Why one newborn's routine doesn't just double
A single infant's day has natural gaps: a feed, then a stretch of sleep, then another feed. A caregiver can use those gaps to rest, prep food or attend to the rest of the household. With two infants, those gaps often don't line up. One may feed while the other naps, then wake just as the first drifts off, and a household that hasn't thought through this pattern ends up reactive rather than organized.
This is why the planning question isn't 'can this person look after a baby' but 'can this person track and respond to two overlapping routines at once, calmly, for hours at a stretch'. It's a fair thing to raise directly in an interview, and a candidate's answer, whether confident and specific or vague and generic, tells you a lot.
- Feeds that overlap rather than alternate
- Nap windows that rarely sync, especially in the early months
- Night wakings that can double the interruptions for whoever is on duty
What to ask a candidate about multi-infant experience
Ask for specifics, not a yes or no. A useful question is: 'Tell me about a time you had two infants in your care at the same time, how did you handle it when they both needed something at once.' Listen for whether the answer describes an actual system (a feeding order, a way to keep one baby settled while attending to the other) or just reassurance without detail.
It also helps to ask how they'd handle a day when both babies are unsettled at the same time, since that's the scenario that tests real capacity rather than routine competence. If a candidate has only cared for one infant at a time before, that's not disqualifying, but it's a gap worth discussing openly, including how much support you as parents plan to provide during the early weeks while everyone finds a rhythm.
Deciding how much extra support you actually need
Some households with twins find that one experienced helper, working alongside a parent who's home for at least part of the day, is enough, particularly once a routine settles in after the first few weeks. Others find the overlap truly needs two sets of hands during the hardest stretches, whether that's a second helper, a family member on rotation, or scheduled support during specific windows like early evenings.
There's no single right setup here, and nothing about twins changes what domestic help legally is: household support, not clinical or medical care. The honest starting point is your own household's actual rhythm, which is exactly why mapping out a realistic day before you hire matters more with twins than it does with a single newborn.