My husband and I had to do some serious planning for bringing up two babies born at the same time.

Two kids to feed, soothe and put to sleep is a huge challenge. Each baby has his or her own quirks, especially when it comes to sleeping. I had to read countless blogs and fat parenting books to learn how to sync their nap time.

Since you are taking out the time to read my article, I’m assuming that, right now, you are exactly where I was 3 years ago. Don’t get worked up. It’s totally possible to sync the nap schedule of identical twins. You just need to have a lot of patience, a little bit of luck and someone to guide you through the whole process.

I can’t teach you how to be patient or bring any luck to you either. But what I can do for now is to impart my twinning wisdom to you. So here I have summed up 6 smart, easy and effective techniques to help you put your twins to sleep consistently at the same time:

1. Kids Who Eat Together Nap Together

The most surefire way to nail the twin baby sleep game is to sync their tummy time, first. Your babies have probably spent 3-4 days in the NICU of the hospital. The nurses have already gotten them on the feeding schedule.

Ask the nurse to write down their timings for you so that you can continue it at home.
However, tandem feeding twins for the first 6 months could be intimidating. You need to remember that each baby is a different person. Each will have a different appetite, feeding needs and quirks.

It’s very much possible that one of your babies will simply refuse to eat in tandem with his twin sibling. It’s not healthy to feed a baby when he is clearly not hungry. It could increase the risk of overeating, causing tummy pain, acid reflux, and general discomfort.

For the first 6-10 weeks, let your fussy twin’s hunger dictate the feeding time during the day. Follow a schedule during the night only. As the fussier baby grows up and begins eating solids, he will automatically start eating with his twin.

The bottom line being, take it easy. Syncing the feeding schedule of twins can be challenging and needs time and patience.

2. Sleeping at the Same Time

When you are finally close to putting twins on the same feeding schedule, the next step is going to be easier.

If they finish eating and burping more or less at the same time, they will be tired and show sleep cues simultaneously too. However, as you might have already understood, each baby is a unique little individual. What if only one baby is sleepy and the other is throwing tantrums?

If one of them is acting all cranky, swaddle and soothe him, sing a lullaby, give him a gentle back and a belly rub. You could also make him play for some time to exhaust him. Do whatever it takes to make him fall asleep simultaneously with his sibling.

The first few weeks are going to be tough, no doubt. But if you manage to make them stick to a well-established sleep routine, they will adjust to it automatically after a few weeks.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Wake a Sleeping Baby

Dr. Shelly Flais, author of the book Raising Twins: From Pregnancy to Preschool says “If one baby wakes in the middle of a night for a feeding, wake the sleeping sibling and feed him too,”. Sounds kind of cruel but doable, right?

However, here’s another challenge some parents face: what if one of the twins wakes up for feeding while his sibling is still snoozing peacefully? Would you still wake the sleeping baby up?

Yes, you would. Disturbing a baby who is sleeping like an angel might sound like a crime to you right now but it’s important. Here’s why:

Normally, during the first 8 weeks, babies should send you hunger cues at night every 2-3 hours. If he doesn’t, he could be sleeping through hunger which is detrimental to health. Besides that, it would be the biggest roadblock to syncing your twins’ sleep schedule.

Don’t worry. You probably won’t have to go through the unpleasant ordeal of waking up your sleeping twin after 4-8 weeks. By this time, babies develop their own nap cycle. So if they eat and go to bed at the same time, their midnight nap-feeding schedule will gradually sync up too.

4. Make the Nursery Sleep-friendly

Comfortable room temperature, perfect level of ambient relative humidity and a soothing night light can make the crankiest babies fall asleep easily. Babies are highly sensitive to temperature changes. So if your twins are crying all night, refusing to sleep or eat, adjust the thermostat. Use a temperature monitor if needed. Also, dim the lights and adjust the noise level in the room right before the nap time. A lot of babies fall asleep faster and better while listening to soothing white noise in the background.

5. Take Notes and Pay Attention

It’s very important to note down their feeding, nap, playtime and diaper change schedule every day for the first few weeks. You could use a Wi-Fi baby monitor to keep track of their hunger cues, sleep cues, sleep patterns and behavior without constantly sneaking into the nursery.

If you keep a daily log, you will eventually notice a pattern that will help you set and sync their sleep schedule, easily.

You can also pass the notes to your partner or the caregiver if needed in the future. It will also help them follow your twins’ set routine consistently.

6. Embrace the Change

Truth be told, it won’t be possible to consistently follow the schedule at times. Sleeping and feeding patterns are bound to change as your babies get older. Sticking to the schedule will be even more difficult when one of the twins is sick or all of you are traveling.

Don’t sweat it. Occasional disruptions in the routine won’t ruin everything. The effects of it will only be momentary. If you are consistent, their sleep schedules will start syncing again in no time.

The Bottom Line

The key to sync the sleep schedule of twin babies is having lots of patience. They are kids after all. And kids can be very unpredictable. On top of that, no matter how consistently you follow the routine, there will be a few hiccups along the way. Don’t worry about it too much. Keep a log of their daily activity, set a routine accordingly and roll with the punches.

