Once Emma and Sofia turned 6 months, we had to change up our routine. We introduced solids slowly as recommended by our doctor. We gradually added new foods and have only recently started to feed them all three meals.  Here is a sample:

7:00am- First bottle-6oz each

7:15am- Activity time

8:00am- Breakfast-eat solids

8:30am- Activity time

9:00am- Morning nap

10:00am- Activity time

11:00am- Second bottle-6oz each

12:00pm- Lunch-eat more solids

12:30pm- Activity time

1:00pm- Afternoon nap

2:30pm- Activity time

3:00pm- Third bottle feed-6oz

5:00pm- Dinner-eat more solids

5:30pm- Activity time

6:30pm- Bath time

7:00pm- Last bottle feed-6oz

7:30pm- Bed time story

7:45pm- Down for the evening

*Please note that I am not specific about diaper changes as this varies daily. If you’re interested in a more detailed schedule please let me know in the comment section below.

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The following is an example of the routine and schedule we set for Emma and Sofia when we started sleep training at 9 weeks. It is rigid, I know, but it worked for us and I managed to survive with little to no help everyday. I understand, that this is not for everyone but if you are looking for a sample routine I thought this would be helpful. Now that they are older the routine has been modified and I will post that shortly.  First, here is the schedule:

7am First bottle feed- 7oz each

7:30am Activity time

8:15am Morning nap

10:45am Change diaper

11am Second bottle feed-7oz each

11:30am Activity time

12:15pm Afternoon nap

2:45pm Change diaper

3:00pm Third bottle feeding-7oz each

3:30pm Activity time

6:30pm Bath time

7pm Last bottle feed-7oz each

7:30pm Bedtime story

7:45pm Put babies down for the night

Do you have a schedule or a routine that works well?

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I had heard that when you become a mama you always feel guilty (Am I not doing enough for my babies? Not feeding them well, not changing them enough, not avoiding the BPA’s or pesticides of the world enough, etc. etc. etc).  But, what if you have two babies? What happens to that guilt when you have twins? Does it double? It has for me.

At around 1pm today, I was putting Emma and Sofia down for their afternoon nap. The bedroom that they share is on the second floor and the playroom is downstairs. They are too heavy to take up the stairs together so I have no choice but to take one baby at a time. Today, I took Emma first. She was incredibly cuddly and wanted to snuggle and burrow her face in my neck. I love it when she is like this and I desperately didn’t want to let her go. I wanted to stay with her. But Sofia was downstairs alone and unhappy, so I rested my head between Emma’s shoulder and neck, took a deep breathe of her heavenly scent, kissed her check and gently placed her down.

It seems that each hour or even minute I have to decide what is best for both my children and try to choose the option that in the end serves both girls equally. I struggle with ensuring that I don’t favour one baby over the other. Some days that’s not easy to do.

Does it ever get easier?

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I have wanted to write this post for sometime now. But I hesitate because I am afraid that after this post everything will change.

Sofia and Emma have been sleeping 12 hours a night and taking two 1 and a half hour naps during the day since they were 12 weeks old. Are you shocked? Here is how we did it…

1) A combination of three amazing books that I recommend to all new moms, Happiest Baby on the Block , The Baby Whisperer, and Twelve Weeks Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old.

The first book, Happiest Baby on the Block, was not the easiest book to read and therefore I recommend watching the DVD instead. We incorporated 2 (swaddling and the shushing) of the 5 S’s into our daily sleep routine. The babies loved to be swaddled and we did this until they were about 5 months old. The shushing sound was very effective in helping to soothe them to sleep.

We used The Baby Whisperer to establish and stick to a strict routine using her E.A.S.Y. method and later her advice on P.U./P.D. was priceless.

Finally, Twelve Weeks Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old was the most helpful and it only took me two hours to read. I followed this book word for word. I needed help and could not survive 18 feedings a day with no sleep. This book offered us the best solution and it worked. The first three weeks of “baby boot camp” were awful and now a blur. I didn’t get much sleep because I was up most of the night training the babes and weening them off their night feedings.

2) Followed excellent advice: babies need to learn how to sleep. We are not born with this skill and it is the parents responsibility to teach their child (or in my case children.)  The best way to do this is to put them down for sleep while they are still awake or aware. The advise is not to rock them to sleep or to put them down after falling asleep while eating. The rationale is that if the baby is put down while sleeping, when they wake and are not in your arms as they last remembered, they feel something is wrong or missing and therefore will cry. I know and can understand how this could be difficult for some moms especially when babies are so small and helpless. It worked for us and I am certain it had to do with us having two. I could not hold both comfortably and I had no choice but to put them down awake.

3) We used the Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper and they slept side-by-side next to our bed for the first three months. This was amazing as I was always with them and would reach out and put my hand on them as soon as they fussed. I was getting up 3 times a night to feed two babies so it was helpful not to have to go into another room. It allowed me to be with them and ensure they felt safe and secure during the night. We did not let them cry and we were always there to hold them. After, three months we moved them to the room next door and they slept in the same crib for 2 weeks. They are now sharing a room but sleeping in separate cribs.

4) Start early and be consistent-our girls were ready to start baby boot camp at 9 weeks. Sean and I discussed the training at length and came to important agreements. Try and be on the same page with your partner; it will make things easier when the baby is extremely fussy.

Our rule, when they were smaller, was to always go and be with them when they cried. We didn’t always pick them up but we were there with them soothing them and doing what we could to help them fall a sleep on their own. Now that they are six months old we let them cry/fuss for two minutes before going into their room. We did use soothers at first and I found them to be very useful, however, I restricted them to bed time and at about four months both girls refused to take them.

Do your babies sleep through the night? Do you have any great secrets you would like to share. Are you struggling? If you need some support or advice, I would love to hear from you.

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