Nightime Routine

Hi All,
My twins are 3 months old and I am still struggling with feeding them at the same time and getting baths done at night when I am here alone. My husband does not get home until 7:30 - 8pm each night. As soon as he gets in the door we start the nightime routine which consists of pj change and upstairs in quiet room (our bedroom) for bottles. The kids usually go down good and are in bed by 9 each night. My question is how do you handle the nightime routine? Do you feed your LO's at the same time? If so where? I feel like if I try to do the bedtime routine by myself (say before 8pm) it will be very stressful and not a calming environment for them (not what I want before bedtime). As it is now, I feel like I am keeping them awake until daddy gets home just so that we can each feed one. I know their bedtime is gonna move up at some point but how do I do this on my own? Also, how do you handle the bath routine at night? Again, they are usually fussy and I don't want one to be screaming while I bathe the other one. I usually manage to get it done but that is because I will do it when my mom is here a few nights a week so she watchs one while I bath the other.

I guess the theme here is that I feel like I always need someone else to help get these nightime tasks accomplished. During the day I feed them one after the other and usually works out just fine, but I think I would be much happier if I could master feeding them at the same time and not to have to be so reliant on my husband at night (or him on me) if ever I were not to be home. As it stands right now, neither of us will ever be able to be out at night for quite sometime.....

Thanks for your feedback, I am glad I found this site.

 

I always had a hard time feeding them at the same time by myself. It was something that I did when I had to, but if I could avoid it then I did.

I didn't have a night time routine when the girls were 3 months old. It was so stressful in the evenings b/c I was so tired and so were they, that I didn't attempt to give them baths at that time. I did baths in the morning and it made them so sleepy that they would take a good nap afterward and I would take a shower.

In the evenings if I was alone I would rock one and put the other in the bouncy chair and bounce her with my foot. Or put both in the bouncy chairs and use both of my feet if I was exhausted.

 

I used two boppy pillows with the girls on either side of me to feed both at one time. Now, I can lay Bettye Katheryne in the boppy and hand her a bottle and she'll lie there and take it herself.

Good luck!

 

We did not give the boys a bath every night at that age. We were probably bathing every 2-3 days (now we bathe every day because they have the DOC band helmets). If the boys are fussy at the time you bathe them maybe you could bather them earlier in the day when they are not fussy. We did this and as the boys got older they were less fussy at night so we could then bathe them by ourselves if the other was not home. In regards to feeding both at one time we have two boppies (best baby gift ever) and I know some will say they are against propping but we propped the bottles with bath towels rolled up held by rubber bands and U-shaped them across the boys head/neck area. I would never have been able to feed them by myself if I did not prop them this way. It worked out very well for us and the boys became used to it. It allowed my husband and I to take shifts for the middle of the night feedings. It was a life saver for the both of us. I hope this helps.

 

I assume they are bottle feed?

Do they need a bath before bed? Does it help them sleep?
If not you could alternate baths so that could would lighten your load just a bit.

Do you have other kids? What are their ages? This could be a help are be a hindrance.

As far as feeding at the same time. I had a girlfriend who had to help me watch the babies once. To feed them she put tow pillows down on the floor beside each other and a baby's head on each pillow. She sat in front of them, held the bottles and feed them that way. I sit on the couch and feed them using my Ez-2-nurse pillow. One baby on each side. I recently switched from bf to formula and the pillow still works for me and the babies are 7 mo.

 

Thanks for all your responses! Sevn, they have a bath every 2-3 days so it is not part of the nightime routine. I guess I will start bathing one during the day and maybe one at night, just make sure they get clean but not work it into the nightime routine for now. Also, I don't have any other kids. Yes, they are bottle fed and the towel idea sounds great! Also for the boppies, I do have 2 of them, I am just trying to picture how to position the 2 babies. Are they laying pretty flat when in them? Sorry to sound dumb but my guys don't sit up yet and I usually feed them in a semi upright position (laying against me cradled in my arm) so I just thought the boppies would be to low. It seems to be the method of choice so I will give it a shot.

 

As long as their heads are above their butts your good. I would figure out how to get them set up with pillows or somethings. Perhaps during play time you could just try a few different things out to see what you and the babies feel comfortable with? You could still keep it part of the night time routine if you want (that is baths), just alternate them. Do one one night, then do the other the next night. If you didn't want to do it during the day. Good luck. You'll figure this out and realize it's not at all that bad!

 

I used the bouncy chair for feeding when I was alone. I sat on the floor with one chair at each side of me. I don't give them a bath more than 1-2times a week, the rest of the days I just wash their face,neck, hands and bottoms. Up to about 8 months I used a tummytub on the bathfloor, and had one baby in the tub, and one enjoying watching from the floor or bouncy chair, then switched... For a really long time now, I have given them they babycearals at night, then new diaper and a wash, then a bottle of formula and good night...

 

My husband is only home on weekends and this has been the case from birth. I have always taken care of them by myself. For the for couple of weeks I tried everything to see what worked best. I tried feeding at different times, but that was very hard when they both wanted to eat at the same time. I quickly learned how to feed them at the same time using two boppies. I just put them both in a boppy on each side of me and feed them that way. When they were really little and had to burp more, I'd prop the bottle with a receiving blanket while I burped one, and then switch. I even figured out how to just pick them both up and burp together. I don't remember when I switched to night time baths, but I just washed one while the other sits in a bouncy seat and then switch them. Of course, baths were only every 2-3 days. When you have no choice but figuring out how to do it all by yourself, you just do it. Good luck, you'll be fine!

 

The best way I found to feed them together was in the car seats. The high sides and a blanket allowed me to easily prop one while I burped the other. And they were a good angle. As for baths, I did them earlier in the day until they were mobile and messy at mealtime with solids. Then I did baths right before bed. You are still in survival mode so do whatever works for you.

 

In the beginning, for me, the nighttime routine was the worst. I wasn't sure as to what time to put them to bed...it was something that was trial and error for me. One day I just started putting them to bed at 7 and starting their routine at 6:30 (this time has changed since then). My girls do get baths every night because I have reflux babies and they get very dirty and stinky by the end of the day. Now, after a bath they know that it's close to bedtime. It also helps them relax. I do feed them everyday, at the same time, by myself. After awhile you get used to it and it becomes a piece of cake. I just use their boppys and away they go.

So, our routine is: bath (one at a time while the other is playing on the mat in the living room), lotion, pjs, repeat. Then they get their bottles, then a book, a kiss and off to bed.

When they were very little we would feed them at the same time even if the other did eat that much. After a while they both started to get hungry at the same time and now they eat together all the time. It can be a daunting process to do by yourself, but you can handle it! Good luck!