The post 6 Tips to Help You Have Your Twins on the Same Sleep Schedule appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Sleep is huge for new parents of multiples. We all know the challenges of a new baby who is awake around the clock, but two at a time! Let’s just set the coffee pot on continuous brew, shall we? Although sleep can be difficult for new twin parents, good sleep in your house is possible.

We all know that sleep is wonderful for healthy growth and development, but how do we get good sleep? Instead of looking at sleep (or lack thereof) as something that just happens to you, let’s try viewing it as a habit to work on. While some babies seem born to sleep, some may need more practice. Some may require a long nap each day, some, no nap at all at certain stages. Chalk it up to temperament. Lucky for you, twin parents usually take a more proactive approach to sleep because of their circumstances. You may find you establish good habits and are in tune with your babies much earlier on because of your lucky twinning odds. Without further ado, here are some top tips to help your little glowworms nap happy.

Tip 1: Create a Napmosphere (Nap Atmosphere)

Put yourself in your babies’ tiny shoes for a moment. If you had the luxury of a good nap in the middle of the day, what would make it enjoyable? Lights down? Soft music? Your twinzies are probably thinking the same thing. Create a sleep atmosphere that is conducive to sleep. Does your nursery get sunny during the day? Try black out shades on the windows to help keep it dim and calm. How about the temperature? Ensure it is not too hot, not too cold, but just right for sleepy time. Some background noise can also be helpful for some babies when the sounds of the day (or their twin) interfere with a good snooze.

Tip 2: Run With a Good Routine

How you structure your day can greatly impact naptime. Try to regularly “start” your day (even if you are still operating on a 24 hour clock) at around the same time. During wakeful periods in your routine, try to provide sufficient stimulation to encourage a developmentally appropriate for their age. For the sleep deprived twin parent, setting up your living room with a Baby Workout Circuit is quite common! When choosing your gear, think about what type of stimulation each station provides and balance it with touch time, and food time. Meeting all these basic needs helps set the stage for a good nap to follow.

For some parents, cabin fever—particularly if you endured bed rest like many twin mamas out there—and your routine may benefit from scheduled outings and social activities. Others may have older kids to manage and their schedules may largely dictate your plans for the day. Either way, make your best efforts to ensure you are not over committed to a schedule that makes napping difficult. Prioritizing sleep in your routine may make your day go a whole lot smoother.

Tips 3: Separate Sleep Can Be Good Sleep

You heard a whimper. You’re up! Damn your baby cells that make it impossible to get a good REM. However, don’t underestimate how much racket your twins can actually learn to sleep through. If you are prematurely curbing Baby A’s whimpers with the hope Baby B doesn’t wake, your tactics may backfire down the road. If your twins are sharing a nursery, consider white noise that is loud enough to neutralize those whimpers for the sibling. Yet if your twins really are struggling to nap together—space permitting—you may consider temporarily separating them for naps for the sake of everyone’s sanity. Consider what alternative spaces you have in your home, and it could be as simple as a pack-n-play set up in a mater closet with air circulation or a guest bedroom.

Tip 4: Be a Team and Stay Flexible

Routines are a powerful tool. While a good routine is useful, understand that it is just that – a routine. Don’t be a slave to your routine, rather make it work for you. If your son consistently gets drowsy 30 minutes before you plan for nap, be flexible. It may be helpful for him to stick to your schedule as best he can, but provide some wiggle room so that adjustments can be made as necessary to ensure that everyone is getting good rest. Try your best to read your babies sleep cues and get them down when they are tired, not overtired. Trust your gut and adjust the flow of your day accordingly.

Tip 5: Recognize the Stages and Ages

One of the most frustrating things about parenting in the early stages is how quickly things change. Four months in, everyone is rocking two naps a day and getting good nighttime sleep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, morning nap is a disaster and everyone is cranky all the time. Needs shift over time and will continue to as they grow and reach new ages and stages. The more prepared you are mentally for these shifts, the better you will handle them and reach your new normal for that stage. You cannot always control what happens, but you can control how you react to it. Be gentle with yourself and your babies, and remember that you are guiding them, stage by stage. Work with them, not against them and you will get through it.


About the Author
Out-of-the-box thinker, Krystal Workman, gets creative under stress…and life with twins happens to be full of it! In order to soothe her crying babies while alone, Krystal invented the first ergonomic twin baby carrier—TwinGo Carrier—to cuddle both her babies at the same time. TwinGo now empowers thousands of parents worldwide to keep their babies close. As former President of one of the largest twins clubs in the USA, Krystal assists new parents with babywearing, breastfeeding, sleep coaching, healthy routines, and positive discipline. You can get more twin-related information on the TwinGo Blog.

The post 5 Nap Tips for Twins From the Land of Nod appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Twins: double the fun, double the cuteness, double the cuddles!

But also double the feedings. Double the rocking. Double the diaper changes. Basically, double the work!

