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A Day in the Life of a Mom of 3: Schedule, 8-12 Months Old


Dear 3 Boys,

 Before you ever arrived into this world, every other mom's advice to me when hearing I was preparing to become a twin mom was to "keep the babies on schedule!"  And in all honesty, it used to make me cringe and scare me because I thought it'd be impossible to ever really follow a schedule, especially from going to being a mom of 1 to 3 - I wasn't sure a schedule would ever be realistic.  And then you all came along, and Matthew finally came home from the NICU, David was done with his Pre-K3 program, I stopped working, and it became time to really put what I read in all the twin baby books to use, my prior experiences as a first time mom, and set up routines and a schedule of some sort.  I've learned a lot about you AND myself in this process:  having routines are essential for keeping you boys and myself content, but being flexible to accommodate you all as each of you grow is just as, if not more, important!

 xo,
Mommy

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Hanging out with mom post-nap time, 12 months old,
Matthew waving hello & Adam to the right

 This "schedule" and the routines here really began once the twins turned 8 months old and has been very consistent up until the start of their 12th month.  Everything really impacted this - the Fall weather, David being in Preschool full time, etc.  Right now as we approach the one-year mark, we are going through some major transitions as we go from being babies to toddlers - introducing cow's milk, and losing our second nap as we transition only to a mid-day nap.

 Before I share a sample of a "day in the life," I should explain that what is most valuable to me are my non-negotiable items for each day, and not so much the order and time in which they always have to happen.  Being home solo with 2 babies each day, 1 in preschool, and one full time working parent, things can get really impossible to juggle, so who am I kidding with a rigid schedule!  I'd be totally lying if I said every day was the same.  Below are my daily non-negotiables for months 8-12 (every mom should have a few), followed by an example of a typical day for me with David,  Adam and Matthew.  

 Our Daily Non-Negotiable's for the Twinsies, 8-12 Months Old:

  • 1 morning nap and 1 afternoon nap 
  • Maximum awake time:  4 hours
  • 3 meals each day + 3-4 eight ounce bottles of formula per day (no more than 32 ounces for 24 hours)
  • Get outdoors at least 1 time each day
  • 6pm bedtime routines begin, so that the boys are in their beds at 7pm (hopefully sleeping by 7:30pm)
  • Always cook/clean up, etc. while the twins are actually still awake OR in their beds going to sleep, so that I have ME time while they nap
A Typical Day with Adam & Matthew from 8-12 Months Old:

6:30am wake up (diaper changes, clothes changed, etc.)
7:00am breakfast, followed by some independent play time while mom preps lunch for preschool & tidies up bedrooms 
9:30am Bottle and then Nap #1 for about 1.5 hours
12pm  Lunch time
12:30 Go outside! 
2pm Bottle and then nap #2 for about 1.5 hours
4pm Go outside again
5pm  Dinner
6pm Bath time (TV must be turned off by this point)
6:30  Snack and stories/play 
7:00  Bottle #3 and get the twins into bed!
7:30pm  Story time for David 
8pm All 3 boys asleep!

 I think it'll be very interesting to see what 12+ months brings us in terms of our schedule, as I can see the twins already beginning to sleep for less amount of time and dropping their second nap occasionally.  Their attention span is growing when it comes to bath time and looking at books, etc.  Must admit that 'm looking forward to warmer days and more time outdoors!



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