feeding then these might help make that process easier. 

But it is not advisable to use self-feeding pillows or to prop feed your babies. These are very risky and can result in serious injury or death. Basically, what can happen is that as you are prop feeding, your babies may take in extra air from gulping and that extra wind can lead them to choke and die. 

What can help make feeding more efficient is keeping to your schedule – whatever works for you and your babies. Make sure you are looking for hunger cues and feed the first baby as soon as you see those signs. If you have triplets, it’s going to be super important to keep track of who was fed first the feed before, because you don’t want that baby to have to wait until the end at the next feed. That baby will just get super cranky. The baby who is waiting to be fed should be near you so that even if you can’t hold them, you can distract them with your voice by singing or talking to them.

You can use nursing pillows too as like a docking station if you like to keep the baby or babies that you aren’t feeding close to you and safe while you feed the others. Also, if you belong to a multiple birth association you might like to see if they have nursing pillows that you can hire or buy second hand.  

And if you are bottle feeding, my third tip for you is to prepare bottles in advance. 

3. Prepare Bottles in Advance

You can do this by pumping and then storing labelled bottles of expressed breastmilk in the fridge or freezer for longer-term storage. Having a supply of ready-to-go bottles can save time and reduce stress during feeding times. 

I never invested in one but some people I know swear by bottle warmers. You can use these to quickly heat multiple bottles simultaneously. Some warmers are designed to heat several bottles at once, making the process more efficient. But I also know a mother who fed her babies expressed breastmilk straight from the fridge cold and they happily took it. As far as I know, it is alright to feed cold milk to your babies and this will obviously make things quicker if you aren’t having to warm bottles first. It will really depend on your babies’ preference. 

If you are bottle feeding with formula you need to take some extra precautions. You need to boil water first before mixing the formula in. the recommendations say it is ideal to prepare formula just before a feed but given you have more than one baby to feed, it is alright if you prepare bottles ahead of time. The guidelines typically say to put the prepared formula bottle in the fridge within one hour of making it and use it within 24 hours. If you have any leftovers, you are meant to dispose it and not re-use it at a later feed. 

If you are heading out, you can take a hot water flask with boiled water and carry the formula separately then prepare the bottles just before they are needed. 

The fourth tip is to set up a dedicated area in your house for feeding. 

4. Dedicated Feeding Station

This is where you will keep all the necessary supplies, such as bottles, formula, burp cloths, and don’t forget a comfortable chair. This minimizes the time spent searching for items during feeding. By keeping everything organized and within reach you can streamline the feeding process and reduce the likelihood of disruptions or worse, cranky babies. 

Tip #5 is probably one of the most important. In those early days, if possible, enlist the help of someone else. 

Hi there Fierce Kind Mama

Sorry to interrupt the discussion but I have something to share with you that I know you are going to love.

We are often told that parenting can be hard. 

And whether you are soon-to-be or current parent of multiples, there is going to come a time when you will probably feel stressed, overwhelmed, or even worried about the future.

That’s why I’ve developed a free guide for parents just like you with my 5 top tips for handling stress and overwhelm.  

You can download it now from my website www.fiercekindmama.com

5. Enlist Help

If possible, have your partner or a family member help with feedings. Taking turns or feeding one baby each can make the process faster and less exhausting for you.

Some families like to alternate night shifts to ensure that both parents are getting adequate rest. So, practically this might look like one person sleeping straight through for four to six hours of the night while the other person does the two to three feeds during that time. Then they swap for the remainder of the night so that the person who slept first, gets up and completes the remaining feeds while the other person gets to sleep. 

Moving on to Tip #6, if you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding twins, you might like to practice tandem feeding. 

6. Tandem Feeding

It might be challenging at first to tandem breastfeed, but with patience and practice, you may find it more efficient than feeding each baby separately. But keep in mind that some people actually report feeding one at a time is more efficient particularly when you have tiny babies that need to be burped more frequently. 

Again, my suggestion would be to seek out a lactation consultant who can provide individualised tips and techniques for successful tandem breastfeeding. 

If you are bottle-feeding twins, one product that makes it super easy to do this is bouncy chairs and then you can position yourself on the floor in front of the babies. I liked to lean against the sofa when I did this. This allows you to feed both babies simultaneously. But again, this gets easier the bigger and older they get. 

