Our days have always been structured since having twins. To keep our life from being complete chaos, we keep things pretty orderly. This was some advice I learned early from other twin mamas and I am forever thankful for all their advice.
5:45 am I have been trying to get up before the kids the past month or so and either work out, work, shower or get in some reading. My favorite thing to do is get a run/walk in and listen to a podcast.
6:30 am Ava wake up call. Ava is always the first one to wake up. We have the Ok To Wake Clock, this thing is like a toddler alarm clock, it lights up and lets them know when it's ok to get out of bed. This is the only thing that keeps her in bed until 6:30. Eleanor and Greta usually wake up around 6:45 am. We then lay in our bed with the whole family while G drinks her bottle til about 7.
7:30 am Breakfast is served! The kids have their pick from the normal stuff: Cheerios, yogurt, eggs, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, toast, and fruit. Sam makes the coffee and the smoothies for us while I feed the babes. Sam always run the dishwasher at night, so we unload the dishwasher while we quickly drink our smoothies and the kids eat.
8:00 am Sam heads off to work down the hall and the girls and I clean up breakfast and move shenanigans to another place in the house, either upstairs where they play in their rooms, or under my sink (they pretend it's a car). I try to do some laundry while they play but usually end up just playing peacemaker, solving disputes, or finding random toys they suddenly NEED.
9:15 am Greta goes down for her first nap. I either take Ava and Eleanor outside, or they can play quietly while I "get ready" for the day. We also work on coloring and letters when we all have the patience. I think now that it's summer, and Sam is home to watch the monitor, I will start taking the twins out during this time and doing some special things with my big girls.
10:30 am Greta wakes up and we all head outside, to a park, the library or story time.
11:15 am Lunch is served. Our lunches are pretty basic. Sandwiches, mac n cheese, leftovers, peanut butter and jelly, veggies and fruit. After lunch we are back outside!
12:15 pm The girls watch tv while I clean up from lunch and the morning or answer emails and get some work done.
12:45 pm Ava and Eleanor move upstairs for nap time. Eleanor has been having a harder time with naps this past month, and she is probably getting close to give up her nap. Both are usually asleep by 1:30
1:15 pm Greta goes down for her second nap. With all three babes sleeping this is a time I can make appointments and run some small errands while Sam watches the monitor. If I don't have anything, I will work or clean.
2:30 pm Average wake up time for the twins. But if I am lucky they will sleep til closer to 3.
3:00 pm Greta wakes up and we all have a snack
3:30 pm Errands. We usually head to Target, Costco, Grocery Pick-Up, or whatever it may be.
4:45 pm I start making dinner while the kids play on the deck or if stuff is really hitting the fan, like last night, they will watch TV so I can make dinner. This is also Greta's most fussy time. She is a train wreck most days until she eats dinner.
5:30 pm We eat. I love to cook, but man this is such a terrible time. The kids are hungry and getting tired, I have no more patience, and the kids are EXTRA demanding. No matter how hard I try, I still need to get up from the dinner table about 10 times to get things for the kids.
6:45 pm Sam or I take Greta up for her bedtime routine and a bottle. She is asleep by 7. The girls and Sam or I are usually outside in the garden or working.
7:15 pm Sam or I take the twins up for their bed time routine. Teeth, bath, books, prayers, songs and asleep. Does it ever go smoothly? NO. But we are constantly working on it.
7:45 pm Ava and Eleanor are usually still reading by themselves in bed. Sam and I will work, read, watch our shows, or go out with friends (obviously one stays home while the other goes out).
10:30 pm Sam and I go to bed. We have recently started leaving our phones in the kitchen when we go to bed and that has been so great. If you are not doing this, you should try it! It's been awesome for our marriage, sleep, and mental health!
** Currently everyone is sleeping through the night, except for the occasions of terrifying nigh terrors, sickness, or losing bunny. So we get about 3 nights a week of solid sleep :) **
Very rarely do our days go smoothly without hiccup, but this is the plan we stick to most days. I have always been very strict with nap and bedtime. Ava and Eleanor were terrible sleepers and we worked so hard to get them to where they are and part of that has been our schedule and bedtime routines.
