Did your twins have a schedule at 3 months?

Right now the girls are not on much of a schedule. They still get up about every 3hrs to eat during the day, but is more spread out at night...this is what is currently going on with each...

Claire is now sleeping through the nights most nights. She will go down by 10p and get up between 5-7a to eat, then will go back down for a couple of more hours. She is usually every 3hrs during the day and takes between 4-5ozs.

Carlie is harder to get down at night. She sometimes doesn't go to sleep til midnight....we definetly want this to stop. Then she does get up around 3-4a to eat, and again at 7ish. Sometimes she will go through the night w/out eating, but not nearly as much as Claire. She is too around every 3hrs during the day and takes 4-5ozs.

We have an eating issue though with both girls. Sometimes they will take 2-3ozs and then not want anymore. Then a half-hour to an hour later, they will want another 2ozs. It is frustrating and there are days that all we do is feed them. Yesterday was one of them where it seemed one of us always had a bottle in our hand. Carlie sometimes will take the first 2-3ozs easily, but then fights the last 2ozs. She will take it but will thrash herself at the same time and cry like it is hurting her to eat. We use Dr. Brown bottles and went up to the Stage 2 nipples for her to see if that helps.

Plus our other thing is that they are on opposite schedules for the most part. One will be sleeping and the other will wake, eat, play, and as soon as that one goes down, the other wakes. I want them to be more together in feeding.

When did you start a schedule? Is 3 months too soon or is it ok to start getting something together?
Where should I start? Get one up right after the other finishes eating in the morning?

April

 

I would get them on a schedule as soon as possible. My guys were on a schedule since day one. This was mostly in part to them being in the NICU which helped with the schedule. This is what we did and it worked for us. I think that during the night (if they are sleeping through) let them get up when they want to. But I started every morning at the same time and stuck to the routine throughout the day. I fed them together at the same time (this helps so you are not feeding a child at all hours of the day!). Plus, the kids get into the routine and they somewhat "expect" a feeding at that certain time. They feel secure doing the same thing over and over. Never too early to start a routine in my opinion.

 

We also had schedule help from the NICU. They started on the 3, 6, 9, 12 feeding schedule and pretty much have stuck to that, give or take a 1/2 hour. We've moved the before bed feeding to 8Pm, by the time we do pj's, story and rock them to out cold status it can be 9:30.

DW had to go back to work at 12 weeks, so daycare has helped us maintain a schedule. DS is up at 5:50a like clockwork.

If it weren't for routine, our lives would be chaos - Good luck!

 

I would stay away from a by-the-clock schedule - sounds like your babies are natural cluster-feeders, and you might make them miserable trying to withhold feedings. Also, do I remember right from other posts that your girls have reflux? I think it's common for reflux babies to want frequent small feedings, because that's easier on them. It's exhausting to do frequent feedings - but is it any more exhausting than trying to make a frustrated, starving, screaming baby wait until the clock says it's ok to eat? At least with frequent feedings the babies are happy.

As far as strict scheduling creating a sense of security, I'd rather have my babies enjoy the security of knowing that I will feed them whenever they're hungry than the "security" of knowing they'll have to wait to have their needs met.

The only life-savers I stick to with twins are:

-When one is hungry, feed both, or feed one right after the ohter.
-Put down for naps at the same time.

:hug99: I hope things get better soon!

 

QUOTE(reeba1976 @ Nov 6 2007, 11:56 AM) [snapback]483676[/snapback]
Plus, the kids get into the routine and they somewhat "expect" a feeding at that certain time. They feel secure doing the same thing over and over. Never too early to start a routine in my opinion.


I, too, LOVE routine. My dd did, as well. I'm hoping my twins do, too. Because what you described worked really well for my dd and the boys are still too young for me to know if they're going to thrive on routine. But at this point, I am feeding them every 2 1/2 hours throughout the day. There are two variables - we don't start the day at the same time, and sometimes they get hungry up to 30 minutes before the next scheduled feeding, so we just adjust it. Therefore 'bedtime' for them is anywhere from 8:00 - 10.

 

QUOTE(reeba1976 @ Nov 6 2007, 11:56 AM) [snapback]483676[/snapback]
I would get them on a schedule as soon as possible. My guys were on a schedule since day one. This was mostly in part to them being in the NICU which helped with the schedule. This is what we did and it worked for us. I think that during the night (if they are sleeping through) let them get up when they want to. But I started every morning at the same time and stuck to the routine throughout the day. I fed them together at the same time (this helps so you are not feeding a child at all hours of the day!). Plus, the kids get into the routine and they somewhat "expect" a feeding at that certain time. They feel secure doing the same thing over and over. Never too early to start a routine in my opinion.



