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Mothers of twins or if you babysit for more than one baby...come in

davis0905davis0905 member
in Babies: 9 - 12 Months

On Mondays I babysit for a boy who is one month older than DD.  I am soooo exhausted and irritable by the end of the day.  Today DH comes home and is talking about all these projects and plans he has for the house...I can barely stand the thought of DOING ANYTHING!  I want to exercise tonight but I am having trouble keeping my eyes open right now...let alone do some strenuous activity.  Just wondering, how in the world do you do it day after day????  When they get their naps at the same time, I get a little break but the boy only naps for 40 mins at the most so it's not much.  Today I got one down and then the other woke so I got no break at all.  Ugh. 

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Re: Mothers of twins or if you babysit for more than one baby...come in

  • courtneyaokcourtneyaok
    Ha.  You get used to it.  And, you get your kids on the same "schedule."  No one, other than other twin moms, understands why I'm such a freak about keeping them on schedule . . . it's the only way I get any down time though! Can you put both babies down to nap at the same time?  It's amazing what an hour can do to help you relax a bit! :)
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  • lisa&andylisa&andy

    I exercise in the morning before the kids get up, the kids will play independently either in the jumperoos or in the floor while I pick up the house, and I shower when they nap. Luckily for me, they are good nappers, we stick to our schedule and we all seem to do well. It's hard that you only have him once a week, there's really no way to get him on the same schedule. With the twins, it got easier as they got bigger and I know no different so I had to figure out what worked for us. Good luck!

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  • MiaVonTMiaVonT

    Like both pp said .... it's all about having a schedule.  DS wakes most days before DD ... DD sleeps better than he does .... he'll nap 30 min and she'll nap 60 min .... it differs at time or they switch .... but we pretty much have a schedule and a system ... there is a method to my madness I guess

     

    the first couple months I was a train wreck .... and still am at times.  Like today they just whined and cried all day with nothing to soothe them ... just one of them days.  

     

    Good Luck!  You'll figure out what works for you

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  • Purrrfect433Purrrfect433

    I used to babysit another baby who was three months younger than my middle daughter. So, when I started, I had a 2 month old(baby I sat for), 5 month old and a brand-new 2 year old. The key for me was to always have at least one of them napping at any given time. It was much less exhausting to just rotate their naps so I was only caring for 2 at a time than to try to get them all sleeping at once. On the rare occasion I had them all sleeping together? Hallaluah! I'd instantly fall asleep for a nap, too:)

    Anyway, my advice would to try to stagger their naps instead. That way it's like have only way baby, albiet, one baby who never sleeps;)

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  • groovygrlgroovygrl member
    Um...I go to work! Working is like a million times easier than staying home w/ twins... (probably than staying home w/ one too, I just don't know anything about that. I do know running errands is a lot easier with just one. haha). 
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  • janjagjanjag member

    putting them down at the same time is such a help.  taking turns with naps is exactly what we did for almost the whole 1st 5mos.  it was murder.

    do you think they'd sleep longer if they were in different rooms (assuming they are in same room)?  i nap one in her crib, and the other in a pnp in my room. 

    it is definitely hard work, but when you are with your own kids everyday you get to know the nuances of scheduling.  with the boy who isn't yours it's just once a week, so a little different.

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  • Trixie6717Trixie6717
    imageAndieD6709:

    You get used to it! I nanny for a family of four under four. A 3 1/2 yo 1 1/2 yo and twin 6 mo olds. So trust me!

    My entire day consists of schedule! Naptime is most definitely the only break I get during the day, and I know how you feel when you've just gotten one down and the other wakes up. It's frustrating, but I have to remind myself that not all days are like that.

    I wish I felt like exercising most days, but I just can't either. I think if I ever did get the energy it would give me more energy throughout the day, but I just can't muster it.

     

    Whoa. I cannot imagine 4 under 4. My hats off to you!!

    Ditto all the PPs. Schedules are so important.

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