Double the giggles, double the love and yes, double the work!! Twins are incredibly labor intensive for the first three years. You’ll find yourself coordinating feeding times, doubling up on diapers and it will get LOUD.
The great news? They WILL hit a period of time when they are continuous playmates and keep each other amused for years!
Jennifer’s mom (a twin herself) described it this way:
“Having a twin is not like having another brother or sister, it’s like having another you."
Co-writers and founders of Moms on Call, Jennifer Walker and Laura Hunter, both have a set of twins themselves. They have also assisted hundreds of families with multiples. In this, they’ve learned that routines allow us to manage the chaos! The books and courses are equipped with tips and tools from the experts for getting multiples on the same schedule.
Here is a glimpse at some of the survival tactics that helped them!
- Typical Day Schedule
- Follow along with Moms on Call’s Typical Day Schedule for your babies based on their age. The typical day schedules can be found in Moms on Call’s Books, Online Courses, and the Scheduler App!
- If your twins were born prematurely, you’ll also want to grab Moms on Call’s Preemie Progress Cheat Sheet!
- Remember, there is a 15 minute grace period on either side of the times listed. So, if one wakes early, we can get them up, start with the routine, then get the next one up and going.
- If one baby eats, they both eat.
- Feed them as close to the same time as possible. Try to have both babies fed within a 45 minute window.
- What does this look like?
- Tandem Nursing: Nurse one for 5-10 minutes, then the other and repeat.
- Bottle feeding and Nursing: Feed one while nursing the other, then swap at next feeding.
- Bottle Feeding: Grab some bouncy seats and sit on the floor for easy access to feeding.
- When one baby sleeps, so does the other!
- Nap times and bedtimes are the same time, even if one doesn’t seem sleepy. This is survival mode. They will learn to be on the same schedule.
- Use your helpers!
- Friends and family are a great source of help in those early years!
- Whether it’s making a meal, household chores or watching those adorable babies while you take a much-needed nap! So, when someone you trust offers to babysit, LET THEM! And remember the more you allow for others to help, the more time you have to enjoy your multiples!
- Bath Time Tools
- In most cases, bath and bed are done by one parent. Our tip? Use your tools! (No, not the ones in the garage!)
- Bouncy seats are a wonderful resource for bathing one baby at a time.
- Place both babies in their bouncy in the bathroom and fold towels over their bodies to keep them warm. Be sure to strap them in.
- Use the Moms on Call method (see video below), to transfer baby 1 into the bath, wash baby, place back in the bouncy with towel and repeat! (You can use the same bath water and may need to add a touch more to warm the bath back up).
MOC Basics: Bathing from Moms On Call on Vimeo.
We hope you enjoyed these tips for sticking to a routine with multiples and taming the chaos! For a full look on Moms on Call’s survival tips for twins and multiples shop the Book, Basic Baby Care 0-6 months. And remember, you’ve got this!
Moms on Call has helped thousands of families (and counting) get the much-needed sleep they deserve! Follow along with our method to great sleep by 12 weeks of age! For more tips from Moms on Call, check out our free resources and our Knowledge Center for all things baby through toddler!
