Before this time becomes a distant memory, I thought I’d write down my daily schedule as it relates to taking care of infant twins. Who knows, someday I might need this as evidence when TheMonk or Swee’Pea questions my parenting skills.

6:00 a.m. – Wake-up time. If I’m lucky, TheMonk and/or Swee’Pea will not have awakened during the night. It’s really a toss-up whether they will wake up or not. If they are sick (which covers about 80% of the past 5 months) then you can be sure one will wake up. If they have not awakened, I go get them out of bed at 6:05 a.m. while Andrea showers. I have already laid out their clothes and diapers. If fortune is on my side, I can usually scoop one out of their crib before the other knows I’m there. I then change diapers and clothing in our bedroom and put whichever baby I have on the floor to play while I go get the other one. Hopefully the one on the floor will play quietly but if he/she is hungry, I have to hurry to get the other one ready while listening to wailing.

6:20 a.m. – Breakfast time. I have weighed each baby on a special scale before Andrea comes in. This helps us determine how much they’ve gotten from breastfeeding at the end of the session. Soon, Andrea arrives and I help her set them up on the breastfeeding pillow. I then put pj’s away, throw the dirty diapers in the diaper pail in their room and head for the shower.

6:35 a.m. – Shower is done and I quickly get dressed. If the babies are feeding well, I don’t go into the bedroom for fear of distracting the babies. If they haven’t been feeding well, I help Andrea by burping the one that isn’t feeding well. Usually, a little time off the breast helps and when I put them back on, they continue to eat.

6:40 a.m. – I head downstairs where I put a bowl of 1-minute quick oats in the microwave for Andrea while I prepare a cup of coffee for myself. I also take Andrea’s breast pump downstairs and put the ice pack in her bottle carrier. I pull out Andrea’s lunch and fill her water bottle. I arrange everything on the counter so Andrea can grab them quickly as she heads out the door for work.

6:50 a.m. – I head back upstairs with Andrea’s breakfast. I then weigh one of the babies to determine if more is needed. Usually, Swee’Pea is done (she tells Andrea this with the sign language we’ve been teaching them) and I take her out to the loft. TheMonk will stay and finish off anything that is left.

7:00 a.m. – Both TheMonk and Swee’Pea are done feeding. If they’ve fed well I don’t need to change the amount of milk in their bottles that I take to daycare. If they’ve fed poorly, I’ll run downstairs and add a bit more formula for their next feeding. Then, I come back up and play with the twins on the floor. I might add some socks and I’ll wash their faces with a scented baby wipe to get them ready for the day.

7:10 a.m. – Andrea comes out after finishing getting ready for work. We hand off babies while she says goodbye for the day. We practice saying “bye-bye” and we blow Mommy kisses as she leaves for the day.

7:15 a.m. – Andrea has left and I’ll play a bit more. At this time, I might do a quick blog post as they play on the floor at my feet. Other times I’ll play with them a bit more as children’s songs play softly in the background.

7:30 a.m. – I finish getting ready. I comb my hair and brush my teeth. I then make sure the babies are occupied and safe while I run downstairs and load their daycare stuff into the car along with my work stuff. Once that is done, I head back upstairs to the twins.

7:40 a.m. – I put TheMonk in the exersaucer while I get Swee’Pea’s jacket or sweater on. We then go downstairs to the garage where I buckle Swee’Pea into her seat. I put a binky in her mouth and give her a rattle to play with and tell her I’ll be right back. I then head upstairs and repeat the process with TheMonk.

7:50 a.m. – Both twins are in the car. I do a quick walk-through of the house turning off lights and making sure I didn’t forget anything. Once all is fine, I get in the car and we head off to daycare.

8:00 a.m. – Once at daycare, I get Swee’Pea out of the car first as she is always on the driver’s side. I scoop her out and carry her and the daycare bag filled with extra clothes and the food for the day to the front door. On the way I give her kisses and say my goodbyes. Once I have handed her off to the very-excited-to-see-her daycare provider, I head back to the car to get TheMonk. Once they are both inside I sign them in, give the daycare provider any instructions (more food, more sleep, etc.) I say my “bye-byes” and head off to work.

