Loosing my mind

Ladies I know i'm not the only one but I feel extremely overwhelemed these days and just don't know what to do! any words of advice from you ladies? My twins are 5mo old and I also have a 3 1/2 year old. What do you do with a babies that just won't stop crying??????

 

You are at a very hard age with your twins right now....6-8 months was terrible for us because our boys cut a bunch of teeth (8 teeth in two months for each of them). I don't know if your LO's are sitting up or crawling, but I'm guessing probably not. Once our boys could sit up and play and then once they could crawl and get to stuff (which they got good at around 7.5 months), they were MUCH happier.

Before they were able to sit up or be mobile, some things that helped us were:
-bumbo seats - sit each of them in one and let them play with some toys, each other, etc.
-exersaucer and/or jumperoo - we had one of each and they loved them. Not only could they look around, there were toys to get to and the jumperoo had music and lights
-two different playmats with different toys (one tummy mat, one mat with things hanging overhead)

Basically, when they were awake, I would rotate them around the above things, and that helped them not be so bored.

Also, I don't know how you feel about TV, but that is the age when I started letting them watch a Baby Einstein video every day, which helped, too. We also read lots of books, and would take walks outside to the park, or go to the mall or a big store and walk around. Change of scenery was key.

Any chance your LO's are teething? You could also try various things to chew on, as well as tylenol.

I feel for you - this is a tough age, and I didn't have an older child in the mix, too. Hang in there - this stage won't last forever!!

 

Yikes. I am so sorry to hear. Could there be something wrong with them, i.e. acid reflux, etc? Are they hungry? Are they sleeping? Taking good naps during the day?

My SIL has a boy 2 weeks older and he is a HUGE whiner. She never established naps with him....so he may sleep 20mins here or there, but that is it all day. He can be a real challenge to be around.

 

:hug:

It is pretty hard when there isn't much they can really do without your help, yet they want to do anything and everything! I am watching a soon-to-be 7 month old, and man does she want to MOVE. And...she can't. It can be quite tiresome.

When my boys would get fussy-music always seemed to help. I would take both of them and dance. One on each hip. I may have lasted three minutes-but it certainly helped!

I agree with the rotating of 'stations.' We had two exersaucers, the playmats, a Johnny Jumper that hangs from the ceiling, and the free standing jumperoo. I also got the superyard and had the foam alphabet playmat and put them in there so I could get stuff done.

I agree it helps if there is some sort of schedule in place. If you want, and when you can, let us know what your day is like and hopefully we can help you out some more. Hang in there momma! :hug:

 

I agree. I am going crazy at times. My twins are only 4 mo and another set of twins who are 3 1/2 so I know the drill. Ainsley is pretty happy and will be entertained during th day with bouncy seat, baby gym, swing, bumbo, and I rotate them. I have an exercauser and jumperoo when they get a couple of months older.

Lydia wants to be held when she is awake, if not she is crying. It is hard. I wear her in a sling a lot and just ordered a mei tai and hoping that will help.

My older twins also help to play wtih them and show them toys, bounce them, shake rattles, lay by them on the mats. That helps to keep them all happier. I am also all about a schedule IT helps me keep my sanity If you don't have them on one, I would highly recommend it. Here is mine
7-wake, eat
9- feed, nap
11-wake, feed
12:30 nap
2-wake, eat
4-nap
5-wake, eat
7 eat, bed for the night
(they usually get up once and eat at 4am)

Also I let the babies put themselves to sleep on their own. This is a process to get to but now they don't even want to sleep in my arms. So when they are tired, I just lay them in bed and walk out. It is fabulous and makes it less stressful on me.

If you need to chat or just vent, PM me.

 

Thanks a bunch ladies!!!! We are BIG routine people We have wondered if maybe she is cutting teeth and just has a harder time with them than her siblings so I am now giving her tylenol round the clock. They both sleep awesome so I can't complaine to much about that it just seems that if she is awake then she is fussy. She is already rolling over and getting up on her knees(which is crazy for a 5mo old) I know she will be a much happier baby once she can get around on her own. I have questioned about reflux in the past and am going to press the issue next time. She was my colic baby so I know she already had some issues. My husband says she's just a baby that wants to be an only child and well......that's not going to happen and she just needs to get over it. My issue is that he's not home all day with them so saying she needs to just get over it is not ammusing. thaks so much for all the suggestions and maybe I will try to switch her through stations more frequent than her sister to keep her busy longer.

 

Hey due date buddy! So crazy b/c on Monday, I could have written this post myself..!!! I am definitely overwhelmed too. I think anyone would be after 5 months of caring for twins around the clock.
We bought baby bjorns and are now wearing the twins more often. My son, who is the colicky one - likes to be held and face outwards and see the world, so this has helped quite a bit with him. Also, I try to watch for his tired signs a LOT and catch him before he gets to the freak out stage where he can't be calmed down easily. It is def hard when you have a "high spirited/high needs" baby Thank goodness my other twin is so quiet and serene!!!

I hope it starts to get easier! but I'm worried once they become mobile -- it will be exact opposite... harder!!!! True???

 

I was just about to post the exact same thing!!!! Mine are 4.5monts (3.5 adjusted). (I also have a 4.5 yr old) They are driving me insane! They cry pretty much any time they are awake. They only last at each station for about 5 min. I really don't know what do to with them when they are awake. They both just want to be held. So most of the time I end up with one facing out in a bjorn holding the other and bouncing on an exercise ball. I think mine are teething. I really hope that once they can both sit up things will change... but i fear not. Right now i have 2 chicco clip on 360 chairs and i put them both in there and face them toward each other and they like it for a few min, but as with any other "seat" they get sick of it fast and just want me to hold them. I am trying to get them on a schedule but failing. Every day our naps vary.

I hope someone out there has a solution!

PM me if you want to complain to someone who totally understands

 

Try getting them out for walks in between sleeps. I always found that getting outside and seeing the world was very calming for the babies. And if there are certain periods of the day where they're fussy, maybe try tinkering with their nap schedule a bit; try putting them down 15-20 minutes earlier than normal and see how it goes.

 

4-6 months was the roughest for me (aside from newborn sleep deprived). They just get bored so easily! However, during this time is when I started a nap schedule, I use that term loosely, and once they got used to it they were much happier! I also agree that when they sit up and crawl they are much happier as well! Keep up the good work Mama!! Your doing great!

 

Ladies, thaks so much for all the tips and info. i have started swaddling them in the afternoon for naps and they are putting themselves to sleep and sleeping from 3-6pm and have been much happier. Georgia who's my fussy one has a dr appointment tomorrow afternoon to talk about her reflux and lack of pooping. I think if we can get her on some medication then she will be a lot better.

 

Good that you are getting her checked by the doctor!

Apart from that: I agree that this a frustrating age - they want to do so much and there is so little they can do. A few things that helped us were

- lots of time outside: walks in the stroller or carrying them (if you can manage the weight), rolling around on a blanket in the grass; for us nature worked better in calming and engaging them than a walk through town although I did (still do) most of my shopping taking long walks with the stroller, they can look up at the sky, clouds, birds , trees moving in the wind etc.
- music: I sang to them a lot, preferably songs I could act out with my hands, and we also listened to CDs and danced (one of each hip)
- mobiles: I made them myself (feathers, balloons, shapes cut from coloured paper etc.) and changed the one hanging over their day-time crib in the living room often; if I was in the room with them, I often hung it low enough so them could kick or swat at it
- sitting on a bouncy ball or in a rocking chair with one baby on each leg

GL - things will change a lot once they are sitting up by themselves and properly moving around!