schedule

how should I started a schedule with the twins?

 

We didn't have one until 8 months. For us, we listened to their cues and they pretty much made the schedule themselves.

 

How old are they? Mine worked their way into a schedule around 3 1/2 months or so, but it's still far from perfect

The only thing I did to try to keep them on the same schedule was to feed them together. If one got hungry, I fed them both until eventually it became a routine. It made their naps and play time fall in line as long as they ate together. Does that help? Give a little more info about your babies and I think you'll get a lot of good advice from people here. Start with their age, adjusted age, what they're eating (formula, BM, solids), etc. Welcome to TS!

 

QUOTE(Fran27 @ Jan 6 2009, 04:00 PM) [snapback]1135657[/snapback]
We didn't have one until 8 months. For us, we listened to their cues and they pretty much made the schedule themselves.


Sometime in the first two months I noticed that they would do things the same everyday. For example after I fed them first thing in the morning they would always fall back to sleep - so I started carrying them upstairs and putting them in bed at that time and it became their morning nap. They really do kind of schedule themselves - but I always fed at the same time and woke them both even if one was still sleeping to eat.

 

what do you do when one is an 3 hour schedule and the other is at 4? dd demands food (no entrataing her when she is hungry, she is very determined)
usually after 3 hours...ds won't eat until 4 hours on most days... he just refuses...
it was so much easier when they were "little"

 

Ours came home from the NICU on a feed-every-3-hour schedule, and we're still on it today, though we would/will feed more often if the babies wanted that. We started with the eat, play, sleep routine, every 3 hours and mine still nap three times a day. The book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child helped me so much with naps and sleeping, which is the key to a daytime routine and happy babies, to me. As mine got older, they slept longer at night and eventually wanted to go to bed earlier, and dropped their evening nap.

 

Mine don't really have a strict schedule. The schedule is breakfast as soon as they wake up, followed by a nap once they start getting tired, followed by lunch and another nap, and afternoon snack, dinner sometime between 4 and 5, and bed time between 6 and 7. I just base it around when they are hungry and when they are tired.

 

We had a schedule as newborns to make sure they ate every 3 hours but as for naps, we tried to follow their tired cues and what not. I don't think we settled into a good schedule until 6 months. Nighttime was on schedule when they STTN at 2.5 months but daytime was still all over the place until 6 months. The schedule was:
7:30am: wake up/cereal/get dressed/bottle/play
9:30-9:45 am: nap
11 am (or so): wake up/eat/play
2 pm:eat/nap
4 pm: wake up/play
5 pm: eat
6:45pm: get ready for bed, bedtime bottle was around 7:30.

Good luck, I found following their cues the best way to set a schedule.

 

QUOTE(aimeethomp @ Jan 6 2009, 07:10 PM) [snapback]1135923[/snapback]
Mine don't really have a strict schedule. The schedule is breakfast as soon as they wake up, followed by a nap once they start getting tired, followed by lunch and another nap, and afternoon snack, dinner sometime between 4 and 5, and bed time between 6 and 7. I just base it around when they are hungry and when they are tired.


That pretty much sounds like our "schedule" lol, practically identical. I wanted to get something more concrete but it's hard with them being in daycare so on weekends we just play it by ear. Wake up eat, play, sleep, wake up etc.. They tend to do things around the same time and usually go to bed between 6 and 7.

 

QUOTE(Fran27 @ Jan 6 2009, 04:00 PM) [snapback]1135657[/snapback]
We didn't have one until 8 months. For us, we listened to their cues and they pretty much made the schedule themselves.




Exactly the same here...I was so worried early on about finding and following a routine. They eventually dictate their own schedule!

 

QUOTE(Gimena @ Jan 6 2009, 03:41 PM) [snapback]1135889[/snapback]
what do you do when one is an 3 hour schedule and the other is at 4? dd demands food (no entrataing her when she is hungry, she is very determined)
usually after 3 hours...ds won't eat until 4 hours on most days... he just refuses...
it was so much easier when they were "little"


You hold the 3 hour gal off to 3 hours & 15 minutes, then you feed her. Then you move the 4 hour boy up to 3 hours & 45 minutes. If you want them to eat at the same time, after a few days move her back another 15 min and him up another 15 min. Those 15min might be trying on you. Try all the tricks with DD rock her, walk her, sing to her, etc to hold her off. GL!

 

QUOTE(Mom2CA @ Jan 6 2009, 07:07 PM) [snapback]1135920[/snapback]
Ours came home from the NICU on a feed-every-3-hour schedule, and we're still on it today, though we would/will feed more often if the babies wanted that. We started with the eat, play, sleep routine, every 3 hours and mine still nap three times a day. The book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child helped me so much with naps and sleeping, which is the key to a daytime routine and happy babies, to me. As mine got older, they slept longer at night and eventually wanted to go to bed earlier, and dropped their evening nap.



my kids were in the NICU to but when they came home hey were not on any schedule.
my kids were born at 33 weeks and 6 days .
baby A(boy) 3lb 1oz in NUIC for 2 weeks
baaby B (girl) 5lb 1oz in NUIC for 8 days