Last updated: January 24, 2024
I remember being very confused when starting solids with my babies! I was a first time mom trying to figure out the best way to go about feeding twins solids. Besides the requirement to feed solid food to two babies, I really struggled with determining how much food I was supposed to feed them.
It was fairly easy to find information on determining if your baby is ready to start solids, but figuring out how much solid food, the right solids food schedule for twins, and how to feed twins solids at the same time was a challenge. That’s why in this post I will cover the answers to all those questions, plus I will review the perks, yes PERKS, to feeding solids to twins.
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Should Twins Start Solids At The Same Time?
Your twins can start solids at the same time, if they are both ready to start. If you think only one of your babies is ready, then it’s okay to just start with one twin.
In my own personal experience, we started one of our twins earlier than the other on solids. One twin had been showing signs of readiness from about 5 months of age. Meanwhile, her sister was not showing these signs.
My advice is to start solids when each twin is ready, but you will also have to balance this with keeping them on the same schedule. You have probably worked very hard to get your babies on the same schedule.
To ensure my twins schedules weren’t disrupted, we only left a few weeks difference between starting solids for each twin. Having your twin babies on the same schedule will be tough if one twin starts solids at 4 months and the other starts at 6 months.
When To Start Solids With Twins
How do you know when to start solids? The typical recommendation is to start solids between 4-6 months old. During this timeframe look for signs your twins are ready to start solids. The two major signs I used to determine readiness included:
- Able to sit up with support
- Staring at food people around them are eating by following it from the plate to the mouth
And remember, one twin might be ready earlier than your other twin. Depending on your family’s situation, it’s up to you if you want to start solids with twins at the same time or at different times.
Step-By Step Guide To Feeding Twins Solids
Once you have decided it’s a go and you are ready to start solids with one or both of your babies, follow the steps below. Since we went the traditional route for starting solids, that is the process I will share. You can learn more about baby-led weaning with twins here.
1 – Get What You Need
Here is a list of items you will need for feeding solids to twin babies. I’ve included links to my personal favorite items!
2 – Pick a Food To Start With
It’s up to you what to start with for the very first solid feeding. I found it easy to start with baby cereal because you can mix it with formula or breast milk.
For the first feeding make the cereal very, very watery. I’m talking extremely liquidy. You will add a lot more liquid than the package directions.
If your baby won’t accept the cereal, try adding even more milk. If you prefer to start with a vegetable, a good option is to start with a bland vegetable like sweet potatoes. Don’t start with fruit though. Since fruit is sweet, this could lead to your babies rejecting vegetables (which are less sweet) down the road.
3 – Amount Of Solid Food Needed
Even though each feeding might vary, it’s still nice to have a general starting point for a feeding. In my experience, in the first month, start with the following amounts. You can increase or decrease as necessary.
- Baby cereal: follow package directions for 1 serving – split this amount between your twins
- Baby food container: half container of stage 1 baby food – split this amount between your twins
After one month, you will have the experience to know how much your babies need. As your babies get older, the amount of solids they eat will increase.
4 – Stop When Babies Are Full
Having now been through the process of starting solids with three kids, I understand why there is not much information on the amount of solids to feed when you start. This is because every baby is different.
The best piece of advice I can provide is to feed your baby until she shows signs of being full. Sometimes a feeding could be two spoonfuls, and other times it could more than the entire serving you planned to offer.
How do you know if your baby is full? The two biggest signs are babies eating more slowly and turning their heads away from the spoon.
5 – Monitor For Allergies
When starting solids you should wait 2-3 days between introducing a new food. If you plan to buy baby food, make sure you don’t buy too many different types of food at first. The best strategy is to buy 2-3 containers of approximately 3 different fruits or veggies to get started.
>>Stay organized with these baby food trackers<<
Feeding Twins Solids Schedule (Breastfed or Formula Fed)
The feeding schedule when feeding twins solids will be very similar whether they are breastfed or formula fed. Here are a couple example schedules you can use. One is for one solid feeding per day and the other is for three per day.
One solid feeding per day sample schedule:
- 7:30am – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 10:30am – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 11:30am – Solid food feeding
- 2pm – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 4:30pm – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 6:45pm – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 7:15pm – Bedtime
You will eventually work up to three solid feedings per day. Here is a sample schedule for three solid feedings per day:
- 7:15am – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 8:15am – Solid food feeding #1
- 11:15am – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 12:15pm – Solid food feeding #2
- 3:45pm – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 5pm – Solid food feeding #3
- 6:45pm – Breastfeed or bottle feed
- 7:15pm – Bedtime
How To Feed Twins Solids At The Same Time
Twins share almost everything! This can include spoons and dishes when they are babies. I found it to be much more efficient to use one bowl and one spoon when feeding baby food to my twins.
To feed twins solids at the same time, get a spoonful of food and feed baby #1. Next, get another spoonful and this time feed it to baby #2. Continue switching back and forth until the food is gone.
If one of the twins was sick, I would use separate bowls and spoons. I don’t think I ever successfully prevented anyone from getting sick, but psychologically I felt like I was trying to keep my family as healthy as possible.
Advantages of Feeding Twins Solids (Instead Of a Single Baby)
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that unlike breastfeeding or bottle feeding twins, there are actually a lot of perks to starting solids with twins versus starting solids with one baby. Check out the list of advantages here.
- Less likely to waste food – If one of the babies doesn’t like the food you are offering, maybe the other one will. This almost always worked out for us. Some days your baby just doesn’t want to eat as much. With twins, you have another baby you can offer the food to instead of it going to waste.
- Same amount of dishes – Since I would use only one bowl and one spoon when feeding, I did not create any extra dishes when compared to feeding just one baby solids.
- Using the whole container of baby food – During the first few months on solids my babies did not eat an entire container of baby food. Once it’s opened it only lasts 1-2 days. It’s nice to not have to keep track of how long a container has been opened.
- Twins watch each other – This is especially helpful if twins are your first children. They watch their sibling and they are more likely to try food if they see their brother or sister eating it. They also might figure out how to pick up pieces of food more quickly by watching their sibling do it.
Disadvantage When Feeding Twins Solids
Feeding two babies is a lot of work! One of my twins, was very impatient when she was hungry and would cry when she ran out of food. Plus, she’s a very fast eater.
It was tough to cut fruits and veggies to keep up with two babies. As a comparison, my singleton cried for food, but it was much easier to attend to him because I could focus solely on preparing his food.
Good luck as you start on this new adventure of feeding your twins solids!
I hope this information helped you understand a little bit better about what to expect when starting solids with twins. If you need something to help you stay organized, check out these baby food trackers (you can print one for each baby). Good luck – you got this and have fun!