I’ve had the Super Twins on a schedule since they were about 3 months old. Family members ask me all the time how I’m able to handle two energetic, needy little people and I tell them it’s all about scheduling. Schedules literally SAVE MY LIFE! lol I got this advice from a friend who is the mom of 6 year old twin boys. I laughed at her when she mentioned it when my babies were only 5 days old, but when I was exhausted and at my wit’s end I heard her voice. “Get them babies on a schedule ASAP. We don’t have the same luxuries that a mom with just one baby has.”
So, after countless trials and even more errors I came up with a schedule that works for the personalities of both myself and the Super Twins. My children have a bedtime routine that revolves around the setting of the sun. Simply put, my children must be in bed when the sun goes down in order for them to go to sleep in a timely fashion. I don’t try to make them go to bed before the sun sets and I don’t let too much time pass after the sun sets before I notice that my sweet angel-faced children have turned into unrecognizable little monsters. Its summertime in the south so the sun sets around 8:30 pm. My bedtime routine is very simple. No bells. No whistles. It’s straight to the point, consistent, and inflexible. I do not allow them to rule me. No amount of tantrums can keep me from putting them down, cutting off the light, and walking out of the room. I know that sounds pretty harsh, but I believe for my family this method works. I get to have uninterrupted evenings and my children get the recommended 12-14 hours of nightly rest that they need to grow big and strong.
At 5pm my girls eat dinner. This takes about 20 minutes total. By 5:30 they’re running around playing with their toys while I wash up the dinner dishes or load the dishwasher and wipe down the high chairs. This can take about 30 minutes. Before I run their bath, I check the thermostat to make sure its at least 75 degrees in the house. I run their warm bath water with a cup of Epsom salt and 3 capfuls of Johnson and Johnson’s lavender bedtime bubble bath and soap. I let them spend about a half hour soaking and playing in the tub before I wash them up and get them dressed for bed. They brush their teeth, I give them full body massages with the Johnson and Johnson lavender lotion, I clean their noses (they have really bad allergies), and moisturize their hair and put on their bonnets for the night. Once they’re dressed, I read two short bedtime stories, say their prayers, and I put on a 30 minute Veggie Tales tape of silly songs. They love it. They giggle for about 20 minutes and then they’re knocked out. This frees me up to finish chores or just have some much needed “mommy” time.
This bedtime routine has pretty much been the same for the bulk of their short lives with just a few tweaks. I think the consistency of the routine combined with the fact that I keep their days pretty busy helps them to feel exhausted by sunset. They practically beg to go to bed except on the occasion they are teething or sick. Tell me in the comments what special things you do for your little one to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep on his or her own.
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