8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Work, Work, Work.

5:45 p.m. – Arrive home from work. Prior to the removal of one breastfeeding session at 5:00 p.m. (which Andrea, Super Mom, would do on her own) I would get home in time to help feed solids. Now, however, I miss this. I go upstairs and play with the twins in the loft unless it’s Wednesdays. Wednesday is bath night and it’s my night to bathe them while Andrea showers and has some time to herself.

6:25 p.m. – Done with playing or baths and we put them down for a quick nap. I read them a story before putting them to sleep.

6:30 p.m. – Dinner preparation time. I have done all of the cooking since early in Andrea’s pregnancy so I have to hustle downstairs to start dinner. I usually try to prepare meals in advance or plan a meal that takes minimal time to prepare. On the weekends I might make a couple of crock-pot recipes and store the leftovers in the freezer for later in the week. Other than Fridays, when I get take out food, I cook.

7:00 p.m. – If I’m cooking from scratch then we don’t eat prior to 7:00 p.m. This is always a challenge because Swee’Pea doesn’t often sleep longer than a half-hour. If Swee’Pea wakes up prior to us eating, then we’ll eat while entertaining her at the same time.

7:20 p.m. – We get the babies up to breastfeed one last time prior to putting them to bed for good. While they feed I am busy washing Andrea’s breast pump accessories and getting them ready for the next day. I then head downstairs and start to clean up from dinner. I’ll also go into the babies’ room and pick out their outfits for the next day and take them to our room.

7:50 p.m. – The babies are usually done about this time. If they have fed well we don’t need any supplemental bottles which I miss because it was one time I could sit quietly with them and feed them. Most nights, however, they don’t need any supplemental formula so we change them into their pj’s and put them to bed.

8:00 p.m. – Unless it’s Tuesday night (American Idol is on!) I go downstairs and finish cleaning up the kitchen. I then take out the bottles in the daycare bag and get them ready for the next day. I’ll pour Andrea’s pumped milk into the bottles and add formula as needed. Right now they get about 26 to 28 ounces of formula/breast milk. I’ll also get out their solids that they’ll eat at daycare the next day. Usually it’s four ice cubes of pureed fruits or vegetables that I prepared earlier along with a few tablespoons of rice cereal. I also prepare Andrea’s and my own lunch for the next day and place everything in the fridge for the next morning.

8:30 to 8:45 p.m. – Depending on how easily the babies went to sleep and how messy the kitchen was I now have some time to think about meals for the rest of the week. If I’m tired and don’t feel like preparing something, I’ll check to make sure we have some edible leftovers in the freezer. Other times I’ll prepare a crockpot recipe to cook overnight or I’ll prep the food to cook the next night. I also might steam some vegetables or fruit and puree it to make baby food for the next week or two.

9:00 – 9:30 p.m. – I am finally done with the day’s chores. Usually, at this point, I’m very tired. I’ll surf some blogs or try to write something on this blog. I value time to myself. I also need to find time to spend with Andrea who by now is just about finishing her final pumping session of the night. If I’m feeling good, I’ll offer to wash the pump supplies before bed.

10:00 p.m. – I’m usually tired but not ready to go to bed. I’ll stay awake and watch tv or read my Sports Illustrated or surf a bit more.

10:30 p.m. – Bed Time. Hopefully TheMonk and Swee’Pea will sleep soundly through the night. If not, it’s my job to go comfort them (and do it in a way that the other doesn’t wake up) until they fall back asleep. Lately this has been happening at about 11:00 p.m. and/or at 4:00 a.m. It’s getting better though and I’m actually pretty functional now despite the interruptions in sleep. I guess 10+ months of doing that gets you used to it. But, if they don’t wake up, it’s heaven and I relish the sleep. Lord knows I need it.

After all, I have another big day in front of me.