Twin Sleep Scheduling

I'm sorry, but that sounds pretty normal to me! Actually, my 8.5 month old wakes more than once a night.

Hi J.!
Congratulations on the twins! My twin girls will be 3 in June. We kept them in the same crib until they started interrupting each other's sleep, which was around 4 or 5 months. Once we separated them, they seemed a lot more comfortable. Good luck! Watching the bond between them is one on the greatest relationships I've ever seen. Enjoy! Jen

Wow does this bring back memories. Mine are turning 10 next month and there are nights that they still sleep together !

My girls are identical and since they shared the same sack, they were very close to each other not only when they slept but when they experienced something new.

Mine were premmies and so I could put them on the ends of the cribs.

I learned at this age to let them sleep when they wanted to sleep and to "nap" when they did. I was also very fortunate that I was able to stay home for almost a year and I needed it. I also had an older child, so sleep was a guarded treat !

They grow so fast that you WILL wonder where the time has gone.

I congradulate you on returning to work even for 10 hours a week.

My regrets were to have spent more time cuddling with them and less about keeping house, letting other peoples opinins make me question my natural abilities to raising my children and finially, not taking enough down time to myself so I could rejuvinate my self.

So my take on the schedule is not to worry about it.

Good lulk and God Bless
-W.

Hi J.,

I am a first time mom of 6 month old twin girls. Yes, your 4 month old boys are too young to be sleeping through the night. Be patient, more sleep is soon to come. My girls still sleep in the same crib together and have completely different sleep schedules. One is a very light sleeper and wakes 1-2 times a night, she does not wake her sister as they are used to each others night noises. When she wakes she is up for about 30-45 minutes at a time, gets 4-6 ounces of formula and goes right back to sleep. My other girl is a light eater, likes to have herself to sleep by 9pm and will sleep until 6am. I keep telling myself that even though they are twins they are still two little individuals.
On a different note: you mentioned you were a chiropractor. I seem to still have a sciatic nerve issue post pregnancy. I have never been to a chiropractor before or ever had this prior to being pregnant. My midwife said that the baby I carried on my right side sat on that nerve but now that the girls are born it still bothers. Like someone is sticking an electric prod down my leg and from a sitting position it causes me to stoop when I stand up and take those first few steps. Is that something a chiropractor can "fix"?

I have 3 month twin boys and they get up 1-2x a night. They share a crib but I will be seperating them soon cause they are both getting too big to share the same space..about 12 pounds each. They will STTN eventually, but I would suggest getting a routine started so they know wind down time. Schedules are a pain to make and keep and your babies will get if figured out with a little help instead of force. Good luck!

Hi J.,
I've never had twins, but I do have 6 children, and they share rooms, so sometimes wake each other up. We've certainly had our share of sleep issues. I would say that 4 months is a little young to be sleeping through the night, but not too young to get them on a schedule where they are at least giving you some good stretches of sleep. The best investment I ever made in this area was the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I've used it over and over, and it's saved my samity countless times. Your twins are at a great age to start getting them trained to sleep. He walks you through, step by step, training your little ones to sleep the way they should at each age. I would highly recommend it. He should have added "Happy Parent" to the title! Good luck.

Hi J.,
First of all congratulations on the twins. What a handfull. I truely believe that the twins need to be separated from each other. They will still be close to each other even if they are sleeping in separate cribs. You need your rest just as much as they do. Be consistant with their bedtime. Shut off all the lights so they get used to it being dark at bedtime. Talk to them like they know what your saying. For example: "It's night night time boys and it's time to go to bed". Say it everynight at the same time. And keep and routine for them. This worked for all 4 of my children. Consistancy is the key. Good luck J.. E-mail me anytime if you want.

HI
I don't have twins but I am wondering what it is you consider "through the night"? I saw in one of the other replies that 11pm to 6am is reasonable and that sounds about right to me.
In our case, however that "night" didn't happen until 7 months old for us.
With twins I would definitly try to go to bed when you put them down until they are a year old. I know it is tough to miss doing other stuff but you have TWINS! The first year I would imagine is all about enjoying them as much as you can and SURVIVING!
Good Luck!

Hi J.,

i have twin 3 year olds. When my twins were about the age of yours, we had to switch them to separate cribs so that they would sleep better. We still kept them in the same room so that they could still see and hear each other. Hope this helps you as it did us. Good luck and email me anytime!

