When to Put Twins on a Schedule

shanaynerz · May 2014

I know my twins aren't even here yet and I have at least a month until they arrive (hopefully!), but I've been wondering, do you guys recommend getting them on a schedule ASAP? With DD I didn't worry about getting her on a schedule for naps and such until around 3 months, but I've heard with twins sometimes you try to get it done sooner so they're both down and eating at the same time I guess? DD only has one nap now, so I don't know how it'll work getting them to be on her schedule (I've heard that's great, too), but if they can both be on similar schedules that would be ideal of course. Thanks for any advice!

Gibson824 · May 2014

We didn't really start having a schedule until around 6 months, or at least that is when I was able to start noticing patterns. As far as feeding goes, if one woke up to eat, we would wake the other one if they didn't stir on their own. Now they pretty much do everything at the same time, except one may nap longer than the other at times. Oh, and my daughter will randomly wake up at like 3:00a with the urge to start singing to her sleeping brother

jezebel57 · May 2014

My boys automatically are on a similar schedule. They wake within half hour of each other and feed within the same. They are four months. I never really had to wake one up when the other got up. I am pretty flexible with them taking longer naps etc... It is much easier when they are on the same schedule because otherwise you are constantly caring for one or the other.

Manada · May 2014

This is something I have been thinking about since we found out we were having twins. For us, we are going to start with trying to guide them toward feeding at the same times by using the One up, Both up rule, and then a loose EASY (eat, activity, sleep, you) schedule during the days... Our hope is that between these a schedule will emerge that we can work with to encourage good sleep habits as that's the most important thing for us.

LittleLady77 · May 2014

We do one up, both up. We also do a night time routine and once we "night time" sleep its calm, white noise machine, swaddles... Basically all business. During the day it's music, talking, books, walks. They basically put themselves on a schedule by 3 weeks. As far as feeding goes we still feed on demand and will continue to do so.

ballygirl · May 2014

It will probably depend partly on your babies - how well they eat and nap and how regular their own internal clocks are. I think some babies are just ready for it earlier than others. A lot of twin moms advised me to get my girls on a schedule ASAP when they were born and we have friends that were able to keep their babies on a schedule from birth, but I really found it impossible until about 5 months. My girls were terrible terrible sleepers. They didn't sleep through the night until recently (7 months) and they were screamers . Bedtime was often a screamfest that could last hours and then they often would only sleep for 2 hours at a time or less and then we would do it all over again. It was a huge nightmare and there was no way that after 30 - 45 minutes of bedtime struggles that I was going to wake up one girl after an hour just because her sister was up and ready to eat. It just didn't make sense to me, especially at the newborn stage. Their naps were also really difficult. Often they would only nap 30 minutes at a time and we found it extremely difficult to try to get their naps to coincide. Also, every day they seemed to have different sleep and eating needs. We would find a routine or schedule that seemed to work for a day or two and then all of a sudden, it just wouldn't work anymore, and we would have to try something else.

Finally, around 4 months, the girls began to settle into their own natural patterns. We did a lot of charting (the babyconnect ap is really great btw - it lets multiple people log eating and sleeping for multiple babies) and began to recognize their daily patterns and found that if they both woke at the same time, we could keep their schedules pretty synched up during the day.

At 7 months now, we have a pretty decent routine although I still have one girl who is a much better napper than the other one and so that can throw us off sometimes. They usually only take 20-30 minute naps and they wake up tired but I can't get them back down, but sometimes Haley will take a decent 60-90 minute long nap around noon and Lizzy never does. I don't want to wake Haley because I really want to encourage longer naps, but I can never get Lizzy to go back to sleep with her, so it does throw us off for the rest of the afternoon.

daisy19782011 · May 2014

Our were on a schedule from the beginning...they were in the NICU for 3 weeks, so we followed that same eating schedule-----3, 6, 9, 12. It really helped us feel like we knew what we were doing. As far as naps, they determined that. At the beginning, they sleep a lot, mainly every time after they eat, and as they have gotten older it lessens.

ajsweeton · May 2014

We've been on a schedule since almost the beginning. We FF with a small breast milk supplement since I'm not producing much milk so I think it's easier to schedule. They eat every 3 hours with one 4 hour block at night. They're only 3 weeks old though, so they pretty much sleep after every feeding and are awake for just a little while between feedings during the day. We also have a nighttime routine with swaddlers and RNPs which they only use at night. I figure we'll start working on staying awake more during the day when they're a little older.

24karat · May 2014

We did "one up both up" but aside from that, didn't tackle anything close to a true schedule till they were 7 months. They just weren't ready, very unlike DD who scheduled herself by 3 months. They're now just about 10 months old and sleep 8pm-7:30/8am plus morning and afternoon naps, sometimes an additional one if they need it...thankfully the afternoon one coincides with DD's nap too. For feeding, they eat at "normal" meal times and have snacks throughout the day since they like to graze. We've been able to sit down as a family at meals for a little over a month now...no more eating in shifts!

Labyrinth3000 · May 2014

daisy19782011 said:
Our were on a schedule from the beginning...they were in the NICU for 3 weeks, so we followed that same eating schedule-----3, 6, 9, 12. It really helped us feel like we knew what we were doing. As far as naps, they determined that. At the beginning, they sleep a lot, mainly every time after they eat, and as they have gotten older it lessens.

This is how it went for us. They came home from the NICU on a set schedule and at two months old we are on a 12am 4am 8am 12pm 4pm 8pm schedule. It has helped a lot to have a predictable feeding time!

rachelkongsore@hotmail.com · May 2014

We followed the nicu schedule and then applied EASY. I was really strict about sticking to the easy schedule even though it really didn't make my life much easier- I just didn't know what else to do. In hindsight I would feed on demand and not wake to eat it. It is all going to depend on your babies gestational age, size and personalities. So my best advice is to take all those things in consideration and adjust accordingly. I am having a second set of twins with whom I plan on being much more relaxed with respect to schedule!

raraavis28 · May 2014

A lot will depend on your babies' gestational age when they're born, if they have NICU time (where a schedule is established) etc. For the first two months I just followed the babies' cues (though we did feed and lay them down at the same time) and wrote down what times they were eating and sleeping. At around 2 months I noticed a pattern emerging and then followed that.

I found that having a predictable routine and schedule helped a TON, but I wouldn't consider if the #1 goal as soon as you get home, or stress over it too much....you'll get your own groove when your LOs get here. GL!

JTA2426 · May 2014

We too followed our NICU feeding schedule. 8,11,2,5 around the clock. That pretty much dictated everything else, which fell into place around that. We gradually dropped one night feeding at a time. At 10 months, the boys are still on a modified version of that schedule. It really worked for us.

shanaynerz · May 2014

Thanks for all the advice. I got DD on a schedule based on her natural inclinations, and it was wonderful. She's been a very easy child to be honest so far, and I think having her on a schedule around 3 months really contributed to that. So I'd like to do something similar with these guys if I can for sure!

BabyCarryingVessel · May 2014

I "went through the motions" of a schedule in the beginning. It didn't work perfectly in those first weeks, but eventually it paid off and girls fell into a beautiful schedule. I agree, start ASAP keeping in mind that those first weeks will be a sloppy schedule.

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