Twins Daily Care Log

Who this is for

Two babies, one sheet, one line per thing that happened. Every row carries the time, which twin it was, whether it was a feed, a nappy, a sleep or something else, what happened in your own words and who dealt with it — and the log counts the lines against each baby for you.

Parents of twins keeping one record instead of two, partners and relatives taking a shift who need to see what has already been done for whom, and anyone who has been asked to bring a few days of written entries to an appointment for both babies.

What this helps you track

• Everything that happened to either baby, in the order it happened
• Which twin each line belongs to, chosen rather than written out
• Feeds, nappies, sleeps and anything else, on the same page and the same clock
• How long something lasted, where it was minutes worth recording
• Who did it, and a count of the lines logged against each baby

How to use it

1. Name both babies at the top as twin A and twin B, and keep those labels the same on every sheet you print.
2. Copy into the wide box anything your midwife, health visitor or doctor asked you to keep an eye on, in the words they used.
3. Start a line as something happens: the time, which twin, and what it was.
4. Write what happened plainly in the detail column — which side, what was offered, how a nappy was, where they went down.
5. Put minutes in only where minutes mean something; leave the column empty for a nappy change.
6. Initial each line, because overnight it is rarely the same person twice, and the A and B columns tally themselves in the browser and spreadsheet versions.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why one sheet for two babies rather than one each?

Because the useful question at three in the morning is what has already been done and for whom, and that only reads properly when both babies are on the same page in the same order. If you would rather keep them apart, print two and set the twin column to one letter.

What do the A and B columns do?

They mark each line to a baby so the sheet can count them. On screen and in the spreadsheet they fill themselves from the twin column; on paper they are two narrow boxes you can tick, and you add them up at the foot yourself.

Does it tell me how much either of them should be having?

No. There is no amount, no interval and no schedule anywhere on this sheet, and there will not be. Those belong to your own midwife, health visitor or doctor, and there is a box at the top for what they told you.

What if something applies to both babies at once?

Set the twin column to Both and it counts on both sides. A bath, a walk or a visitor usually belongs on one line rather than two.

Can I use it for triplets?

You can, by renaming the header fields and using the notes for the third, but the counting columns are built for two. Most people with three end up printing two sheets and running them side by side.