What a Difference a Day Makes

Updated 4/1/08 -
Okay, so yeah, I totally forgot about that 3rd little nap before dinner. Not to worry, I've added it back in. Revised schedule being used today.
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My LEAST favorite time of day is between 5:30 & 7:30pm. See, that's when the babies are generally crying loudly (Shane didn't want me to use the word "screaming") and fussy. No matter what I do, it doesn't seem to work. They fuss and cry and I struggle to get dinner ready while I juggle them and try not to lose my mind.

Not anymore!

Friday was the first day of our new schedule. After a few emails between some of the other triplet mommies in my yahoo group, I came the conclusion that I was feeding my babies all wrong: too much cereal & not enough bottles. You'd think I never had kids before! Honestly though, this time around is so much different. Aside from the fact that there are 3 of them, I nursed Zoe & Ty...a big change from bottle life. I thought I was supposed to be moving toward "more cereal, less formula". Apparently, I was wrong. The majority of the babies nutrition is still supposed to come from formula until they're 1 year old.

So, Friday, we started a new schedule. On paper, it looks like a lot more work, but it's really not!

6:30a ... Wake ... let them play quietly in their cribs until 7am
7:30a ... Bottle 6 oz
9:15a ... Nap ... no more than an hour
11:00a ... Solids ... 1/2 cup Cereal & 1 jar fruit
11:30a ... Bottle 6 oz
12:00p ... Nap ... 2-3 hours
3:30p ... Bottle 6 oz
5:00p ... Nap ... 1/2 hour-ish
6:00p ... Solids ... 2/3 cup Cereal & 1 jar Veggies
7:30p ... Bottle 6 oz
… Bed

The first key to this new schedule is that all 3 get fed cereal at the same time. So, the first thing I did on Thursday (after beating myself up about being a lousy mom) was bring the other two highchairs up and cleaned them off.

The OTHER key is that the little peanuts were going to need to start holding their own bottles. This might be a challenge. Eli has NO desire to hold his own bottle. Cole...no problem. Ava...she's maybe 1/2 way there. My theory is that if they get their bottles in their highchairs long enough, they'll catch on that they are supposed to be holding the bottles themselves. I'll keep you posted on how experiment that turns out.

Back to the schedule change...

Friday morning started great. Bottles. Cereal. No screaming from Cole when the bowl was empty (that's new). Everyone waited patiently for their turn in line. It was nice. I think it was easier because they weren't STARVING. They'd had their bottles a little while earlier, so this wasn't a race to fulfill hunger pains. Down for naps. A little resistance from Cole, but 6 minutes later, he was asleep. One hour of sleeping babies. Bottles. Happy baby playtime. Naps. Not exactly the two hours HOPED for, but they were all down at the same time for a bit. Those who weren't napping played peacefully in the Family Room. Bottles. Cereal. Here we go Ladies & Gentlemen...hold your hats...we're entering the "no fun timezone"...NO SCREAMING! 7:30 came and I made bottles in peace. Okay, so there was a little bit of crying when I started the feedings, but they were tired. It was normal fussing. Everyone finished their bottles. Bedtime.



It was a wonderful day. It was a marvelous day. It wasn't more work at all. Cereal feedings were over within 15 minutes. It used to take 45...at least! It was so nice.

Changing up naps AND feedings all at once is a bit ambitious and I'm sure we'll hit a few road bumps, but I think a few more days, and life will be a lot easier.