Daytime Syncing naps and feeding

Dorothy - posted on 05/08/2010

i have identical girls, 6 mos. they always go down together abut often do wake at different times. i take advantage of that personally! i get to spend one on one time with the babe that wakes first. it's nice for feeding too, i am nursing and it's nice to be able to feed the first awake in peace before the second wakes. then when i feed the second, the first is full and happy and quiet and i get time with the second. i know it's tough if you are trying to get stuff done during naps... but some twins, especially fraternal never get on the same schedule. so find the positive in it rather than driving yourself crazy! good luck!!

Carina - posted on 05/07/2010

Yes, i had my twins on the same routine, and they are still on the same routines at 3 years old. that was the only way i got anything done. period. you might try seperating them during the day. luckily my twin were very close, they slept in the same crib till almost a year old. lol

Katie - posted on 05/06/2010

My girls are 15 months now but I remember putting them on a pretty strict schedule as early as I could...probably 3 months or so? We followed a 4 hour routine of eating, awake time and then nap. So say they would wake up at 8am, they would have their first feeding at 8am, then have awake time until 10am and then go down for a nap. Then they would wake around noon and would feed again, have playtime and then nap again from 2 until 4pm. Then eat at 4pm, have a short 45 minute nap around 6pm and then have their last feed around 8pm, bath and go to bed for the night. This worked really well for us, obviously there were time when they were sick or teething that would throw things off, so you need to be flexible, but having a routine really seems to help. When my girls were little they sometimes napped in their swings...do you have swings? They were lifesavers some days! Some of their longest naps were taken in those swings!

At around 6 months we had a bit of trouble with them waking each other up (during nap time and bedtime) so we separated them into their own rooms, it was a hard thing to do (and sad!) but it ended up being the best decision we made, they slept so well and didn't wake each other. They are still great sleepers, now they only nap once (about 2.5-3 hours in the afternoon) and sleep from 7pm - 8am straight every night. I believe our structure and routine in the early days really helped form healthy sleeping habits for the girls now.

Babies need routine so if you try to follow the same thing everyday they will catch on. I read the book "On Becoming Baby Wise" and it laid out the whole routine for me...an excellent resource for mommies!! Good luck, if you are consistent they will follow your lead!

Debbie - posted on 05/06/2010

My b/g duo are almost 8 months, and have been on a steady schedule since about 5 months. My guys seem to sleep better as long as they can see eachother, so I usually can't separate them. But, they sleep through the night and are pretty good about ignoring eachother in the mornings if one wants to keep sleeping. They've pretty much always been on a schedule together for feedings - if one is hungry, the other one is fed at the same time or right after - and this keeps their playtimes synced. Currently they take morning and afternoon naps, and usually put on some quiet background music. The big trick seems to be making sure they're played out before naps. If I try to put them down before they're completely tuckered, they wake up at the drop of a hat. It did take us a while to figure out the best schedule to keep them happy, and it still seems to change every couple of months. Best of luck!

CHERYL - posted on 05/06/2010

Hi my b/g twins are 10ms now but when they were younger i used to bounce them in bouncy chairs so they would have naps at the same time and mostly fed them at the same time somtimes if one would wake up i fed that one and then wake the other one up so they times were similar.now one sleeps thru the night better than the other so one has a longer morning nap, but they both go to bed for a nap at 10am i always have to wake up my son at 12 for dinner as i feed them still at the same time but their afternoon nap is totally differant

Jocelyn - posted on 05/06/2010

I got a good nap routine down around 5 mos but ended up separating my boys around 9 mos for naps because the naps got shorter and shorter and they would wake each other. It got to the point it was about 45 minutes in and one would stir and the nap would be over. So now one sleeps in my room in a pack and play and the other in his crib. It works out so much better! If one wakes earlier then usual I can try to put him back to sleep and it doesn't disturb the other. Mine don't wake each other at night usually either but daytime is totally different. I also play music in the hall between the 2 rooms so they don't hear each other. Now they are 13 mos and take 2 naps 1-1 1/2 hrs each. I once one wakes, I'll give the other an extra 15 mins or so of sleep, but then wake him so it doesn't throw off the routine.
I read the book Baby Wise and there's a lot of great tips on getting on a nap/sleep/feeding routine. I recommend reading it. I've also heard good things about Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Twins.
Hope this helps!

Sarah - posted on 05/06/2010

Mine are 7 months and absolutely refuse to get into any routine- you just get into one and something happens to mess it all up- the latest thing is weaning. I think I am finding it harder because what they want to do naturally wouldn't fit in around my older child- ie they want to be eating during his karate lesson or mid nap during the school run, so I am trying to force them to fit round my family