At nine months old, Finn and Eli are taking two 1-2 hour naps per day. They are normally happiest if they are only awake for about three hours at a time. They wake up in the morning at around 7 am, go down for a nap at around 10 am, wake up again at 11:30 or 12, sleep again at around 3pm, and wake up around 4 or 4:30. Then they go to sleep for the night at around 7 pm.
Well, at least that’s what a good day of our twins nap schedule looks like!
Up until a few months ago, nap time was pretty much chaos for us. I often relied solely on taking them for a walk, putting them in a baby carrier, or nursing them to get them to sleep. When the babies were about 7 months old, I decided it was time to establish a nap time routine. If they could sleep a little more independently, I figured they’d get better rest and I’d have a bit more sanity!
So over the past two months we’ve worked hard to establish a nap time routine for twins! We change diapers and read one or two book. At this point Finn and Eli have favorites, so I let them choose! Then I spend a minute with each, snuggling, “talking” about what we’ve been doing, and I often pray with them during this time. Then I tuck Eli into his snuggle me organic lounger with his bunny, blanket, and pacifier. Finn likes to be rocked to sleep, so I let him hold his bunny and snuggle him while I sing lullabies. Eli almost always falls asleep as soon as I lay him down, Finn often takes about fifteen minutes of rocking and singing to sleep. Once he’s asleep, I lay him in his lounger and slip out of the room!
It doesn’t always go perfectly, but more often than not it’s a fairly smooth process. These are some of my favorite baby products that make nap time with twins so much easier!
Snuggle Me Organic Infant Lounger
We have two of these loungers, one for each baby. I wasn’t sure at first how effective these would be, so we started with just one. I bought our first one when my twins were four months old. They both loved it so much that I bought another one within a couple of weeks! This is one product that I really wish I’d had when they were newborns. I’ll definitely be using it right from the beginning with any other babies we have!
Snuggle Me Organic Swaddles
The snuggle me organics stretchy swaddles are definitely expensive, but oh so worth it. They are also the most effective swaddles we purchased! Unlike most swaddles that are made of muslin, these ones are a made of organic cotton woven into a wonderful stretchy jersey. While my babies can easily wiggle their way out of other swaddles, these stretchy ones hold them tight and cozy. Stretchy swaddles are brilliant, end of story.
Bibs Pacifiers
My babies and I love Bibs pacifiers! We used another standard brand in NICU, but I upgraded to these shortly after bringing my twins home from the hospital. Finn and Eli seem to get more satisfaction out of sucking them, and I love that they come in so many pretty neutral colors and look stylish in photos!
