9 Month Old Twins Still Not Sleeping!!

Are they in the crib together? If not try that --my twins always co-bedded. If they were separated they didn't sleep at all!

Good Luck!

Hello. I am a mother of three and my first born slept through the night at 2wks. My second slept through at 4wks and my third was a month early and was a little longer to sleep through the night at 6-8wks. The key to all three of them sleeping through the night was putting them on their bellies. I knew they would be fine to sleep that way because they could pick their heads up. You may want to try the belly sleeping.

Hi A. -
I must say I thought I had my hands full with 3 under the age of 3 (2 yr old son and 9mo old twins) They are all grown now in their 20's but I hear you - none of my children slept thru the night till they were well over 1 yr old. Our schedule in our home (I was also stay at home mom at the time) was up at 6AM, eat, 10:30 the twins would have a morning nap, this gave my older son and me some 1 on 1 time, the twins would stay in the cribs regardless if they actually went to sleep but it was rare they didn't, then lunch then everyone would take a nap at 2:30, this gave me time to be with myself or take a nap too!!! Dinner was between 5:30 and 6:30, then for the twins there was a last feeding at 8PM and everyone (kids)went to bed - My oldest was in his own room and the twins were together - I didn't go to bed till 11PM so if the twins woke up I fed them and they would usually go till 5:30 - 6AM - Feeding a lot of food I believe doesn't do anything but make more work for us - I believe it is the nature of each child - we all have body clocks and some of us are nite owls and some of us are early risers - keep the routine - they may be also going thru a growth spurt where they just want a lot of food - In a few months it should be very different - there is a light at the end of the tunnel - just stick to your routine - I am a strong believer in naps for children of this age - their little bodies are working every second - they grow so incredibly fast from the size they were at birth their bodies need the down time - I hope this helps in some way - they will sleep thru the nite - this is only temporary - take a nap when they do - it helps a lot!!!!!

L.

Oh I feel for you! I had this same problem with my third child...My first two slept through the night at two weeks old and my third is 14 months old and JUST now sleeping through the night...I can't imagine having twins! I tried everything and putting them to bed later doesn't work...the only thing that worked for me was when he turned 1 I got rid of his bottles, he was waking up every night to eat...I know it was just out of habit after a while...we got rid of the bubbies and it's been much better and now he actually sleeps all night from about 7pm to about 5:30 or 6:00 am. I think they just wake up to eat out of habit and then it's hard to get back to sleep...I did everything the right way too, I never put him in our bed, put him to bed groggy but awake, I tried feeding him alot at dinner so he would be full, etc...nothing worked. I am not sure I helped much but just remember that there will be a time when they do sleep :)! Keep your chin up!

Hi A.-
Wow! You are a super mama!! :) I only have one baby- 9 months, but he just started sleeping through the night a month ago.... The thing that seemed to do the trick for us was: taking away the binky (I thought it was helping him sleep, but I think I was wrong!!), took away the night light, and stopped feeding him in the middle of the night. He had been waking up b/t 2-4am to eat, but it was pretty lazy sucking, so I knew he wasn't hungry. After 2 nights of just going in to lay him back down and console him, he slept right away. I also did the mild cry it out. We let him fuss for 3min x2 then 5min x2 then every 10min with soothing and back rubbing in b/t. He usually didn't stay awake after the 2nd 3min check. Best of luck! I know how important sleep is! Take care. :)

My twins did not sleep through the night until they were 9 months. Dr.Weisbluth says up until 9 months they could possibly be hungry for one feeding. After 9 months I stopped feeding them at night and they slept through the night. I had a 2 year old too. Hang in there. The end could be in sight.

Hi A.- I don't have twins- though my husband is a twin and I've heard such stories many times from his mother!! My only thought is that they may be waking each other up- I know with our daugther, when she was sleeping in her bassinet in our room her rolling over and little sleep sounds woke me and vice versa, since she has been sleeping in her own room she sleeps much better...maybe you could put their cribs further apart? or we've often used a space heater just on fan mode in our daughters room for white noise, I wonder if that would help?

I have 8 month old twins that arent sleeping well. They want to nurse in the middle of the night for comfort, I am waking up 3 or 4 times a night. I have a 3 yr. old as well that cant sleep good because of the crying. I dont know what to do either. I feel your pain, I am very exhausted and cranky. I also try feeding them a lot durring the day. I just recently seperated them so they arent waking eachother up anymore in different rooms.

Hi A.,

When my son was young, he didn't sleep through the night until he was 13 months old and then I discovered a book call "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber and it changed everything.

I used to nurse my son to sleep every night and then put him in his crib. I would NEVER let him cry so it was just a matter of time before he woke up and I'd have to start the process all over again. What I learned from Ferber is that I had taught my son to associate the breast with falling asleep. We all wake up several times a night at certain stages in our sleep cycles. We don't remember this in the morning if everything is in order. However, if we were to wake up and someone had taken our pillow or blankets away, somehow this message would get through and we'd slowly become more wide awake and begin to look for our blankets.

