Cribs for Twins?

Hi K.. Congratulations! I have twin boys who will be 10 years old in March. My boys "co-bedded" not only in a crib, but in the hospital, too! They actually recommend it! My boys were in the hospital - one for 4 1/2 weeks and the other for 6 wks. When I brought the first one home, I couldn't get him to sleep, he was so fussy! When I would go to the hospital in the morning to be with the other one, I would put him in the basinette with his brother and he would cuddle up next to him and fall asleep. Once they were both home, I put him in the crib next to his brother, and he put his arm over him and fell asleep (I LOVE that photo!) I had two cribs set up and didn't use the second one until they were standing up and pushing -- then I thought it was dangerous. But that was around two years old!

Good Luck!

Hi,
I am the mother of 5 year old twin girls. They slept together in a crib for 7 months; first, side by side, then at opposite ends of the crib. I separated them only when they became too big and started to move around a lot. Worked for me. Hope this helps.

Hi I had Twin boys they are now 27!! But I did have then in the same crib for a while, I put a bumper pad though the center of the crib crosswise not up and down.

I have 7 month old twins (congratulations and I hope you're up for the challenge!!! They are great!)
We kept them in separate bassinets until they were 5 months old. Then we went for cribs. BUT they were moving around a lot already at that time, rolling over, so we did opt for separate cribs. I guess you may be able to wait until about 4 months with one crib, but I wouldn't push it til 6 months. While our boys rolled over early, at 4 months, yours will definitely be doing it by 6 months of age, possibly sooner. They didn't hurt each other by being in the same crib (they still play together in one crib now) but they more or less annoyed each other. One is grabbing the other's foot or face, etc... Good luck K.! Please keep me in mind if you have any other twin questions. I'm no expert, but I'm doing it every day!
C.

Yes you can keep your twins together in one crib. My boy/boy twins shared a crib in our room for about 4-5 months. They did will together until they started rolling around and taking up each others space. I would suggest swaddling them when you put them to bed at night so they won't be banging into each other.
Enjoy your double blessings! Mine are now 18 months old and I can hardly remember the infant stages. They grow up so fast. :)
S.

Hi K.,

I don't have experience with twins, but we also lived in a small condo when our daughter was born. For the first few months she slept in a little plastic bathtub which we half filled with towels. It worked very well.

Good luck!

A.

Hi K., I have twins as well, and when they were born, they went from my uterus, to an isolette in the NNICU, and then I tried to put them in a huge crib (together). It completely did not work for us, it was just too big. Our pediatrician recommended we transition them using the Fisher Price papasan chairs for a couple of months until they got used to sleeping out in the open. They were still swaddled and the soft fleece chair kind of hugged them so they still felt secure. We kept them in these chairs for probably the first 4 months. We also had the pack n play double bassinet which worked well for them to nap in. It doesn't take up as much room as 2 bassinets, and certainly not 2 cribs.

We were in teh same situation as you with a two year old and newborn twins in a two bedroom condo. Our twins slept in a pak n play right next to our bed together for five months. Then when we moved into our house they stayed in the same crib together for another month, finally geting their own cribs at six months. It worked out fine. They still share a room and are three years old. Good luck with your twins!!

I have twin girls almost 3 yrs old. For the first 6-8 weeks I had separate bassinets(borrowed) that I kept them in, in my room. At 8 wks. they went in their cribs. I put them in 1 crib side by side the width way. They slept this way for a few more months until they started moving too much & waking the other one up. At which point they went in their own cribs, but they were head to head & could've touched each other if they wanted.
If space is your big issue I would get a pack n' play which most of them have a thing you can make it into a bassinet. I would use this for as long as you can(they have weight limits) & then put them into a crib.
Good luck, -G.

I had twins and they definitely slept in the same crib until they were about 4 months old. I know some twins can stay together longer--it just depends on whether they are rolling over by then or would kick each other. For the most part mine kept to themselves on opposite ends of the crib. Also, I wanted to mention that I am a Realtor and can certainly help you find a bigger space when the time is right. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you are looking for any information about the market. Thanks,
E.
____@____.com

my boss's wife had twins, they are two now, but I remember that they actually kept them together on purpose. I don't think you want to seperate them. I think you are supposed to keep them together for the first few months.
Sorry I wish I could be more help.

I don't have twins but we have 2 girls that are less than 2 years apart. My second daughter was a twin but her brother passed at 15 weeks. We also have very little space (we are in temp housing since we had a house fire... how we lost our little boy and why our little girl was so premature) and had to get creative with the use of space in our home.

