Schedules

I KNOW this has been asked 110x

But when did you have a schedule with your twins… I NEED to have some predictability (I’m a new found control freak)… my boys are 6 weeks (born at 36w 4d) and I wanted to know how early you had naps and feeding times set… my boys get 75% formula 25% ebm (just can’t get those boobs going, even w/ an rx)

Thanks in advance,
Elizabeth

 

Around 4 months or so, we got into a schedule of sorts, where they had a consistent bedtime every night (6:30 p.m.), it was fairly predictable when they would wake up (usually around 6 a.m.), and they took three naps AROUND the same time every day. They were very sleepy little babies for a long time.

But with every milestone you reach, your schedule can/does change. So ours changed quite a few times this year. First there was the introduction of solids. Then we had to drop the 3rd nap in late Feb., so that was an adjustment. Then they started crawling and their two naps each got longer, so that changed things a bit too. Now, it is looking like DD will be ready to drop her 2nd nap pretty soon too so we'll have to figure out how to move to yet another new schedule.

I think once they start REALLY sleeping through the night (such as 12 hours with only getting up once or so at the most), that is when you could start thinking about implementing a schedule. Just be aware that your "schedule" may only last a month, and then you may need to tweak it.

I felt the same as you at that age, where I just wanted some predictability... and I did get SOME, just not quite as much maybe as I would have hoped?! HTH!

 

I was on a schedule from about 2-3 weeks old. It was the only way I could keep my sanity. You can do it anytime you are ready to.

 

QUOTE(JenniferTwinMomMinneapolis @ Jun 2 2008, 06:44 PM) [snapback]806312[/snapback]
Around 4 months or so, we got into a schedule of sorts, where they had a consistent bedtime every night (6:30 p.m.), it was fairly predictable when they would wake up (usually around 6 a.m.), and they took three naps AROUND the same time every day. They were very sleepy little babies for a long time.

But with every milestone you reach, your schedule can/does change. So ours changed quite a few times this year. First there was the introduction of solids. Then we had to drop the 3rd nap in late Feb., so that was an adjustment. Then they started crawling and their two naps each got longer, so that changed things a bit too. Now, it is looking like DD will be ready to drop her 2nd nap pretty soon too so we'll have to figure out how to move to yet another new schedule.

I think once they start REALLY sleeping through the night (such as 12 hours with only getting up once or so at the most), that is when you could start thinking about implementing a schedule. Just be aware that your "schedule" may only last a month, and then you may need to tweak it.

I felt the same as you at that age, where I just wanted some predictability... and I did get SOME, just not quite as much maybe as I would have hoped?! HTH!

Thank you, it DOES help… I find myself trying to get them in their rooms by 7 BUT they are awake some days asleep others, and I only get 4 hours once or twice during the night (if I’m lucky, mostly 3 hours)… but I feed one, change, put him down wake the other, feed, change get him down… go pump for 20 min… clean the pump and 2 hours later I only get one hour… if I’m lucky 2… I am getting sad because I’m wishing away these early days to get to the sttn part…

 

QUOTE(gottagiggle&twins @ Jun 2 2008, 06:46 PM) [snapback]806315[/snapback]
I was on a schedule from about 2-3 weeks old. It was the only way I could keep my sanity. You can do it anytime you are ready to.

OMG HOW!!!
Please tell me, i try and try (even the waking them up to fit the schedule) and we are nowhere at 6 weeks... I think I have just made them over tired, so I stopped…

 

Hi Elizabeth, I got my twins on a bedtime schedule very early. I think it was 7 weeks. I started putting my girls down at 7:30 at night. Now, they woke every 2-3 hours until I got them up for the day at 7:30ish in the morning. My girls had some weight to catch up on I suppose. It wasn't until 4 months that I really started getting a routine down for naps. I stuck with the "awake for no more than 1.5-2 hours after each nap" advice. Now, my girls are taking naps at 9, 1:00ish, and at 3:30ish.

I have developed a lot of friends with twins. Each one of our babies wakes every morning by 7:00ish. However, we all put our babies down at different times (7:00, 8:00, and so on). I figure why make your babies stay up until 9:00 if they are still going to wake up at 7:00.


Having a schedule was good for us. It was too chaotic for us to not have them on a schedule...even if in the begining it was just for bedtime.

Good luck!

 

QUOTE(gottagiggle&twins @ Jun 2 2008, 06:46 PM) [snapback]806315[/snapback]
I was on a schedule from about 2-3 weeks old. It was the only way I could keep my sanity. You can do it anytime you are ready to.



Same here, we started trying to get them on a schedule as soon as we got home.

 

QUOTE(Mom2OandP @ Jun 2 2008, 06:58 PM) [snapback]806335[/snapback]
Hi Elizabeth, I got my twins on a bedtime schedule very early. I think it was 7 weeks. I started putting my girls down at 7:30 at night. Now, they woke every 2-3 hours until I got them up for the day at 7:30ish in the morning. My girls had some weight to catch up on I suppose. It wasn't until 4 months that I really started getting a routine down for naps. I stuck with the "awake for no more than 1.5-2 hours after each nap" advice. Now, my girls are taking naps at 9, 1:00ish, and at 3:30ish.