Tip #7 is something that I actually didn’t use but I know that some parents do and that’s pacifiers.  

7. Pacifiers

Some parents like to use a pacifier to soothe the baby that is waiting their turn to be fed. This can help keep them calm. But keep in mind that long-term use may cause dental problems and some people say that pacifiers can interfere with establishing breastfeeding in those early days. 

Tip #8 is keeping track of feedings. 

8. Keep Track of Feedings

You will want to keep a feeding log to keep track of each baby’s feeding times, amounts, and any reactions. This helps in identifying patterns and ensures that each baby is getting adequate nutrition. There are several apps available that can help you log feedings, which can be a handy tool for keeping everything organized. Or if you listened to my episode on Parenting Hacks that I mentioned earlier, you might like to do what I did and use good old-fashioned pen and paper. 

Moving on to Tip #9. 

9. Simplify Bottle Cleaning

If you’re using bottles, you might like to use a dishwasher with a bottle rack to clean multiple bottles at once. Some people find this saves time compared to hand washing. I would suggest investing in a bottle sterilizer that holds multiple bottles at once to ensure that the bottles are thoroughly cleaned and safe for use.

Now on to Tip #10

10. Create a Calm Feeding Environment

You might like to minimize distractions by creating a calm and quiet environment for feeding. This helps babies focus on feeding and can reduce fussiness. Don’t also forget about your own comfort. A comfortable chair and a good back support can make a big difference during long feeding sessions.

Tip #11 – alternate your feeding positions. 

11. Alternate Feeding Positions

This is particularly important if you are breastfeeding because if you alternate breasts between the babies, your milk volumes in each breast will be more balanced. If one baby is more of a vigorous sucker then they will help promote milk production from each breast if you alternate at each feed, and that’s why it is so important to keep track of feedings. As I said before, in your feeding log, you will want to keep track of which baby was on which breast and for how long for every feed. This will help ensure that each baby gets the adequate nutrition they need. 

My final tip for today is to plan for growth spurts. 

12. Plan for Growth Spurts

And this basically means that you will need to be flexible with feeding schedules during growth spurts. Babies might need more frequent feedings during these times, so be prepared to adjust your routine accordingly. This last tip really resonates with me because I remember that my boys often didn’t have the same routine as other babies I knew mainly because they were premature, so I often felt like we are on a slightly different schedule to other babies of the same age. Again, I think we run the risk of becoming overwhelmed if we get too rigid about when our babies are meant to sleep and eat. I think it’s much more important to pay attention to your individual babies’ needs and to do what is right for both you and the babies.

Actually, that will be my last tip for today. 

13. Don’t forget about your needs 

Many of you will be familiar with the expression, you can’t pour from an empty cup. It doesn’t do anyone any good if you ignore your own bodily cues for hunger, thirst, warmth and comfort. You need nurturing as much as your babies do. Thinking out loud now maybe I could do another episode on that topic – how to nurture yourself in the years of parenting multiples. What do you think? Let me know if that’s something that you’d like to hear more about. 

For now, I sincerely hope that these tips have been helpful and if you implement any of them, I hope they serve to make the feeding process for newborn multiples more efficient and less stressful. 

Remember, it’s important to find what works best for you and your family, and that will look different for everyone listening. But please don’t hesitate to seek support when needed because I have yet to meet a parent of multiples or any parent for that matter that couldn’t use a little bit of help. 

I feel like we breezed through those last few tips. I hope you find that they help you breeze through those newborn feeding sessions too. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or topic suggestions for future episodes. Until next time, enjoy those newborn cuddles!

Thanks for listening to today's episode. If you like what you've heard, then please follow and leave a review so that other expectant and current parents of multiples like yourself can find this podcast and the valuable information it contains. I'd be so very grateful if you left a review and shared this with anyone you think could benefit from listening. 

If you have a particular topic you'd like me to cover on this podcast, feel free to reach out to me via my website fiercekindmama.com.

New episodes are released every second Wednesday, so we’ll see you back here real soon. 

Any advice and information on this podcast is general only and has been prepared without taking into account your particular circumstances and needs for tailored, individualised advice, please consult with a qualified professional.