My kids were not in the NICU, but we did the exact same thing and it worked well for us.

Since 2 months the kids have slept 12 hours each night and they eat at 8-12-4-8 every day. Sometimes I feed them both at the same time and sometimes I feed them seperately but they both eat fast and I can change them both, feed them seperate and then clean the bottles in less than 30 minutes. We then have 3.5 hours to live.

I am all about a schedule!

 

I would work toward a schedule, but don't go by the clock, go by your babies' needs. At that age I was doing naps after one to two hours minutes of wakefulness all day long (they were usually only up for an hour in the morning before their first nap, but up to 2 hours between their last nap and bedtime). I would feed them every three hours during the day, but if they need to eat after 2.5 hours sometimes it's no big deal. I'd try to get them into the same rhythm by syncronizing their wake time in the morning and not letting them sleep much longer than 20 minutes more than their sibling for naps. I'd work toward a definite bedtime routine and an early bedtime - 6 or 7 p.m. will probably work best because your babies need lots of night time sleep but I bet they're early risers.

I just wanted to say that it sounds like you're doing a great job and not to worry because things are about to get much easier. Your babies are maturing and they'll soon be a lot more fun. Getting them into a routine will benefit you all. I would check with your pedi just to double check that recent feeding issues aren't reflux (real reflux or silent reflux).

 

My family lovingly referred to me as the "schedule nazi". I used a book (12 Hours by 12 Weeks), followed it to a T, began scheduling them at 7 weeks, and had my babies on a strict 7, 11, 3, 7 feeding schedule by 10 weeks. That is when they slept through the night without waking for 12 hours, just as the book claimed! It took some work on my part, but I needed to have them on a schedule for my own sanity. I set the schedule, they adjusted to it, and it worked out great for our family. Also, one of my dds had reflux, and the four hour feeding schedule still worked fine with her. No worries! Just do what feels right for your family.

 

12 hours by 12 weeks is appalling and medically unsound. No amount of PC "what feels right for your family" rhetoric is going to gloss that over. HSHHC, the gold standard of infant sleep books, says that it is normal and healthy for babies to need night feeding even up to 9 months. The American Academy of Pediatrics explicitly states that the best feeding "schedule" is the one your baby designs himself. Forcing a young infant with a tiny stomach to eat only four times a day and only at predetermined times is inhumane, and borders on child abuse.

Can babies adapt to such a regime? Well, some can. Others get hospitalized with FTT. Others have problems forming a close and loving relationship with their parents. There are orphanages where the babies don't cry - because they've learned that it's a waste of energy, since nobody cares enough to meet their needs. It is possible to train babies not to communicate their needs, and I'm sure it's very convenient in the short term, but why on earth would you want to?

Seriously, if you can't be bothered to take care of your infants' needs as they arise, then why become a parent? Does anyone really expect life to go on as usual with a new baby or babies in the house?

What's "right for the family" is what's right for the BABIES, period.

Anyway, to the OP - it is definitely worth trying to get your girls' rhythms in sync, and seeing if they respond well to a flexible routine (like eat-play-sleep or play-eat-sleep). But for their sake, please steer clear of all the nutty books out there that tell you not to feed them!

 

My girls are 16 weeks (11 weeks corrected age) and they used to pull the "fuss until all hours of the night" game. The thing that helped them most was a bedtime routine. We start at 7 and I nurse, then bath, then lotion & PS's, then swaddle, then rock to sleep with a paci. They usually spit out the paci w/o waking and they have been sleeping 8-10 hours, then up to eat around 4-6AM then back down until 7:30 or 8AM. I swear they go to bed earlier b/c they have learned to expect it after the bath routine. Also, I simultaneously nurse them almost always. The only time I don't is if one is asleep and one is hungry ... I never wake a sleeping baby! They nurse every 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours throughout the day then I "power nurse" at night ... so like today they ate at 8:15AM, 11AM, 2PM, 4PM, 5PM, 7PM ... so a little closer together in the evening so that they have the calories to sleep more at night. We don't let them cry or fuss at all. I don't feed them at night if they wake at like midnight or 1 ... I make them wait at least until 3 or so ... they rarely wake earlier than that ... if they do, I give them a paci. I still feed them at least once or twice in the 8P-8A hours b/c they are only 5% on the growth curve and I feel like they still need it. Anyway ... I don't have it all under control at all ... our daytime naps are a mess and hardly ever at the same time =) However, our nights are pretty good and their feeding schedule is very manageable for me.