I have developed a lot of friends with twins. Each one of our babies wakes every morning by 7:00ish. However, we all put our babies down at different times (7:00, 8:00, and so on). I figure why make your babies stay up until 9:00 if they are still going to wake up at 7:00.
Having a schedule was good for us. It was too chaotic for us to not have them on a schedule...even if in the begining it was just for bedtime.

Good luck!

thank you... i think this is what is happening here

 

QUOTE(aimeethomp @ Jun 2 2008, 07:01 PM) [snapback]806338[/snapback]
Same here, we started trying to get them on a schedule as soon as we got home.

i have been trying since the hospital... and its always different.. I guess I will just keep trying… Thank you… I feel better knowing I’m not crazy for trying

 

Hi Elizabeth,

THe girls are nearly 7 weeks and from the first day home I have bathed them at the same time each night (7pm) - they then feed after that and they are now having a good sleep from 8 Pm til anywhere from midnight to 2pm (midnight more regularly than 2pm) - I did this with my 2 boys also and they seemed to get into the groove of realising that this is sleep time. They then sleep about 3 hours after this and after the next feed they will sometimes go back for and hour or 2.

I don't think it hurts to try and get something regular going for them.... During the day - NO SCHEDULE at all... just hit and miss with feeding.... but would much rather that through the day rather than at night time.

Hope it is all going well.

Nicky

 

From the day they came home I woke them at 8am each morning even if they had just fallen asleep at 7am. No matter what I fed them at that time and didnt feed them again until 11.

By 5 weeks we had a schedule. They slept for 8 hours at night had a feed and then slept 3 or 3.5 more hours (depending on how long the 4:00am feeding lasted. At this time we started transition to a 4 hour schedule with eating at 8-12-4 and 8. By 8 weeks they were sleeping 12 hours.

I really think a schedule makes for a happy well adjusted baby and momma. My babies are very content and doing very well at almost 11 months. To this day they sleep 11 hours at night and take 2 naps that are 2 hours long each.

I am blessed!

 

I've heard that day light can help the babies to know the difference between day and night. So open the blinds during the day. my girls schedule has changed too as they get older. I agree above that at about 3.5 - 4 months their schedule was more solid. Sleeping 10 hours at night type stuff. We had a fluid schedule... so instead of 6 am- 10 am- 2 am ( 4hour feeds) we would feed the babies then set an alarm clock for 4 hours after the beginning of the feed. If they woke up and would appear hungry we would feed them again and reset the clock. Often we would try to make it 2.5 hours at least.

I have a friend on here that did every 3 hours and that really worked for her. I think if I hadn't had my dh I would have done the same. The battery powered alarm clock was great. Especially when you are on auto pilot.

At your babies' age they still can't figure out what is happening when they pee !! So try to see the schedule as fluid and try to set the stage for months from now. So the babies start to get familar with say the evening bath or music at bedtime. Those little things will help later on and soon become familar to them. I found my babies would sleep then be really awake after a bath so I did that in the afternoon.

I think some babies are more awake then others when they are born and I think prematurity is different for each one as well.

hope that helped.

heather

 

I found that for the first month their bedtime was like midnight, then the second month it was like 10pm, then the third month it was 8 and now it is closer to 6pm. At around 6wks we started a bedtime routine, wash-up or bath, nighttime lotion and massage, pj's (which was really just another sleeper!), sometimes we would read a book (but often they were too busy screaming to hear anything!), and then nurse them and try to get them off to bed. That routine kind of helped me with the need to control some aspect of their days. As for during the day I just tried to survive and, feeding, sleeping then awake time or switched around, whatever the babies wanted. The only thing I did do was feed the babies at the same time, that was my only routine. Now at 4mnths we are starting to see more of a routine, albeit still fluid.

Gl

 

I have to agree with Isis on this one.. IF a schedule is INDEED "happening" as early as 3 weeks of age-- it's nothing short of miraculous because it is darn near impossible.

Babies at that age cannot really be on a schedule. I am not saying that it didn't happen for YOU (pp's). Maybe it did.. BUT... I want to say to other Mommy's who are posting about this to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE not expect your babies to be on a schedule NOW!! Oh my goodness!!!

Feeding YES, you can schedule that part. For sure.

Until they are 4 mos old (adjusted- regardless of how early they were born), that is when their neurological systems start to "work", if you will.. Before that- nada- not a lot going on "upstairs" if you know what I mean.

Babies that young, don't know light from dark or day from nite or if they've been crying for 10000 days or 10 seconds. They have no concept of space or time. They only know if they are comfortable or not.

While I think it is FANTASTIC and GREAT that a few people had their newborns on schedules from day one-- I do think it's not something that is attainable for 97% of us.