Have you lookd into bunk cribs? They are expensive if you buy new but sometimes you can find used ones for a good price. While waiting for my bunk crib to be built I've been using 1 crib and 1 bassinette. I got my bassinette on walmart.com for $35. Its super small, it has wheels or can rock and I simply love it! If you decide to use only 1 crib I would think it would work until your twins are rolling. 2 bassinettes take up about the same amount or less than 1 crib so that's also an option.

Best wishes for you & your twins!

Hi K.!

Congrats on your coming twins!

In reference to your question, we had triplets (who are now 5) and we did indeed keep them all in one crib for the first few months. How long exactly depends on how long your babies are. We just laid them a little spaced, side by side, the short way in the crib, and it worked for quite a while.
Before they outgrow it, they may start wacking eachother, but ours was quite used to it. We did space ours babies, and for you having 2, you will have even more room to space them, but you will find that multiples gravitate back to eachother no matter where you put them. If they can get to eachother, they will.

You'll know they are really outgrowing that set up when they start strethching, pushing their feet on the bars, and hurting their head. : (

And if you are looking for a newborn professional photographer, check out my listing here. (I think it's still here. Or google me.) ; )

Best wishes with your blessings!!

~ Laura Lee R.

I kept my girls in the same crib until they were 6 months old, even though we already had the second crib. They are used to being together in the womb and they are so small that it works just fine. I moved them when they grew too big to both fit comfortably in the crib together.

I have twin girls that are now 6. I put them together in a crib one at one end and the other at the other end. It worked out fine. The only suggestion is that one twin may sleep better than the other and then you will sometimes have to separate them in different rooms because one wakes up the other and believe me you don't want that to happen. lol. Put a bassinet in your room for that reason. Just in case. But I did put both together up until 6 mos. Good luck.

my friend had twins 6 months ago and shes just goin to get cribs now and only because they are moving now and waking each other up.

Hi K.

Congrats on twins! It is alot of fun. We kept our twin girls in the same crib for almost 4 months until the started moving around and bothering each other. They slep great together and there was plenty of room.
They are 6 1/2 now and still share a room.....somwtimes a bed :)

Good luck!

Hi. I am a new mom of adopted twins. Both of them sleep in the same crib and I plan to do that until they start to wake each other. I find that if I put them in the crib 5 or 6 inches apart that they tend to creep towards each other so that some part of them are touching each other !! They love being together and it seems to give them comfort.

For the downstairs, I bought a Graco twin "bassinet" which is really a pack and play with an insert that divides it in half. Right now, they still fit in one side together. When they get larger I don't have to buy 2 because each will have their own "side." This may be helpful for your space constraints.

Best wishes for you and your twins - they are such a blessing. Enjoy !!

Hi K.,
Congratulations! I had twins and stared at those (2)decorated basinets for 2 months b4 my babies were born. When we took them home they slept in them 3 nights and would not stop crying. Very fussy. So I figured since they spent the last 9 months touching each other, perhaps they would find comfort sleeping together so we put them in one crib, swaddled tight and back to back touching. They slept great after that!! They don't really move around when they are small infants so I felt comfortable doing it.

Once they started getting out of their swaddleing and move around I separated them into there own cribs.

FYI they shared the same bedroom until they decided they wanted their own, about age 7. Mine are girls.

Most important-get them on the same schedule. If one woke up in the middle of the night, I woke the other up also.

Good luck,
A.

I had twin girls 8.5 years ago. They were both 6 pounds at birth. I kept them in the same bassinet for only about 1.5 months, as they grew so fast, that they weren't fitting anymore, and the tight quarters outweighed the benefit of them being together after that. They didn't seem to mind the separation when it happened. But, depending upon their size, you may not be able to have them in a bassinet for long.
We then moved them to a crib together. I honestly don't remember how long they shared a crib, but again, I know it wasn't more than a couple of months. Partially that was due to the concern of one waking the other if they shared a crib.
Best of luck with your new twosome!

We kept our twin girls in the same cradle for the first 3 months and in the same crib for about 2 months after that. Our pediatrician suggested they stay together until they started to disrupt each others sleep- I think that was around 6 months. Good luck with the twins. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me. My girls are now 2 1/2 and it has been a real adventure.

Hi K.!
I want to say congratulatins on twins! I'm an identical twin myself and it has been a totally incredible experince! I wanted to have twins but I only had a single. You are truly blessed and I hope your boys have as much fun and feel as special as we did! I hope someone can help with your situation,but to have your boys in the same crib for a few months shouldn't cause a problem. Afterall, they had to share when they were in your womb! Good luck and enjoy!!
L.

