Twin Tips: Scheduling

Parents share their experiences and offer tips on a variety of topics ranging from toddler activities to teen dating. We would love to hear from you. Please to share your experience.

Parent Organizer
Item #GST005L
Price: $39.00
Add to cart »

Tip 101 (Newborns): Scheduling. As a new mother of twins, one of the best tips I received was to put the babies on a schedule. I cannot stress SCHEDULING enough! It was my sanity saver.

When my husband and I arrived home with two 4-day old twin boys, we had no experience with children. We analyzed every move. Sounds silly, but we could not decide whether to put them in their room, our room or the living room. Every time we changed settings (example: when dining or sitting in the family room) we carried our twins along with us. It took us about two weeks to figure out that babies need lots of rest in a quiet and peaceful setting. Thus, we put them in their room and turned on the baby monitor. It was a "light bulb moment."

Nights and early mornings were incredibly stressful. We were not blessed with babies who naturally slept 3 to 4 hours between feedings. Each baby had his own natural schedule. Edward ("Baby B") required frequent feedings and lots of attention, while Alex ("Baby A") required little maintenance. Their natural schedules differed by approximately two hours. During the night, Edward would wake up at 10:00P for a 20-minute feeding. Then Alex would wake up at 11:30P. This schedule continued every two hours throughout the night. I was thankful that my mother arrived two weeks after the twins arrived home. I was looked horrible. My hair had not been washed in a week. My nightgown was a daily uniform. My face was gaunt from lack of eating while nursing, and I suffered from sleep deprivation. My mother later said that she felt sorry for me when she saw my haggard look. The first thing she did was to cook dinner and force me to dress and go out for a walk. While walking, I realized that our lives needed organization. I recalled the words of the lactation nurse (also a mother of twins) who advised me to put the babies on the same schedule. I returned home and started the process. Once the babies were scheduled, my life as a new mother became a lot easier.

My process started with adjusting their natural schedules by 20-25 minutes. I discovered that making minor adjustments over time gained results with minimum stress. Their feeding schedule was the first priority. I started by observing their natural body rhythms. Over a three-day period, I made notes of each nap, feeding, playtime, etc., as well as each time they woke during the night. The goal was to reschedule feedings from every two hours to four. We began with establishing an 8:00P bed time. At 7:15P we started our bedtime ritual with a bath and singing songs (as they got older, added reading). At 8:00P Edward was nursed for 20 minutes and placed in bed. Alex was then nursed for the same amount of time and placed in bed. (Often, they we nursed at the same time. If you use bottles, perhaps your husband or an older sibling can feed one while you feed the other.) Afterward, I sang to them with the lights turned off until they were asleep. Two hours later ( around 10:00P), Edward would wake up crying as loud as his lungs permitted, while Alex continued to sleep. Determined to stick to the plan, Edward was occupied by sitting on my lap in the rocking chair until asleep (in retrospect, this was probably not a good idea). He was put back into bed without nursing. The next time he cried was approximately 30 minutes later (10:30P), at which time he was fed and placed back into bed. Note: If your baby sleeps longer when you put him/her back to bed, please don't wake. If your baby wakes sooner but does not cry, please try not go into the bedroom. If the baby cries, occupy until the appointed feeding time. Alex naturally slept for 3 hours. (Note: If one baby already has a natural schedule of 3-4 hours, waking him/her is not a good idea. Adjusting the more active schedule is my suggestion.) Some doctors recommend using a pacifier. That is another way to occupy until the scheduled feeding.

Please keep in mind that you will be sleep deprived for a few weeks until they are scheduled. If your husband or someone else can help, plan to alternate so you can get some sleep. The schedule below simply gives an idea of the process we used. With our twins, I extended the time between feedings every five days instead of every week; thus, reaching the goal sooner.

*The bedtime of 8:00P remained unchanged. +Please note that Edward's schedule was not changed until week 4 since his natural schedule was already 3 hours between feedings. Once they were both on a 3-hour feeding schedule, I was able to easily extend it to 4. I have found that girls generally sleep longer. The word "generally" is used lightly because each child is different.

With the new night schedule in place, I focused on day activities – music time, daily walks, shopping, etc. Scheduling the day is more manageable. We simply worked around their feeding and nap schedules. For example: we went for walks everyday at 4:00P (after their 3:00P feeding), had music/mat time at 11:00A (between their 10:00A feeding and their 12:00N nap), and 1:00P was reading time.

Scheduling afforded us time to truly enjoy our newborns. As each household experience differs, you should create a process that works for you. Click here to find a feeding journal to help you with your scheduling efforts.

If you have an experience relating to this topic and would like to share with other parents, please email it to customercare@duosandtrios.com. Please type "Editorial" as your subject.