So when my son would wake up, instead of falling right back to sleep, he's notice the breast wasn't there and become wide awake and need the breast to get back to sleep. It's not only the breast that causes this problem, but anything else we leave in the crib, like pacifiers or water bottles. Ferber has a method to help your child fall asleep without an associated sleep aid. You must be willing to allow your child to cry (hopefully just a little). I didn't think I could do this but luckily my son only cried for the first 5 minutes and then fell asleep. Some have not been so lucky and I don't know what I would have done if it hadn't gone so easily.

Basically you put your child in the crib awake. Make them feel secure with hugs and kisses and goodnights and then leave the room. If your child cries you must wait it out beginning with 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, you return to comfort your child but you don't pick him or her up. Just provide reassurance and talk about going to sleep and then leave the room again. After this you extend the time you stay out of the room a little more each time. I don't remember the recommended increments.

My son screamed for the first 5 minutes while my husband and I sat outside looking at our watches so we could run back in. It was awful for me. After we went back in to comfort him we left the room again and he cried for 2 minutes and then it was quiet. We snuck back in and he was asleep with his arm around Curious George. As I said, we were lucky. After that I was able to put him down without nursing him to sleep and he finally began to take longer naps in the afternoon. I would suggest getting a copy of Ferbers book. He addresses many types of sleep problems and it was fascinating reading.

Hope this helps.

V. S.

Congratulations on surviving this long!! You NEED to nap during the day while the children are napping. This is vital to maintaining your health. Also, could you put the twins to bed a tad later so they are that much more tired?
Are there any family members around that could watch the children while you took a nap, even a couple times a week?
Children are a blessing!

Hi A. and good luck! I had twins also but they are now 21 and I have the empty nest syndrome going on! Enjoy ALL you can cuz in no time it will be gone! Anyhooo,back to your request.I am not sure how you feel about cereal but when my girls were 3 months old,my doctor had me start mixing baby cereal/oatmeal in a bottle with milk,thick enough to fit through a bit bigger hole I made in the nipple on one of their bottles .Not overly runny by any means and BINGO..I was finally able to sleep from 9/10 PM till 5 am!It was heaven.

Hi A.
I have twins too and they are a year old. They sleep in different rooms- one is a light sleeper and one is a heavy sleeper but noisy- I put one in the guest room and one in the babies room. If you don't have the space could you put the better sleeper with your 2 year old. I also had to let one cry ALOT in the middle of the night before he learned to self soothe and sleep through. We even put him downstairs in a pack n play in the office for a few nights so he could cry and not wake the others until he learned to sleep. Twins are tough! They take 2 naps and I put them to bed at 6:30 pm and they get up at 6 or 6:30 a.m. now- I think sometimes going in earlier than you think works- Good Luck

OOps sorry - I hit reply to the wrong message!

Oh A., I can sure relate! I am a stay-at-home mother of 6, soon to be seven. I don't have any twins, but I can feel your pain about the no sleeping! Most of my kids were fine, but we had major issues with our fourth. My pediatrician recommended a book to me that was a lifesaver: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Marc Weissbluth, MD. It's a step by step program, with some variations, for getting a good night's sleep. It worked like a charm for me, and I've since used the principles with my other kids at different points. I would highly recommend it. I was so desperate, and this was a real plan, not just little suggestions to try. Hope it helps. I know what it's like to try to function on no sleep, and it ain't pretty in my case! By the way, it's nice to hear about another mom crazy enough to have a big family! Good for you.
C.

Hi A., I feel for you!! Finally when I told our pediatricain that our 6 month old twins were still not sleeping through the night, this was her suggestion. First of all, how many times are they getting up? Your situation might be different from mine. We were getting up only once about 4am for about 8 oz. (my twins always woke up together). She explained that they were waking up out of habit, not because they needed the nutrition. She also said most babies start sleeping through the night when they are between 13-15lbs (so I'll assume yours are). She suggested we wean them by decreasing the volume of formula each night be 1 oz. Therefore, we were on the 8 day plan. We found that as we decreased the amount of formula, they didn't seem to notice at all, and sure enough by the end of the 8 nights, they were sleeping through. However, I do recall them waking up a few nights after that, but all I did was go in and rub their backs and they were able to fall back to sleep on their own--I never thought that would have worked, I expected to have to get a bottle again, but with a little confidence and some tough love, my twins now sleep through (unless their sick). Good Luck, and keep putting them down when their groggy, I do believe it helps them soothe themselves to sleep.

My twins (now three) did not sleep through the night until they were over a year. I don't think I have any advice for you (sorry about that). I know what you mean about the lack of sleep and exhaution :) Maybe moving their afternoon nap up?