Since day one we have tried and have been wildly successful at putting our twins on a schedule. The reasoning is simple - to allow our babies to eat, sleep, nap, and play simultaneously so that they get used to a routine and know what to expect day to day from us. This works in both directions too. Placing our kids on a schedule also allows us to better predict our kids' behavior and what to expect from them. Some people scoff at this idea, but most of those people (a) have never had twin babies and (b) are amazed at how easily our girls go to bed and take naps, etc.
I would say we started to derail a bit a few months ago. Sarah may be able to give a more accurate timeline as she is with them everyday all day. Regardless, in the past when we said "no" they would look at us with fear and then stop what they were doing. Something changed this spring, however. Now when we say "no" we are usually met with no response as they ignore us, or even worse, an absolute tantrum, sometimes involving head hitting and other outrageous reactions. As if this wasn't bad enough, things went further off course a few weeks ago when tantrums began being thrown for no apparent reason at all. One of them would just start screaming completely out of the blue. Then a few minutes later she would be completely fine. And this rapid cycling bi-polar like behavior occurs several times per day. Their mood swings have become so frequent and extreme I would need a journal to keep up with them.
This has nothing to do with them being on a schedule and the schedule has not failed us. They still eat, sleep, nap, and play in a predictable fashion. They still go to bed and sleep well. The mostly predictable nature of their moods, however, has gone out the window. Hopefully it is just a short phase. Time will tell, but I have a feeling we are entering the "terrible 2s" a bit early.
No comments:
Post a Comment