Sleep...and the bedtime routine?

When the babies first came home, we just tried to find our footing and do whatever worked, and that would sometimes change from evening to evening.  But by the time they were 3 months old, we had settled into a bedtime routine.  We found that the more consistent it was, the calmer the babies were, and the more certain aspects of the routine acted as cues for them that it was time to sleep.  Here's how our routine evolved over time, and helpful products.

0 - 3 Months Old:
Routine:

- Change diapers.
- Put on pajamas (Gowns or zippered footed pajamas were easiest to deal with during the night.  Avoid buttons for nighttime!!)
- Nurse or have bottle of pumped milk or formula.
- Burping.
- Sometimes the babies took gripe water or gas drops.
- Swaddle.
- Sing a lullaby while holding/rocking.
- Lay in crib/pack-n-play/rocker/bouncy seat with pacifier (we tried out a lot of different sleeping positions in those first few months!)
- Turn off light and goodnight!

Products we liked:

Gripe water/gas drops:  Mommy's Bliss or Little Tummys
Swaddle:  Halo Microfleece Sleepsack Swaddle  (This seemed firmer than some of the other swaddles and stayed put better and was harder for the twins to escape than other brands/types.  But even in winter, we would only use a onesie underneath so they wouldn't overheat.)
Pacifier:  Wubbanub
Rocker:  Fisher Price Rock 'n' Play  (Ours was a hand-me-down from a neighbor.  This looks a little expensive, but there are probably cheaper ones out there.  The slight incline helped when the babies seemed so uncomfortable sleeping flat on their backs after being on an incline in the NICU).

(Bath was a daytime activity during this time because we were still getting used to everything and it seemed like such an undertaking to give the twins both a bath at the time.  So we usually didn't do it in the evenings when we were tired.  Of course, we were tired all the time anyway...)

D falls asleep in the bath.

 3 - 6 Months Old:
Routine:

- Turn on lullaby CD (we used the same exact music for over a year!)
- Close blinds and dim lights.
- Every other night we would give baths.  If my husband was home he would play with one baby on the bed while I gave the other a bath, then we would switch.  If he wasn't home, I would put one baby in the swing while bathing his brother.
- Overnight diapers.
- Lotion and baby massage.
- Pajamas.
- Bottles and burping.
- Brush gums/teeth.
- Sometimes we gave the baby version of acetaminophen for teething before they went to bed to head off any pain that might happen when they were going through a particularly rough patch.  We also would sometimes apply Orajel to their gums.
- Swaddle.
- Lay in crib with ocean sounds on crib soothers.
- Turn off light and goodnight!

Products we liked:

Crib soother:   This is the one we happened to have (one in each crib) but they aren't being made anymore.  However, there are a lot of similar ones on the market by both Baby Einstein and Fisher Price.
Gum treatment for teething:  Orajel Nighttime Formula
Baby gum/toothbrush:  Safety 1st Baby Toothbrush  (They really liked this one, it seemed to massage their gums.)
Overnight diapers:  Pampers Extra Protection (Couldn't wear these until they got over 15 pounds, but it was great once we could use them, because unless they had a BM in the night, we could cut down on the amount of middle-of-the-night changes.)

6 - 12 Months Old:
Routine:

- Bath.
- Overnight diapers.
- Lotion (massage became trickier as they became wigglier!)
- Pajamas.
- Close blinds and turn on lullaby CD.
- Bottles and burping.
- Brush gums/teeth.
- Lay in crib with pacifiers.
- Turn off light and goodnight!

Products we liked:

Pajamas:  Carter's.  I preferred the 100% cotton zip-up footed pajamas, or micro-fleece for chilly nights.

12 - 18 Months Old:
Routine:

- Close blinds.
- Bath.
- Overnight diapers.
- Lotion.
- Pajamas.
- Brush teeth.
- Read one picture book or board book.
- Put in crib with pacifiers.
- Turn on crib soother either for lullabies or ocean sounds.
- Turn off light and goodnight!

Products we liked:

Toothbrushes: Usually anything from Target with a fun character on it.  We've used a variety of toothpastes.

(At this point the twins had gotten ahold of and broken the CD player in their room, so we dispensed with that part of the routine.)

Okay, so this is a napping photo.  But same crib, same funny pose!

18 Months - 2 Years Old:
Routine:

- Clean up whatever toys we're playing with.
- Bath.
- Overnight diapers.
- Lotion.
- Pajamas.
- Brush teeth.
- Read a book.
- Pray.
- Get into cribs with 3 stuffed animal loveys and a blanket.
- Close the blinds, turn off the light.
- Turn on the crib soothers.
- Goodnight!

Products we liked:

Bubble bath: Anything that looked fun at Target.