Moms with Multiples

My best friend has twins and I helped her out a lot when they were younger. The only problem I see with the invention is that the milk all starts in one bottle and goes to two separate nipples (is that right?). Many twins are born early and it is very important to keep track of how much each is eating. If one is eating faster than the other (which was always the case with my friend's kids), one may be getting a lot more milk/formula than the other and it would be hard to tell how much each was getting. I also agree that it would be hard to get the babies close enough together to just hold the one bottle.

It's a great idea though. I remember putting the twins in vibrating/bouncy seats and siting between them, holding a bottle for each of them. Very time consuming!

I have twins & there were times when I was pumping (using a hands free pumping bra which was a life saver!) & would be feeding one baby on my lap while my other one was in a a bouncer sleeping next to me. Well, the baby in the bouncer of course always woke up while I was still pumping & feeding the other baby, so I would always have a bottle ready & would have to slip on a bottle holder (that looked like a stuffed animal wrapped around it) & prop it up w/a receiving blanket or towel or whatever was handy so that the baby in the bouncer would be able to be fed & I would not have to interrupt the feeding of the baby on my lap.

This next one, I needed help from someone to get the second baby on my lap, but I had a double nursing pillow that I would put around me while sitting down & then place one baby on one side, then someone would hand me my other baby & then two bottles. I could feed them at the same time this way b/c the double nursing pillow was huge & supported both babies so well I did not have to hold them while feeding & could give them their bottles, wipe their mouths & then one at a time pick them up to burp them. I liked these times best b/c I got to feed both of them at the same time & they were close to me. This stopped working however, when my son started to extremely outgrow his sister & became too big for both of them to be on the nursing pillow at the same time.

One more thing I used to do was to prop both babies upright with pillows on the bed & stuff blankets all around them so they wouldn't tip or slide & then just hold a bottle in each hand to feed them.

I definately like your son's idea/invention though. Too bad there wasn't something like that around when my twins were babies as it sounds like it would've made feeding them a lot easier!

You might want to try posting this question to your local Parents of Multiples club. The clubs nearest you would be

Contra Costa Parents of Multiples
http://www.ccpom.net/content.aspx?page_id=4&club_id=2...

Twins by the Bay
http://www.twinsbythebay.org , ____@____.com

Twin Valley Mothers of Twins Club
http://www.tvmotc.org/contactus.htm

Good luck! I didn't know there were science fairs for 6YO's

Some things to think about: the space between the bottles would have to be determined with babies propped up and next to each other, perhaps each supported by a boppy pillow or in car seats. Maybe he could come up with some kind of support for the babies in addition to the bottle. got to run, my twins are fighting

I have twin brothers. I remember when they were babies and Mom used to sit between the cribs and feed them their bottles... apparently, they were on the same schedule all the time.

I have 18 month old twins. I am not exactly sure how it looks like but I know I needed something to hold the bottles. In the middle of the night I had to feed them I would place each of them on pillows so they were upright and give them the bottles and placed blankets underneath the bottle to hold it up. Then I would watch them just in case for choking and of course to birp them. I was not able to hold both of them and the bottles at the same time.

Anything would help moms of multiples.

I do not have multiples, but I think it is a wonderful idea. If it is contraption that can go from a dual feeder and separate when the babies get the hang of holding onto their own bottle, that might be helpful.

Good luck to your son on his project. Sounds wonderful.

In the beginning I used to feed my twins separately, but that became way too time consuming. I then would use the bouncy chairs. I would sit in the middle of them and hold a bottle with each hand. This was not easy and uncomfortable for me. I would sometimes use a blanket to prop the bottle (although I know "they" tell you not to do that, twins moms do what they have to to survive!!), but if the baby moved at all the bottle would fall. I then started putting each of them in a boppy pillow to feed them and was able to sit on the couch to do this. Much more comfortable for me. That seemed to work the best. The day each of my twins learned to hold their own bottle was such a great day!!

Good luck!!!!

My twin girls just turned one and have finally given up the bottle. Feeding two babies at the same time is hard. For the first couple of months, I was breast feeding each one and then giving each one a bottle since I didn't have enough breast milk. Each feeding session would take about 1 - 1.5 hours and then we'd have to start again 30 minutes later or so. after about 2.5 months, I switched to pumping and formula so they were exclusively bottle fed. For moms of multiples, trying to feed them simultaneously is the goal but it can be hard because, obviously, you can't hold them both in your arms. The system that we ended up using was putting them both in their infant car seats for feedings and then putting the bottle on a pile of baby blankets so that it wouldn't fall. We would sit with them, of course, to supervise and to be with them. Eventually, they were able to hold their bottles on their own which made it easier.

A contraption like your son's may have been very helpful when they were quite little and not mobile. You'd be able to put the babies on a pillow in front of you on a bed or on your lap and then put the nipples in their mouths. Once they start to get mobile, the double feeder may not be as effective because you'd have to have them secured where they wouldn't roll away or disrupt their sibling.

Hope this helps!