Hi, I am a 59 year old grandmother/kinship caregiver. I feel it is unrealistic that 4 month old children will sleep through the night. My best advice is for you to go to bed soon after they do and get as long a block of solid sleep as you can!! Our 5 year old still awakens some nights to toilet. The good news is she is usually asleep by 7:30 PM, so I am in bed sometimes by 8:30 PM. As I am at work by 7 AM, this works for us.

J.,

Congrats on your boys! My twin boys are three now, and they still don't always sleep through the night! My guys also slept in the same crib at that age; however, we finally separated them because we found that they were actually disturbing each other during the night. Many people I've talked to tell me their little ones slept through the night as early as 8 weeks. I've got 4 children and I was never so lucky. You may just have to try and catch a nap when they do. Best of luck, I promise it gets easier!

I think you're doing great to have them only wake up once or twice at that age! Count your blessings, my 8 month old daughter is just now growing out of getting up 5-6 times a night. We're down to about 3-4!!

Hi J.,
I know how tough it can be. I have boy/girl twins. They had separate cribs from the beginning. My daughter was a great sleeper and started to sleep through the night at around 4-5 months. My son on the other hand woke up twice (11ish and again around 4). I did not breast feed so I don't know if this will pertain to you.
We would always give him his bottle when he woke up. What we did was gradually decrease the amount of formula. Once he realized that there was nothing to get up for (I would guess) he eventually just slept through the night. It took a while. I think it was at around 8 months for him. Every baby is obviously different. Don't know if that helped but good luck!

Hi! My twins slept in two seperate cribs pushed up next to each other. They could then be next to each other, but have enough space to sleep comfortably. However, they did not sleep through the night until they were just over a year. Also, I had a small fan running in the room because they liked the "white noise."

J., my suggestion is to go ahead and put them on a schedule. I know it's difficult but it's a must. If you've fed them, changed them and they are not sick let them cry. I know it'll break your heart to hear them cry but they'll get used to the fact that Mom is not going to come running. It'll take a couple of weeks but it works. It's not heartless either. It's good for them to cry. Remember to put the monitor on and close the door behind you. If you feel you need to check on them quietly peek in. Hope this helps.

Congratulations! Be easy on yourself now - do anything you need to survive. I am going to state the obvious.... Are you willing to try separate cribs? I don't have twins, but I do know that two of my three kids did NOT sleep through the night at 4 months. They are still young and motherhood is new to you, too. Give everyone a little more time and keep the stress off of yourself for now (if you can). Take care.

Hi J.,

I am at mother of 2 year old triplets and scheduling is a huge part of coping with multiples. You may want to try separate cribs - so they don't wake each other at night. Also, putting them in sleep sacks (a safe way to keep them warm and make them feel secure) might help them sleep longer. Good luck.

hi J.

i'm working on sleep habits with my 5 mo old triplets. i'll pass on what i've learned.

short answer: yes, at 4 months, they should be able to sleep for 6-8 hrs at a stretch, like 11pm-6. this means they don't have to eat during that time. but there are other factors involved:
-their individual makeup. some babies sleep thru the night at 3 weeks, some not until 1 yr. some babies need more sleep than others, etc. etc.
-their gestational age. were they premature? if so, they just may not be ready.
-their weight. if they are 12-13 lbs they don't need to feed for that 6-8 hr stretch. but this isn't a guarantee it will happen.
-their sleep habits.
do they sleep alot during the day? they shouldn't be napping for more than 3 hrs at a time. typically 4 mo olds need 3 1-2 hr naps. if they are sleeping more than 6 hrs a day, you may need to cut back on their sleep during the day to get more at night. i know it's hard with multiples to wake them, especially if they are sleeping at the same time. they may not know that they should be playing during the day and sleeping at night.
when they wake up, can they get themselves back to sleep? if not, you'll need to teach them how to self soothe. there's alot of literature on this.
what are they waking up for? comfort, food, habit? if you know why they are waking, you can influence their behavior.

i would put them in separate cribs. they will need to learn how to sleep alone. but if it's too much to tackle now, focus on getting them to sleep longer now then transition them to separte cribs later.

as for them waking each other, i've found it's going to happen. my babies are in separate cribs in the same room. it's been better since i stopped whisking the crying baby out of the room so the other 2 wouldn't be disturbed. bad move - i was preventing them from learning to tune out each other. they still wake each other up, but not as frequently. i think if i can get them to self soothe, it won't matter so much when they are woken up by another baby.

hope this helps. sorry it's not more concise. good luck.

D.

hope this helps. sorry it's not more concise.