Handling awake time with two 8 week olds???

lcbourgeois · July 2012

We finally are getting a sort of schedule down & the girls are sttn (YAY!)!!! But during the awake times I'm having problems with activities because I can't hold them both at the same time & that seems to be what they want. I can sit each down in a bouncy (which Baby A only likes a little now, the Baby B not at all) or swing (which Baby B likes for a while, but Baby A has never liked too much). The tummy time mat doesn't interest them much because they can really only lie there & hold their heads up for a couple of seconds at a time. They really don't care to lie in the Boppy's unless I'm not utilizing them properly? They are starting to hold their heads up more, but still can't use Bumbo's or jumpers or anything.

Can anyone offer your experience or ideas with what to do with them before they can really play with objects, crawl, or sit by themselves? I'm really at a loss lately, but there has to be some way to work this out. Google doesn't offer too much info for twins. Just to cuddle, play, etc. which is really hard to do when they both want to at the same time...almost always.

TIA. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!

besu-chan · July 2012

First of all, at that age I was still in constant stress mode, so please don't think that I was able to keep them happy all the time by any means- these are just some things that helped make them... less cranky? LOL.

One of the biggest things that got me through that time was having a consistent routine for awake time. Eat, change diaper, tummy time, activity mat time, lie on the floor next to each other while I make faces and funny noises at them, tummy time again, track a toy with their eyes while sitting in bouncies, maybe try to look at a book if they are happy, swaddle and paci and in the crib as soon as they look tired. Each of these things (besides eating) was like 1-3 minutes long I think, and depending on how their mood was I would repeat something, but it was pretty consistent. It made it easier on me not to have to think about what to do to try to occupy them, and I think it helped them be more content knowing what was coming next.

Two best things at that age- our little activity mat (play gym?) with four hanging toys, and a teething toy that they could watch for (gasp!) almost 5 minutes at a time while I moved it around in front of them.

But seriously, at 3 months things got SOOO much easier in this regard. It was like one day they woke up and realized they were happy. Hang in there!

crystaleyes39 · July 2012

besu-chan:

First of all, at that age I was still in constant stress mode, so please don't think that I was able to keep them happy all the time by any means- these are just some things that helped make them... less cranky? LOL.

One of the biggest things that got me through that time was having a consistent routine for awake time. Eat, change diaper, tummy time, activity mat time, lie on the floor next to each other while I make faces and funny noises at them, tummy time again, track a toy with their eyes while sitting in bouncies, maybe try to look at a book if they are happy, swaddle and paci and in the crib as soon as they look tired. Each of these things (besides eating) was like 1-3 minutes long I think, and depending on how their mood was I would repeat something, but it was pretty consistent. It made it easier on me not to have to think about what to do to try to occupy them, and I think it helped them be more content knowing what was coming next.

Two best things at that age- our little activity mat (play gym?) with four hanging toys, and a teething toy that they could watch for (gasp!) almost 5 minutes at a time while I moved it around in front of them.

But seriously, at 3 months things got SOOO much easier in this regard. It was like one day they woke up and realized they were happy. Hang in there!

ALL OF THIS. Up until 3 months I just did what I had to to survive haha. It gets soooo much better by then and the fact that your LOs are STTN already is a GREAT plus. Our swings were big life savors during fussy times when nothing else seemed to work.

ErinLongbottom · July 2012

I am so glad you asked this because our girls are 7 weeks and we are in the same predicament. I have to ask, though, you said yours are sttn - how did you get them to do that? We are struggling in that department. I would love to know what your secret is!

lcbourgeois · July 2012

Erin...First I'm not breastfeeding, so it's a lot easier to feed them (I breastfed my oldest two children). I also know a bunch of tricks from having raised two babies already. I haven't read the babywise, EASY approach or any of the other books the new moms are reading, although I wish I had time to take a peek. Most of what the "experts" say sounds like it doesn't matter how much babies weigh, but I think it's BS or depends on the child, because I have had all big babies...twins were 6.4 & 6.9 at 36 weeks 5 days (other two were 8.12 & 9.7) & when they all hit 10 lbs they slept through the night. Literally, my largest (9.7) sttn at 2 or 3 weeks...Ahhh!!! My twins started sttn when they got around the 10lb mark and were eating 5 oz.'s at a feeding. Now they're drinking 4 - 6 oz. bottles a day & sleeping from 8 p.m. to 6 or 7 a.m. I feel like there about to go through another growth spurt though, so they'll either have more feedings or eat more at a time, but they're already almost to the 8 oz limit (frown). I feed on demand & am sahm too...if any of that helps?

Everyone thanks for the advice & words of encouragement!!!!! It really helped!!!

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