It has been awhile since I have done a schedule update! The schedule you will find below is what we will use for quite some time, since the twins wake windows will stay around 3-4 hours from 7 months all the way up to 14 Months (more on wake windows below!). Moreover, we actually started using (roughly) this schedule starting around 6 months when the twins went from 3 naps down to 2 naps. The biggest difference throughout the months has been the addition of more mealtimes/snack time as they get older. So, if your baby is only 6-7 months, they likely will not be eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day! And, that’s normal! But, if your baby is closer to 9+ months, they may be participating in all of the mealtimes listed below. For us, we close to do BLW (Baby-Led Weaning) and started with just breakfast…then we added dinner…then lunch…then snacks.
Our Current Schedule (6-12+ Months):
· 7:30am - Awake, Breastfeed, Pump after Feed
· 8:30am - Breakfast
· 9:00am-10:30am – Playtime + Snacks
· 10:30am-12:00pm - Nap
· 12:30pm - Lunch
· 1:00pm-3:00pm – Playtime + Snacks
· 3:30pm-4:30pm - Nap or Stroller Walk Nap
· 4:30pm-6:00pm – Playtime
· 6:00pm - Dinner
· 7:00pm-7:30pm - Bedtime Routine
· 7:30pm - Bed
Despite the title of this blog post, the above schedule would be considered a [perfect] day in the lives of Duncan and Delaney. Many days their naps don’t always go perfectly according to plan. What DOES help guide their nap time schedule is following their age appropriate wake windows which I will list below. I also look for their sleepy cues – getting fussy, rubbing their eyes, blinking slower, excessively sucking on hands (one of their Positive Sleep Associations – find out more about Sleep Associations HERE). When I see them start to do some of these sleepy cues, that’s when I know it is about time to head to the nursey and get ready for nap time!
If your baby is not 6+ months old, check out my newborn schedule and 3 nap schedule here. OR, all you need to do in order to build YOUR OWN schedule for your baby is figure out your baby’s age appropriateWake Windows (using their WW to space their naps out accordingly), and follow an Eat, Play, Sleep order of events.
Wake Windows
Okay, so let’s talk about “Wake Windows.” Wake windows are the time babies are awake between naps. Here are general guidelines based upon your baby's age:
Birth to 12 weeks: 60 to 90 minutes
3 to 4 Months: 75 to 120 minutes
5 to 6 Months: 2 to 3 hours
7 to 14 Months: 3 to 4 hours
14 to 24 Months: 5 to 6 hours
If your baby is showing sleepy cues before it is time for their next nap, I encourage you to try and keep your baby awake for a little longer past their first signs of getting tired. For us, when the twins start to get fussy before their wake window is over, we go outside, lay on the deck and look up at the leaves blowing on the trees. This always holds them over an extra 15-20 minutes before nap time.
Bedtime Routine
Lastly, I shared what a [perfect] day in the lives of Duncan and Delaney looks like, but the twins also have a special routine they like to follow at bed time. We follow the same routine every night to help the twins relax and know it is time to sleep for the night. Your bedtime routine can be simple, extensive, short, or long, the biggest thing is to do what works for your family, and to keep it consistent. Below is the bedtime routine that we follow for the twins!
Bath
Diaper
Dim Light
Nurse
Lullaby music/singing
Lotion
Pajamas
Sound Machine
Rock for a minute or two
Bed
Note: We always put our babies down awake
XOXO
-Katie
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