Tips and Tricks for Managing Multiples.

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By 7 months, your babies are eating solid food and life is starting to look a bit more normal. They eat “breakfast, lunch, and dinner” with a few snacks in between. You are probably able to actually know what your day will be like in terms of when they nap, eat, poop, etc. The 6 month milestone is kind of amazing in the life of a twin mom. Congratulations!

7 – 9 Month Sample Schedule

• 7 am – wake up, have breast milk/bottle – some kids will go back to sleep for a while, others are ready to be up now. Awake kids can go in a swing, a bouncy chair, an “exersaucer”, tummy time by a mirror, watch a baby video (e.g. – Baby Einstein or Baby Mozart). If they are rolling or crawling they will want to practice. If they are walking — oh, God bless you!

• 9 am – have a snack — breast milk/bottle – then its time to get out! Go to a play date, go to the mall, go on a walk. This is often the “fun time” of the day — the kids are in a good mood, you are somewhat rested, lots of activities are available for small children at this time of day (e.g. 10 am – noon). There is a reason for this — its the “fun time”!!

• Somewhere in here — it may be nap time. Many children this age take 2 naps a day – blessed events! If your babies sleep late, that is the nap. If they get up early then they will often sleep for an hour or 1 1/2 hours in the morning. TRY and get your twins on the SAME nap time so that you get some rest. How? Put on a calming, soft musical tape (classical music, baby lullabies) that signal it’s nap time. Sometimes playing the same music at a certain time signals that it’s naptime and your babies get into a routine.

• noon – lunch time! Baby food (baby cereal, smooched up fruits/veggies, baby food in a jar, etc.) plus breastmilk/bottle

• 1 – 2:30 pm – this is the CLASSIC nap time. ALL of the world takes a nap somewhere between 1 – 3 (or so it seems in the world of small children).

• 3:00 pm – snack time (breast milk/bottle) — this is another “good” time of the day, for an hour or two. You can often run errands, take a walk, go the park, do a play date, etc. Just be aware that babies often get cranky around 5 pm — its that “witching hour”. Prepare for it by being home or with a trusted friend.

• 5:30 or 6:00 pm – dinner time, baby food plus breast milk/bottle

• Bathtime, Bottle, Bed – aim to have the kids in bed by 7pm (this only last for a few months…so enjoy it during this time if you can). If you work, you may wish them to stay up later — if you are a stay-at-home mom, this works well)