Can't Get Twin to Sleep at Night

Read the book Healthy sleep habits, happy child... I swear by it. It changed my life with my daughter. Good luck!!

My twins are almost 12 yrs old now. The first year I had my girls. I keep them on a regular schedule. It really helped. They have always slept well. It would mean leaving what ever party or family function at the same time to keep them on a regular schedule. It work for me. It wasn't always easier but it pay off.

I have 7 year old twins, and I know how much sleep YOU need! There's a book that really helped me with sleep stuff with my kids -- Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Children (or Child -- can't remember). My kids were and still are Wonderful sleepers, but I think it's because I really followed this books advice about naps, early bedtimes, etc. The hardest part was the first 3 nights, because I did have to let them cry it out instead of nursing them to sleep....but the pay off was worth it. They learn to self soothe, and they sleep and you sleep. The book talks about the importance of sleep on brain development which made me think that the 3 nights of crying it out when putting them to bed were worth it in the long run............Good luck!

i can not imagine that a mom of twins is not already clued into this one, but just in case i want to stress for you the value of routine. it is amazing. my son was so responsive regarding bedtime when i finally buckled down and did it, and it helps them feel some control in their life. no detail is too small for kids. they need repetition.

Hi J.,
I don't have twins, but a great book for addressing sleep issues is The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems. She recommends a whole sleep and feeding schedule during the day which greatly improves nighttime sleeping. If you like her approach, you might want to check the message boards at babywhispererforums.com for suggestions on doing this schedule with twins. As for nighttime, she recommends a bedtime routine and a "dream feed" where you feed your sleeping baby at around 10 pm (with a 7-7:30 bedtime) without waking her. That way your baby gets enough food to keep her asleep through the night but you don't have to worry about getting her back to sleep. Once your baby is firmly established on solids you drop the dream feed, usually somewhere around 8 months or so. I'm guessing you just dream feed twins back to back.
Best of luck to you whatever you choose to do,
C.

Hi J.,
You've gotten good advice so far about naps and feeding. When my daughter was between 4 and 5 months we started a bedtime routine. Nothing magical, just a bath, p.j.s with lullaby music, and then we said night-night to all the things in the room one by one. I then held her until she was drowsy and put her in her crib. Later we transitioned to stories instead of night-nights to everything.
It takes a while to establish the pattern in their minds, but it's really worth it in the long run. Now she has trouble napping (right now she's jumping up and down in her crib instead of sleeping), but as long as I follow the bedtime routine she sleeps at night no matter what.
Good luck. When I was in your spot I wanted an instant solution but the real solutions take a little time.
A.

Hi J.,
It sounds like your little one has an imbalance and that is what is causing her not to sleep. She could be lacking in nutrition, or having problems relaxing her little body.

I put my granddaughter on a magnetic pad when she was 2 days old and added wholefood nutrients to her bottle and she slept well and was very rarely sick.

She is 7 today and knows what to do when she does not feel well.

If you would like to learn more check out www.nikken.com/ninamarie and read about me.

Have a happy and safe holiday.

N. Marie

What time do you start their bedtime routine? when is their last nap?

J.-

Try putting them down for their 2nd nap earlier in the day and then down for the night at 7:00. At 6 months I let my twins "cry it out" which = 3 nights of pure torture but from that time forward they have slept from 7-7 and they are 5 now!

M.
2nd time mom to surprise twins. :-)

Hi J.,
I agree with Susannah, get the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. He breaks it down into age appropriate sleep needs and schedules plus addresses specific problems. Beware, he talks alot about letting them cry it out if needed. The biggest thing that helped me is making sure I was putting Paige (now 3 yrs old) down at the right times to sync with her natural biological sleep rhythms. At 5 months old, Paige's schedule was this: wake up 6:30-7am, morning nap at 9am, early afternoon nap at 1pm, quick nap at 4pm and ASLEEP by 7-730pm. When I noticed that her late nap was going longer than 30-40 mins I eliminated it and moved her bedtime to around 6-6:30pm. Just because they are twins doesn't mean they need the same amount of sleep though. I have other things to suggest if you want to email me with your schedule.
Sincerely,
L.

Hi J.,
Well, I haven't read any books on how to get babies to sleep through the night. I have just done what my instinct was. I know that by 2 months, babies don't need to eat through the night at all and it is just a habit at that point. Now it's true, there are growth spurts in which they need more food, but if their sleep pattern is well established, they should still sleep 9-12 hours through the night. I think the key for me (as I think was mentioned earlier) was to feed them the last feeding as late as possible, like 10-11ish, and then I did use the cry it out method...something that starts an avalanche of responses against that method! But honestly, my children have slept 10-12 hours nightly since they were 2 months old, all 4 of them. And I DID use rice cereal in their formula a bit (which, by the way, was recommended by my pediatrician who is also a neonatologist, so she has a higher degree of learning than an average pediatrician). I don't have twins, so I can't say I truly relate there, but if you have to, you may think about separating them during this time if it seems one disturbes the other into crying. And lastly, I just want to encourage you that, while you may be exhausted (I can only imagine!), this will only last for a very short period of time, so that's something to be thankful for. I figure we as mothers can do ANYTHING for a little while! Good luck with everything, and you know you have tons of empathetic moms here waiting for a chance to share knowledge. God bless.