My Mom (also twin mom) always laughs when I tell her about my friends who's babies "STTN from day one". She's a Pediatric Nurse and just says "that's impossible and IF it's happening-- it's just dumb luck.." She always brings up her aunt who claimed that her son sttn from day one and one nite when the baby was 8 or 9 weeks old my mom went to stay there. She said that baby SCREAMED his guts out ALL NITE and when they got up in the morning my mom was like "What the heck?" And the parents were like "So .. how did you sleep? Aren't we lucky that baby STTN??" My mom about died!

Anyway.. just don't expect too much. They are BRAND NEW babies and you do have to account for them being early here. And remember- it's really a physiological thing.. once the brain is ready; things start to take shape. At four mos adjusted- things will start to make sense.

And by all means, do baths "bedtime" at the same time every nite--- but only do it to get "ready" for a schedule cuz you just can't expect a miracle here this soon. In fact, once I realized THAT.. I felt MUCH better. I felt less like I was failing. Don't expect too much right now. Just go minute by minute and truly, they will work it out on their own. I don't really like to force stuff so it worked out well for us-- they "chose" a 6pm bedtime at 14 weeks adjusted (19 actual) and has sttn ever since...
'
It will ALL work out

And to those of you who scheduled it all soo early. Cheers!! To the rest of us; it's OKAY!!!

 

QUOTE(e mauro @ Jun 2 2008, 07:34 PM) [snapback]806290[/snapback]
I KNOW this has been asked 110x

But when did you have a schedule with your twins… I NEED to have some predictability (I’m a new found control freak)… my boys are 6 weeks (born at 36w 4d) and I wanted to know how early you had naps and feeding times set… my boys get 75% formula 25% ebm (just can’t get those boobs going, even w/ an rx)

Thanks in advance,
Elizabeth


Still really don't. I am starting to see the beginnings of a schedule. We have a definite bedtime, but I wasn't even close at 6 weeks. We are still working on our nap schedule, and the feeding schedule is really dictated by when they wake up - usually they should be eating at 6, 9, 12, 3, 6 then bed at 6:30 to 7:00 but if they wake up at 4, we feed them and then they are 4, 7, 10, 1, 4, and 6:30. I'm not sure how to fix that, so I go with it.

 

QUOTE(e mauro @ Jun 2 2008, 06:52 PM) [snapback]806324[/snapback]
Thank you, it DOES help… I find myself trying to get them in their rooms by 7 BUT they are awake some days asleep others, and I only get 4 hours once or twice during the night (if I’m lucky, mostly 3 hours)… but I feed one, change, put him down wake the other, feed, change get him down… go pump for 20 min… clean the pump and 2 hours later I only get one hour… if I’m lucky 2… I am getting sad because I’m wishing away these early days to get to the sttn part…


Oh no. You need to feed them at the same time!! Otherwise you will get NO sleep. I was BFing, bottlefeeding, then pumping for awhile. It was awful and I think 1 day I fed them separately.

Mine eat every 3-4 hours. After eating they either sleep or we play for a bit. That's my schedule!

eta: You also do NOT have to clean the pump each time! BM can go 6 hours sitting out. So don't worry about cleaning until you have to!

 

I tried my hardest to get them on a schedule but it just did not happen until they were 6 months old. When I started putting them BOTH down for a nap at 9am consistently, the rest fell into place. I was also very careful to wake one baby up if the other woke up first so they would be on the same schedule all day. Also, I looked for signs of them getting tired, which was usually an hour 15 min or hour and a half after waking. I would say go for the schedule though now if your babies are ready.

 

Here in Australia we were told that soap and water was fine to rinse out the pump. I had some dish soap in the bathroom next to my bedroom and gave it a quick rinse. Often I would just rinse it with water. I would microwave sterile it during the day. I love EBM because I could just leave it closed up beside my bed -- I thought it was 8 hours you can leave it out. I'm sure it is on www.kellymom.com I never put the EBM in the fridge so the babies got room temperture. If you are giving them formula too you can give that to them at room temp. -- I bought a formula container and then just added it to cooled pre-measured boiled water in bottles. Saves time going downstairs to heat a bottle.

My dh would feed both them a bottle during the night and I would pump and go back to bed. If you can you could try to go to bed early and have your dh put them to bed. A little extra sleep really helps. Bf really adds so much more stress but is a wonderful thing you can do for as long as you are able. By 4 months I was just bf 3 times a day and it was so much more enjoyable when I didn't have to use that pump anymore. That pump starts to look very ugly very quickly.

Oh have you tried to bf in bed ?? Absolutely loved it !!

Heather

 

I have been trying since about 8 weeks old and it is only JUST NOW starting to form. And we're dropping the third nap like a bad habit. All it did was screw us up for bed time.

 

When they were tiny it was all about routine instead of schedule. Eat-sleep-play. The girls came home from the NICU on a 3-hour around the clock feeding schedule so we just maintained that. I know a lot of people who feed on demand, but still keep a routine. GL and hang in there. It was get SOOOOOO much better soon. :hug99:

 

We've always had a feeding schedule. Sleeping is just starting to fall into place. They started STTN about a week ago and I think I'm starting to see morning naps form now too.

 

It wasnt really until they started taking predictable morning nap at about 4 months that we really got rolling on a schedule.