K.-

Congratulations! My twin boys slept together comfortably for the first three months or so. We moved them when they started poking their little feet out because we were afraid they'd get stuck or hurt. At first they were not on the same sleeping schedule but after a month of lots of up and down they got it down. They'll be fine together and probably happier too. Best of everything with your house search and your family.
:) J.

I don't know what the experts have to say, but I am expecting twins in a few weeks and plan on putting them in the same crib together until they are too big to both fit. I think they sell a crib divider that seperates a crib to two spaces. I will let you know how it works as soon as we have experienced it. I am afraid they will wake each other up, but I would imagine that would happen with two cribs in one room anyway.
-J.

We lived in a very small two bedroom home when I had my twins (now three). We also had a 20 month old when they were born, so we had literally no room for two cribs. We got a co-sleeper and had a pack n' play w/bassinet and also had a crib. We thought that the twins would sleep together in the co-sleeper at night and for naps sleep in the crib during the day. It turned out that Alex HATED sleeping with Nicky. Who knew? I assumed they would like sleeping together. So, we ended up putting one in the co-sleeper and one in the bassinet, but they would not sleep well (no matter how much we swaddled). They ended up being colicy and turned out they would only sleep in their little travel swings. Ha! They slept in them for seven months (horrible I know!). For us to get any sleep in the house we just let them sleep in there. They did move into two cribs when they were 7 months old (we had moved by then) and they were fine. Now they sleep better than anyone and love to sleep together! Go figure...

I know the feeling my husband and I are in the same situation. We also have a 10 yr old and 3 month twins. We planned on having them share the same crib and even bought a crib divider. we have a bassinet in the living room and one in our bedroom along with a crib. We have another crib stored in our closet. I would suggest having at least crib and one bassine to start. We ound that they sleep better in sepeate sleeping spaces one in the bassinet and one in the crib. It looks as if our apt was taken over by a baby factoy.

Hi K.,
I have one year old twins and we kept them in the same crib until they were about 3 1/2 months old. They did great. We probably could have kept them together longer but once they started rolling over we decided to split them up.
Good luck!

Hi K.,

I have triplets and we keep them in the same crib until they were 3 months...That was when they started moving more and would wake each other up. Hope this helps. Congrats on your twins!!! Multiples are such a blessing and so much fun.

H. E

Hi K.,

I had my twins a long time ago -1982 - and even though we had a house we did not have much money - I kept the twins in a dresser drawer downstairs so I could here them and wouldn't be climbing stairs all day and at night they were in the same crib. I did this until they were almost 4 months - my daughter moved a lot while sleeping and would eventually wake her brother - she did this while I carried them too! By that time my oldest had moved into a big bed from the crib so I then used the big crib and the port-a-crib I had till a friend gave me her large crib. The biggest expense was we had to get a larger car because 3 carseats and 2 adults did not fit in a VW bug!! I actually think the twins slept better being close in the drawer or small crib because it simulated the closeness they had in the womb. It also made life easier.

Best of luck - it is a ride I wouldn't trade for anything
L.

Hey ya know what putting your twins together is very healthy .think about it they have benn together for 9 months in your womb......... Why try keeping them apart now....... I think it would be so nice to keep them together......

My twins are almost 2 1/2. They shared a crib until they were about 5 or 6 months old and started waking each other with their movements. It really depends on their size, if they are tiny peanuts, they might be able to share for much longer. Then we moved them into separate cribs that sat side-by-side touching one another. They are still in their cribs (converted to toddler beds) and they are still next to one another, but 3 feet apart. I highly recommend keeping the together, first in the same crib and then in the same room, especially if you mean for the to continue sharing a room as they get older. They will learn to sleep through each other's crying. Even now, when one of my girls wakes up at night, her crying doesn't wake her sister.

Kerri-
First of all, congratulations and welcome to the club:) I am a mom of twins plus one also, although my twins are now 5.5. We kept them in the same crib for 3 months and it was fine- in fact, they were preemies and did so much better when we had them side by side, which was an added bonus. As long as you are swaddling them to sleep, you should not have a problem with kicking limbs waking each other up (which is why we eventually separated ours). One's crying NEVER woke up the other one and all my twin mom friends say the same. If you are concerned about them rolling onto one another as they get older, you can take a towel, roll it up tightly and secure in several places with rubber bands to use as a crib divider- no need to buy an expensive one! I also teach a class called Parenting Multiples at Isis Maternity (we have locations in Brookline, Arlington and Needham)- it's a three hour non-medical class for parents-of-multiples-to-be (even if you have a singleton already). It covers lots of practical info like this and offers lots of tips as well. Check it out at www.isismaternity.com- there are "scholarships" available also. I believe there is still space in the March class and if you are really interested, I offer private classes in your home for $125 for the three hour class. The fee includes a binder filled with resources and information for getting through those first crucial months. Feel free to email me at ____@____.com Good luck!!!

