how to coordinate nap schedules

First of all - I have little room to complain - I've had very easy babies, they are sleeping pretty good at night. So far we have not done any kind of schedule - we have fed and napped on demand and I've felt like that was working ok. I haven't had to do any CIO. I put them down for naps no more than 2 hours after waking up, but that's it for routine.

Problem is - most days they don't wake up at the same time - so they are on totally opposite schedules all day. Or occasionally they do wake at the same time and go down for the first nap together, but one naps longer than the other, so after that point they are on opposite schedules all day. It means that I don't get any breaks during the day. Also I'm going back to work in 5 weeks and I would really like to have some kind of daily routine to give the nanny.

So how do I try to coordinate their schedules? How can I get them to take at least some of their naps at the same time? Or how do you go about establishing a schedule. Lots of people have replied to other questions with an example of their schedule - but how did you get that schedule established? And how did you get them both on the same schedule?

thanks

 

I try really hard to have mine nap at the same time, and most of the time it works great. I put them down at the same time, and if one wakes up before the other, what I do depends on their temperaments. For a long time, DD's maximum time awake was shorter than DS's. So if he woke up first, no problem. But if she woke up first, I'd give him half an hour longer and then wake him up. Then they'd be able to go down for the next nap at the same time. I really hated having to wake DS, I know it was bad for him, but I couldn't have survived with one baby awake at all times. Luckily, I didn't have to do it very often - he'd seldom sleep more than 1/2 hr longer than DD anyway. And now she's gotten a lot more flexible, so things are easier.

I'd just pay attention to how long your babies can be awake and happy. If there are significant differences, you can play around with that and make your wake/non-wake rules accordingly. If it's about the same, you can see how much leeway you have. But either way you may have to wake a baby sometimes.

Also depends on how short a short nap is. I don't get my babies up unless they've been asleep at least 45 min - anything shorter is not a real nap, and they will be cranky as all get-out. So if you have one baby waking after, say, 20 min, you can try to put that one back to sleep and let the other one keep sleeping.

Good luck! The only thing better than one sleeping baby...is TWO sleeping babies!

 

I followed the HSHHC book and started putting mine down at 9, 1, and 3 starting around 4.5/5 months old. It took a good month to get them napping consistenly at those times but once they did I sang a big Hallelujah!!

 

I have had a problem with different schedules off and on, but a lot of times when one wakes up I will wake the other up. When I started doing this, I noticed that they started to eventually wake up within 10-20 minutes of each other on their own.
So, I put them down at the same time and when the first one wakes up (if they slept for the full nap), I would wake the other up soon after...Then keep them up no longer than 2 hrs and they are back down again.

 

QUOTE(lavollmer @ Jan 30 2008, 04:19 PM) [snapback]597826[/snapback]
I have had a problem with different schedules off and on, but a lot of times when one wakes up I will wake the other up. When I started doing this, I noticed that they started to eventually wake up within 10-20 minutes of each other on their own.
So, I put them down at the same time and when the first one wakes up (if they slept for the full nap), I would wake the other up soon after...Then keep them up no longer than 2 hrs and they are back down again.



I do the same thing as the pp, but mine are a few months younger than yours SeattleLisa ~ so they pretty much do what they want when they want at this point!
Also...I am from Seattle too!!

 

I have had to work pretty hard to coordinate their schedules as well. One thing I really try to do is have them start the day at the same time. I am lucky in that I don't have super early risers, but when DS wakes up (around 7:30) I always wake DD up as well. Then I try to lay them down for naps at the same time. If one wakes up super early, I will try to keep them awake until the next "nap" time even if it makes them a little fussy (if they are really really tired I lay them down early). I also foudn that coordinatign their eating really helped naps fall into place. And even on some days (like today) it doesn't work and one or the other is up all day.

 

Lisa, I also did the 9, 1, and 3 schedule, eventually becoming 10 and 2... I also woke them both up when I went in to get the first that woke up. Eventually it gets really easy for them to stay on the same schedule.

Good luck.

They really are the cutest babies!

 

Hi there. You need to synchronize their wake-up times in the morning. Put them down for their first nap at the same time, and then when the first baby wakes if it seems early try to get her back to sleep and if you can't extend her nap, make sure her twin doesn't sleep more than 20 minutes longer. I know it sounds mean and counter-intuitive to wake a sleeping baby, but unswaddle, turn off the white noise machine, etc. until she gets the hint to wake too. Then you can put them down for their next nap at the same time (somebody might be going to bed with 20 minutes less awake time than her sister, but that's not a big deal usually), and go from there.

This worked well (over time!) for our boys.

 

Hi!

Here is a quick question...when you put your babies down for their nap, are they in separate rooms? How do yours not wake each other. My babies are having a hard time self soothing. I need about 5-10 uninterupted minutes (some days are easier then others) with each baby to get them to drift off. I can't figure out how to put them both down without my intervention.

Also, what methods do you use to feed them at the same time? When I put them in their chairs, my DD takes her bottle very easily. My DS, however, really likes to be held and will only take the first two oz in his chair. After that, it just seems like a battle.

BTW, my twins are 3 months adjusted, 6 months real age.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

Through trial and error, I learned that my babies nap best in separate rooms. We set up a pack and play in the master bedroom. I also learned they need a really dark space (became increasingly important as they got older and more distractible) so we got some roller blinds from Home Depot and I even have tin foil stuck to the window in the nursery (looks lovely, let me tell you!).

As for feeding them at the same time, I couldn't manage it until they were 4-5 months because they were too floppy, squirmy, refluxy, etc. so I fed them one after the other or I'd do 1/2 a bottle, 1/2 a bottle, 1/2 a bottle, 1/2 a bottle. It was frustrating. I planned for people to visit during feeding time whenever I could because a second set of hands made life SOOOO much easier. At 4-5 months I could prop Evan in a boppy beside me on the sofa with rolled-up receiving blankets or a stuffed animal to support his bottle. James had tonnes of feeding issues so I fed him in my arms, right beside Evan on the sofa. I used one hand for James and the hand nearest Evan to re-position/hold his bottle, stroke his cheek, etc. This worked well until 10 months. Now I feed them one after the other, but it only takes them 5 minutes to finish a big bottle now so it's no big deal.

 

I tandem nurse, so feeding at the same time is not a problem.

Thanks for all the advice! I have been trying to get them up at the same time in the morning, and I've started putting them together for naps again. I had been putting them separate so they wouldn't wake each other up, but I guess that was exactly what I shouldn't have been doing. Actually I've been putting them together for the first two naps, and then sometimes separate for the last nap of the day - that way Daniel can still get his long nap that he seems to need, and Callie isn't willing to do.

When I put them down together - usually I can just swaddle Daniel and put him down, he usually goes down very easy. Callie needs some holding and soothing first. So fortunately it works out that they both don't need extra soothing in order to nap.

Biggest problem now is that they wake up at a different time every day, I can't predict it. Some days it's 6am, some days its 8am. So it's hard to predict what the nap schedule will be.