And for some parents of twins, double the exhaustion. If you think trying to get one baby to sleep well is difficult, imagine two. Imagine getting one baby to sleep, only to have the other cry and then wake up the baby you just put to bed. Imagine two babies up at midnight, each one needing YOU.

It’s challenging, to be sure! That’s why many parents of twins are eager for sleep advice. Caring for twins is hard enough without being “so-tired-i-could-just-cry” exhausted.

Fortunately, we have some experience in helping babies sleep through the night and nap consistently and predictably. We’ve helped tens of thousands of families “find their sleep”, and we can help you, too!

Keep reading for our top 7 must-read sleep tips for families having twins.

Having Twins? Check out these 7 tips for better twin baby sleep.

1. Round up all the help you can. The first few weeks after having twins can be tough; that’s why it’s a good idea to recruit help early. Ideally, you’d line up enough help so that you don’t have to worry about making meals or cleaning the house or running errands for at least 3 or 4 weeks; all that you’ll be left with is caring for the babies, and that is a job in and of itself! However, any and all help is good, so take everyone up on their offers.
2. Work on a strong pre-sleep routine. Yes, your babies will likely be up every few hours. So yes, that means you’d be doing a pre-sleep routine about 10 times each day. But that’s okay! Creating a great bedtime or nap time routine is an easy way to start the journey to healthy sleep habits, because a routine signals to your baby that it’s time to settle in and sleep. That can be a huge asset in the months to come. Whether you are settling your babies in the same crib (since some twins sleep better when they’re together in the crib) or settling them in separate sleep spaces, a good pre-sleep routine can go a long way towards helping your babies sleep.
3. Start working early on “drowsy but awake“. You don’t need to spend your first hours home from the hospital worrying about sleep (in fact, we wouldn’t recommend it!). However, there is just no parent who can stand months and months of caring for TWO sleepless babies, so you’ll want to start relatively early on helping your twins learn to fall asleep without the use of any sleep associations.
4. Introduce a lovey. Since you’ll want to get your twins sleeping soundly (and preferably on the same schedule, more on that in a moment), it can be helpful to introduce a lovey pretty early. (For safety’s sake, be sure to check with your healthcare provider before introducing anything into the crib or cribs.) Keep it small, as you don’t want any suffocation hazards in your baby’s crib. But a small, soft rattle, or something similar, can make a great lovey that will help your babies feel comfortable and soothed in the crib.
5. Consider weaning from the swaddle early. Speaking of soothing – we always recommend that parents wean their babies from the swaddle before they start to work on independent sleep. Why? Because babies need access to their hands and fingers in order to self-soothe. Since we generally suggest working on twins’ sleep a bit early, it can be a good idea to stop swaddling your twins by about 12 weeks, so that you’re poised to start sleep coaching right around 4 months (if not sooner).
6. Start working on a clock-based schedule very early. For singleton babies, we don’t recommend paying much attention to the clock until about 5 or 6 months of age. But for twins, our advice is much different: start paying attention to the clock starting around 4-6 weeks. Remember, you are only one person: you cannot be expected to juggle two different feeding and nap schedules indefinitely. That would wear anyone out! Instead, it’s important that you start work early on timing up each twin’s nap and feeding schedule as best you can. Yes, you will have days that are off and out-of-sync, but that’s okay – if you work towards predictability from the start, you’ll be rewarded down the road when you have both babies eating and sleeping at roughly the same times.
7. Sleep coach early. Now, take this with a grain of salt; if sleep is going okay for you, then don’t feel pushed into sleep coaching before you’re ready. All families have to work on sleep at their own paces. However, in our experience, sleep problems with twins aren’t merely twice as hard as sleep problems with a singleton; no, they’re about 15 times as hard. Getting up with TWO babies at night, and managing short (or missed) naps with TWO tiny little ones is exponentially more exhausting than doing that with just one child. And that’s why many parents of twins decide that, for their own mental and physical health, they have to sleep train ASAP.

Need more twin sleep help? Check out these premium Members Area resources:

• Scheduling and sleep coaching twins & multiples (member-only tele-seminar)
• No-cry sleep coaching for twins case study (member-only case study)

Twin Baby Sleep Help That WORKS – Guaranteed!

Having twins? We can help! Let us help start you off on the right foot. Struggling to get your twins to sleep? Not a problem! Connect with one of our expert consultants today; she’ll craft a Personalized Sleep Plan™ just for your baby, walk you through every step of sleep coaching and schedule-making, and provide detailed answers to your most pressing sleep questions.

Purchase a sleep consulting package today, and connect with your expert sleep consultant!

Once you make your choice and purchase, you will immediately receive an e-mail with your Helpdesk login information. You’ll be able to log in and get started immediately!

Want more information about how personalized help works? Check out our FAQ page here, and get answers.

Or, join our VIP Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! And don’t forget that as a member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant, which is perfect if you have truly tough, pressing sleep coaching questions that require expert help.

Expecting twins? Have twins at home? We want to hear your tips!

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