hi :o) it is very common for parents to keep twin togethers in 1 crib/bassinet for up to 5 mos, or longer just depend on how big they grew into crib :o) my friend have twin daughters who is 2 and still sleep together since birth..
1 crib for twin is perfect :o)

My twin boys will be three this April. I would recommend pretty much what everyone else said. My boys shared a bassinet first (they were born at 32 weeks and came home 3 weeks later so they were a little smaller) then shared a portacrib set at bassinet height (I did use those sleep wedges to keep them a little appart) then around 4-5 months I put them in 2 seperate bassinets. Then at 6 mo. they went to their own cribs in their room. My sister has twins and they slept seperate since the day they came home from the hospital. She says they slept better appart. She has a big house. I knew at my house they would always share a small room therefore why not get them used to each other at day one. I knew seperate rooms would never be an option. Good Luck. It can get crazy (my other boys were 17 months and 3 yrs. when my twins were born) but at the end of the day I wouldn't change a thing.

I am by no means an expert on twins, but I have heard it is good to keep them together all the time when they are newborns b/c they feel more secure, having spent 9 months so close in momma's belly.

Congratulations! My twins are almost 2 now and are terrific - you will have such fun but VERY busy. We kept our twins in the same crib until almost 6 months when they were rolling around too much and we were worried about them suffocating each other. At that point we could have gotten a crib divider and kept them in the crib together for another 3 months probably. We had already bought two cribs so we separated them but I am sure the crib divider would have worked. Good luck!

Hi K. -

My twin daughters are now 14 (!) and they started out in the same cradle. I liked the cradle because I could rock them to sleep simultaneously. I kept the crib near my bed, and in the middle of the night, if either one stirred, a little rocking generally put them back to sleep.

When they got a little bigger, I acutally put them on a mattress on the floor, which had carpet and was "child proofed." There was a monitor in the room, so I could go and get them when they awoke. But as they got older and learned to crawl, they would get themselves out of bed and play in the morning. Later still, I left their door open and made the passage from their room to my room childproofed, so they would actually get themselves up, play a while, and come get me when they were ready to nurse. It was a great advantage to have them be that independent so early.

Hi K.,

Congratulations on the twins! We co-bedded our twins until they were about 3.5-4 months old. At that point they just became too big to fit into the same crib. But up until then they were fine.

Good luck!

S.
mt campbell & jackson, 7.5 months

Congratulations! I have triplets who shared a bassinet until they were 4+ months. It is actually very common to keep multiples together in a crib...they're used to it! The key driver in when to separate them is when they start to move around alot. There are products you can buy to help them stay on their backs which also helps ensure they don't roll into each other...but once they start moving around it's best to separate. Good Luck!

Hi K.,
I have 14 month old twins. They slept in the cosleeper together next to my bed for 4 months. Then, I put them in the same crib... they continue to sleep together. It depends on your babies. However, at first I think it soothes them. So, by all means put them in the same crib. Good luck.
H.

I think that it is fine to put your twins together. They do it all the time at the Hospital (like in the NICU). They say that they grow and respond better and happier when they are together. They've been together so far, no big concern to change it. The only thing I would be concerned about is when they get sick or bigger. If they are too big to be in the crib together you may need to rethink your arrangements. If you can get them on the same schedule eating and sleeping I don't see you having too much trouble. Really I think it all depends on the kids. Watch them and see how they do, you are the parent and know what is best for your children. If you think it's safe, and they are happy go with it. Don't worry too much what other people think that's negative. Enjoy your kids.

Hi K.,

My husband and I lived in a 2 bedroom condo with a 2 1/2 year old when our twins were born. We sold the condo when they were a few months old and moved into the new place when they were about 4 months old. We had a co-sleeper bassinet, about the size of a pack and play, that we attached to the bed. They both slept in that until about 5 months old when one of the twins (girls) started kicking the other and waking her up. After that, I switched them to one crib for a few days and then into their two cribs. This meant that we never even had the cribs up at the condo. We had a dresser with a changing pad on top, two night side tables, a bed and the co-sleeper in our bedroom. It worked.
My twins were born at 5lb 15oz and 6lb 11oz. They were born at 38 1/2 weeks and I worked until a month before their birth (when my year contract ended). They were and are healthy. Best of luck with the birth and those first months. Twins are great.
C.