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Schedule update: One year old twins and a three & a half year old!

We now have two one year olds in our house!  Ben is cruising along at three and a half years old and busy as ever.  The schedule hasn’t changed too much in the past month, but we have made a few tweaks.  The holidays gave us a chance to try a few new things, and I’m liking how we are doing!

Here is our basic outline of the day:

7:00am- Ben up! We spend a few minutes together and get his breakfast going.
7:15am- Ali and Sammy up!  I get them to the living room and nurse.
7:30am- Ali and Sammy play while I make their breakfast.  Ben helps now, which is super sweet. (But means it takes a few minutes longer)
7:45am- Everyone sits to breakfast.  We try to facetime with family during this time.  The kids eat a better breakfast with someone besides me to look at. 😉
8:30am- Done with breakfast, kids play while I clean up.  I try to squeeze in some reading time and play with the kids.
9:00am- Ali and Sammy to first nap.  Ben and I do a one on one activity now.  I choose it and I try to make it educational.  My goal is at least ten minutes of directed activity, but if he is in to it we stretch it a bit.  After that he does his independent play while I get some work and chores done.
11:00am- Ali and Sammy wake up and nurse.
11:30am-1:45pm- This is still our busy time.  If we have early activities we head out to those and then get home for lunch around 12:30 or so.  If we are just doing our own thing we usually do an early lunch.  We go to libraries, parks, and do any errands we might have.  Home time is spent reading and playing with the kids.  We are trying to get as much outdoor time as possible too!
1:45pm- Ali and Sammy nurse and head to naps. Ben gets a snack if we did an early lunch.
2:00pm- Ben to nap.
4:30pm- Everyone is up!  I let them up any time after 4.  Ben is pretty good about staying in his room if he wakes up early, but most days I still have to wake him up.  I try to stretch the girls a bit as sort of an independent playtime.
4:30pm- The kids get a small snack.  I don’t like that they eat so close to dinner, but the girls at least cannot make it to dinner without a little something.  Ben usually just gets some milk.  If everyone is happy I will skip the snack.  Some days just a few bites are what keep the girls happy and playing til dinner.  This is when Ben gets to watch a show too.
5:30pm- Dinner time!  We all eat together.  If Pat is working late or the kids are really having a hard time waiting til dinner time I start them off early, but we aim to all eat together.
6:00pm- Family play time!  (And baths on rotating nights.)
6:45pm- Jammie time for Ali and Sammy, then they nurse.
7:00pm- Ali and Sammy to bed for the night.
7:10pm- Ben starts his bedtime routine.

7:30pm- Ben in bed for the night.

As the girls are getting older we can be slightly more flexible with their schedule.  We can shorten their morning nap to get to more activities.  And they are can move their solid meals around a bit if I give them a little snack.  This really frees us up to go more places.  We have also started the slow move toward weaning by dropping the post afternoon nap nursing session.  The girls were not happy to have to nurse then and have been so much happier in the post nap time without it.  As a bonus they are nursing better at the other time of day.  As I said we aren’t rushing to wean, but it is the first step!

I’ve added in the directed activity for Ben and he has been doing so well with it!  It has been great practice for him to have to sit still and do what he is told for a bit.  We do puzzles, crafts, color, work on letters and numbers, and do work on other concepts through play.  I think the special attention helps him keep a happy attitude throughout the day, and we are working on things he will need in preschool.  Ben has also been super into helping out lately.  He loves to help me with any chores I am doing and with the cooking.  It does make things take a bit longer at times, but I appreciate his interest in what I am doing!

This schedule is really working for us right now.  Ben is doing really well with his extra attention, and it makes him so much more patient with his sisters!  The girls are so much fun, playing and getting into everything.  I’ve added in a planning session every evening too.  Just taking five minutes to jot down the plan for the next day makes everything go much more smoothly.  We deviate from the schedule as needed, but having a game plan helps me make sure everyone’s needs are met.

Kim

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Lindsey

Monday 1st of May 2017

One of my twin girls (14mo.) seems to be in the middle of transitioning to 1 nap. 1 nap is not enough but 2 is too much. The other twin still needs her 2 full naps and I have a 2 1/2 yr old. I don't want 3 nap schedules but it has been a battle to get the transitioning one to her sweet spot. Plus they are both getting their 1 yr molars in. I think I just have to push through this transition, but any advice is appreciated. I love to just see other's schedules, so I'm looking forward to seeing your 15 mo. schedule.

kimcartwright

Monday 1st of May 2017

If you want to do a slow transition you could try turning the first nap into a bit of an independent playtime. I had to do that with my son. He needed the nap some days, but if he napped too hard the afternoon nap was ruined. I put him in his pack and play (his nap bed at the office) with soft toys to play with. I left the lights on and had fun music playing, but he could still fall asleep for a bit if he needed to. I made sure to get him up by the end of that time period if he had fallen asleep, no long naps then for him. You could try something like that. It helped us make a smooth transition to full independent playtime. If your girls share a room, do you have enough room to put a pack and play somewhere else? That way the girl who still needs a full nap can get it while her sister starts transition time.

I hear you on not wanting three nap schedules. That would be so hard! And molars are tough on the little ones. I'll keep thinking. Maybe some other readers have ideas too? Anyone able to chime in?

kimcartwright

Saturday 29th of April 2017

It has changed a bit! I'm working on a post with the full schedule for fifteen months, but there are a few big changes. One is that we have just finished weaning, so no more nursing. (I'm feeling pretty bittersweet about it. The end of an era!) Morning nap still takes place between 9 and 11, but lasts only about 90 minutes. The exact timing of it floats a bit within that two hour period depending on our other activities. My kids have always been on the higher end of sleep needs, so they do still need the morning down time. Afternoon nap has settled nicely into 2-4. Sometimes they sleep til 4:30, sometimes not. They are happy to play in their cribs when they wake up. I love to hear them giggle!

Do you have any specific questions you'd like to address in my schedule post? I love to hear what other's think is helpful to know! :)

Lindsey

Saturday 29th of April 2017

Now that your twins are about 15 months, has their schedule changed?

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