Schedules

Sam and Mom looking at each other

In one of the early blog posts I mentioned that spending time in the NICU had benefits for Sam and Max, specifically helping get them on a schedule. As I was writing that I could faintly hear experienced parents mutter under their breath "What fools, they're in for a surprise!" Truth be told, our "schedule" didn't last long when we first got the boys home. In those early days all the twins did was eat, sleep, and poop, and they easily fell asleep just by being set down anywhere. While their needs were that simple, the lack of schedule wasn't a big deal, even if they individually did random things at random times.

In recent weeks Sam and Max have spent more time awake and crying, and at times we've struggled to figure out what they want. Previously, crying only meant that they were hungry or needed a fresh diaper, but they began to cry for no apparent reason even with repeated diaper changes or attempts at feeding. About a week ago Amanda connected with a friendly mom on a parents-of-twins forum on the internet, and she had a bunch of helpful recommendations. We once again started a schedule, but this time with a much better idea about what we were doing. This new schedule follows the BabyWise method, which has many pieces of advice about how to structure a day, and organize feed, wake, and sleep times. This past week has been a vast improvement! Although not every day is strictly better than the last, the overall trajectory is very positive, and we both feel much better about the situation. There's great comfort in knowing that there is a scheduled nap time and bedtime, even if it takes some work to lull the babies to sleep.

Ultimately, I think that was the source of their increased crying in recent weeks. The boys changed from being able to fall asleep on their own to needing help to get to sleep. Of course they will continually change and we have to pay attention to their cues and adapt, but it feels like we're on the right track. In sleep deprived desperation Amanda purchased two copies of the BabyWise book, and I'm half way through reading it at the moment. I hope the schedules and methods recommended in this book continue to be effective, and allow us to get the twins sleeping through the night as early as possible. I know, I know, we're fools to even hope for that at this point, but it'll happen eventually, right? Time will tell.

As always, here are some cute photos: