AT HOME WITH NEWBORNS

I remember the first day we arrived home with our twins, we were incredibly happy but at the same time we were scared, we had no clue what we were doing, nor how we would handle the situation, but little by little we started adjusting and understanding what was best for our babies as well as for us.

Having a baby is a big adjustment for any couple, imagine having two at the same time. We went from being a family of two, to a family of four in just one minute, literally (the twins were born a minute apart). It was not an easy task by any means, nor anything ordinary, we really had to make an effort in order to adjust to their necessities.

Here are some tips that helped us get through the hardest part, the first few months, to enjoy them as much as possible.

Remember some of these tips can also be helpful for somebody that only has or is having one baby.

1. Have a strict schedule: This is great for any newborn. Depending on your needs, and the babies', try to keep the same daily itinerary. The more you enforce a routine, the easier it will be for the baby to adapt to a schedule.

2. Keep them synchronized (twins): Keeping both babies on the same schedule by having them eat at the same time, sleep at the same time and play at the same time, it makes life so much easier. If you are breastfeeding, you can do one right after the other, but more or less the same schedule. This was a genius idea from my husband, who spent the twins' second night waking up every 45 minutes to feed them. The very next day he worked carefully to get them synchronized.

3. Educate you baby: Don't underestimate a newborn, they learn very quickly. If you are consistent with their eating, sleeping and playing habits, then you are creating a sense of security, since everything is repetitive, and you are preparing them for what's coming up next in their schedule.

4. Teach them the difference between day and night: It really made a big change when I first understood the importance of differentiating the days from the nights. For example, all naps in the daytime are with exposure to light, regular house noise and outside his/her nursery. During nighttime they would sleep with no light, no noise and in their cribs.

5. Sleep while they sleep: I am sure you have heard this one before, and everybody kept telling me the same. At first I didn't pay much attention to it, but then, when I understood the importance of this I started taking it very serious. I would try to rest as much as possible while the babies were sleeping, that way I could have lots of energy to take care of them once they were awake.

6. Remember you and your baby are human: there are always difficult days, days they want to eat more, have discomfort, sleeps less, etc. Always do whatever you feel will be better for your baby, and always under any circumstance try to remain calm.