Experience with twins... when does life go back to normality?

Question

Got two two-month old fraternal twins (plus an older sister almost 3 years old). They are healthy and grow steadily, but right now everyday activities are a mess. When should I expect that thongs will become more normal? (ie, sleep again, get some time off, et al)

Answer 1

I does get better! I have 10-month old identical twin girls and I remember all too well what you're going through. The first three months were the hardest.

Here's some thoughts:

-Routine, routine, routine. Our lives were chaos until we established a routine. And I don't mean schedule (8am feed, 8:15 burp, 8:20 diaper) but maybe try the EASY method (eat, activity, sleep, you-time). If you don't have a routine try writing everything down for a few days and you'll see a pattern emerge. (ie-wake, eat, diaper, play mat time, sleep, wake, eat, diaper, bouncy seat)

-Get out of the house! This helps so much with making life feel more manageable.

-Naps, naps, naps. Naps are so important. It wasn't until I finally set a routine with a clear morning nap and afternoon nap that things became manageable.

-Join a mothers of twins club or something to get support and tips.

As for when things become more normal....well, eventually they will sleep through the night. I've had friends who's twins slept through the night as early as 8 weeks, average around 3-4 months and some (like me *sigh*) who's twins waited until 9 months. Now my girls sleep from 7:30pm to 7:30am without waking me. It's fantastic!

Getting time off...get a relative, get three friends, get a neighbor, college student, whoever. Have three people each take a kid or have one person come watch all three. It's really important to take time for yourself. The other "time to myself" that I have is nap time. :-)

-I learned that mornings worked best if I woke up to my alarm clock than to babies crying. It gave me a chance to take care of myself (eat, dress) so I could give my best to my kids.

Hang in there! I love having twins and each month things get easier! Plus, through my local mothers of multiples club, I've met moms of twins who have survived 6,7,8 and even 40 years of twin motherhood! :-)

Answer 2

my sis just had fraternal twins, a boy and a girl...cute little things. Her husband works many many miles away and she has a 7 year old and a three year old also. as things being as they are, she does this all on her own. *kudos* She manages by not stressing when they are crying together. Keeping your sanity (she says) is important. Remember that you will get to them, when you can, and getting to one first doesn't mean you love that one more. Don't feel guilty about helping one before the other. You are only one person, and try to get big sister to help out too...she may not be able to do big jobs, but she most certainly can hold a bottle, fetch a pacifier, or rock the bouncy seat under close supervision!!!

Answer 3

i have 16mth girl fraternal twins and my life has finally got some routine and normality back in the past couple of mths now that they are on only 1 sleep per day and they are so tired they don't fight so much and sleep at the same time, it took long over a year until i got 8hrs continuous sleep again.

Answer 4

It is very very very normal.

You can ease the mess by limiting the access of toys from the three year old.

I used to hire two baby sitters to stay with my kids when they were little bits. Now they are gone and grown up

You wil surrive. Practice prevenitive stress things to do so that you don't fallow the same pattern over and over again.

Answer 5

Never. You have twins and a 3 year old. Things will be pretty hectic till theyre out of the house since you have 3 children so close in age.

Answer 6

Wait atleast another year:) If you're lucky, it never goes back to normal...

Answer 7

You will gradually find that your definition of normal will change.

The short answer..........Never again.