Sleeping, and eating, and playing...oh my!

Sorry for the lack of updates...by now, you all know I am busy!  My life recently has been consumed by the trilogy above - sleeping, eating, and playing.  Trying to make each of those things better for the babies (and thus, for me) and figuring out a schedule to make that possible.  I have read a few baby advice books over the past few weeks, and while most of them are geared toward people with one baby, I have been able to glean a few valuable points from them.  But none of them gave me the play-by-play points on how to create a schedule for my twins!  And after a few weeks of days like the one outlined in my last post, I needed a schedule!!  I think Eric and I got so used to the notion that we needed to basically force feed the babies to help them gain weight and catch up to their age (especially Asher, since he was/is so much smaller than Felix), that anytime one of them cried, we assumed it was hunger - thus, I was nursing or giving bottles almost all the time.  Of course, that leads to exhaustion when dealing with twins.  Now, after doing some reading in all of my *spare* time (i.e., when the babies are napping), I finally have a better grasp on the babies' behavior and how I can help to shape their days to make all of our lives better.

There are a few books that have proved helpful, and I thank God that my friend Michelle gave me these (as well as tons of other baby stuff from her kids Jack and Max)!  Thank you!!  These books are: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Baby 411, and On Becoming Baby Wise. The first and last books are about creating a sleep schedule, and the middle is about baby care in general, but it also outlines and ranks books about sleep.  I do recommend these books to anyone with an infant!  In fact, read them while you are still pregnant!  I spent so much time reading about the pregnancy and birth, and barely any time at all reading about when the babies would actually be here, which makes no sense at all.  And now my brain is so scattered from sleep deprivation and cabin fever, that it's all I can do to just skim and look for the main ideas!

The plan that I have chosen to follow at this point is from On Becoming Baby Wise.  I forced myself to actually read this whole book because it seemed to fit most with our child-rearing ideals and it seemed like it might really help.  These authors outline a plan that you can actually start almost from birth, and it is supposed to naturally help your babies to sleep better and longer, and thus be happier, healthier, and brighter babies and children.  Who wouldn't want that? :)  The plan is simple: Feeding, Wakefulness, Napping.  Babies at this age are on a 2.5 - 3 hour schedule, and the time between feedings is increased as the babies get older.  First, the babies wake up, and they are fed and changed.  With my boys, this can take between 30-60 minutes, depending on hunger, mood, and number of caretakers.  Then they have a period of wakefulness, where they play in their activity gym, or we read some books, or they sit in their infant seats and listen to music, or they swing (there are not many other activities that a 2 month old likes to do!).  When I begin to see signs of drowsiness, but before the baby falls asleep, I put him down for a nap.  This is a key point in all of these plans - to put the baby down while he is awake.  This is so that he learns how to fall asleep on his own, without the use of sleep props (such as a vibrating seat, swing, stroller, or even rocking in mommy's arms).  This increases his independence and ability to self-soothe, such as when he awakens in the middle of the night.  The nap lasts between 1 and 1.5 hours, and a few minutes of crying is okay at the beginning of the nap - although luckily so far they haven't done much more than whimper and then fall right asleep.  I then wake them (a cardinal rule is that mommy decides when the nap begins and when it ends!) when it is time to eat again - which is 2.5 to 3 hours from the last time they ate.  This routine continues all day until the late evening, which is the last scheduled feeding.  For us, that has been about 8:00 or 9:00ish.  Then, we let the babies sleep as long as they will, and when they wake up in the middle of the night, we feed, change, and put them back to sleep.  We have only been doing this for a few days, but we got some great stretches of sleep so far - a few of 5 hours and one of 6! It has been great for me - I can plan the day around what the babies will need, not to mention getting a few more hours of sleep at night.  Plus, they have generally been a lot happier - we've had a lot of smiles and coos lately!  Let's hope this trend continues, and that they will be on a solid schedule by the time I have to return to work and leave them in the care of a nanny.

That is the subject for another post...choosing a nanny!  I put an ad on craigslist, and have actually gotten some wonderful responses, but it is going to be the hardest decision we've had to make.  How do you find someone that you totally trust your children's lives to, even for just 25 hours a week?

Luckily, daddy will be there for two days a week...