Mums of twins talk to me about your twins sleeping...

[sparklesare]

Mummies of twins....

I have 8 week old twins and I am wondering when and how long it took for your twins to sleep through the night. They came at 35 weeks so a little prem too.

I have pretty sleepy bubs in that they are really good sleepers but I just cant get them to sleep more than 5-6 hours overnight.

So my questions are:

*Did you just follow their lead?

*Am I being too structured in wanting a routine this early on? And expecting too much too soon?

*Do you dream feed if so how much and what time?

My boys routine that they have seemed to have fallen in to is as follows pretty much on a standard day.

Anytime between 5am and 6am - First feed
8-9 feed
12-1 - feed
4 - feed, play, short nap, they tend to only cat nap around this time of the day.
5-7 - feral hour! Bath, feed, bed by 7-8pm most nights.
"dream feed" 11-12pm.

I incorporate tummy time etc in to the late morning feeds and late afternoon feed also as they are more alert and "interactive" in the last couple weeks.

Talk to me about how you did/do it.

Im doing a combination of breastfeeding and comping with formula as Twin 1 was losing weight and has reflux hence poor weight gains so had to comp with formula and EBM.

[TripleTime]

Ill give my 2 cents anyways

*Did you just follow their lead? To a point.

*Am I being too structured in wanting a routine this early on? And expecting too much too soon? 5-6 hours of straight sleep at night is a sleep through for a 8 week old & considering their 3 weeks corrected, your doing better than we were at that age.

*Do you dream feed if so how much and what time? Dream feed didnt start till 5ish months actual. Was how ever much their day bottles were & around 10pm.

[trishalishous]

I always thought 5-6 hours straight WAS sleeping through the night (please correct me if not, I just get lots of comments on how great DD is sleeping through, and shes getting 5-7 hours straight some nights)
My nieces were sleeping 5-6 hours at 3 and 4 months, up to 8 hours at 18 months, and sleep 10 hours at 4years (although one is waking 2-3 times a night some nights, she was also slower to sleep 5-6 hours)
My sister had the twins in separate rooms once they stopped feeding every 3-4 hours, so they didnt wake each other up.

[Nomsie]

*Did you just follow their lead? Yes, always have. I tired "sleep training" at around 7 months and was horrified at the techniques and methods used. It lasted a week before I was back to following their lead again.

*Am I being too structured in wanting a routine this early on? And expecting too much too soon? They say the first three months of a babies life are 'the fourth trimester' which means that they are still developing as they would in the womb. (It's just that women cannot sustain a growing baby past the 9 month ish mark.) So treat them as if they are still in there. Personally my own mantra for the first 12 weeks was 'just survive'. My boys were waking every 3 hours on the dot.
They wouldn't sleep at night, and I would spend most nights sitting up/dozing on the recliner with one or both of them just to get some form of sleep.
For young babies, 5 hours of solid sleep is 'sleeping through' so I think you're doing pretty well.
And just for the record, my boys are now 20 months, and have slept through (both) twice. And that's been within the last 10 days.

*Do you dream feed if so how much and what time? I tried it for a little while at around 10pm when they were 3 or so months. I don't know how much as they were bf. But it didn't work- they would wake at the 3 hr point regardless.

[sparklesare]

Nomsie: What is this "sleep training" you referred to? Sorry never heard of it.

Trishalicious: I had no idea that was considered "sleeping through"...Okay it does appear I am doing okay here after all..:o

Thanks girls for your thoughts :). This twin mummy thing is a whole new ball game for me, and sometimes I feel my singleton Mummy friends have it so much easier and better...its hard work. But the best hard work in the world iykwim??

[Nomsie]

Sleep training- when you take your babies to a centre designed to 'help' with their sleeping patterns (or lack thereof).

Depending on where you live, you may have heard of Tweddle (Melb) or Tresillian (NSW) etc.

Mine was done through the local family support place, and I just disagreed with so many of the methods. Leaving 7 month olds to cry until they were hoarse just didn't sit well with me at all.

[sparklesare]

So like a sleep school? Heard of Tresillian yes, not the one in Melbourne though and I am in Melbourne!! I agree with you, doesnt sit well with me at all..I think I would cry more than they would! Thanks for clarifying for me.:)

[Sheer Bliss]

I am a total 'go with the flow' when it comes to sleep/feeding with bubbas. I always said when pregnant with my twins that i'd go for a routine as I didn't think i'd survive without one, but TBH I found it more frustrating trying to get them into a routine and stick to it!

That being said, In the early days I went with one up, both up kinda thing. If one woke for a feed the other was woken and I tandem fed. TBH 5-6hrs at night is FANTASTIC for their age.

My twins are just one, and just starting to sleep through (from 7-7) they are a good tag team though, with prior to this DS sleeping 10pm-7am and DD 7pm-3am, then until 8am! Both are b/f, but I don't think that makes a big difference, as DD1 was sleepng through from 5weeks, DS1 10months and they were both fully breastfed too. The main difference with them is that they would take a dummy to resettle, both the twins don't.

Nomsie - I hate the thought of the 'sleep training' they tried to 'help' you with. :hugs: When my bubs were 4months I had a nurse from the family care cottage locally here to help, I told her I don't do control crying and it was a much gentler method we used. It still involved some crying, but always listened to, while I was in the room, and so many times she said to me to go to her (DD was, and still is my troublesome sleeper) if felt uncomfortable about the level of crying.

[Nomsie]

Yeah well more fool me for going, really. Only to say.. they wouldn't sleep during the day or night at that stage, and I was at my wits end and in tears when I called them. :o Lesson learnt, anyway.

BTW I forgot to mention a few things; even though we only have a two bedroom house I would never seperate my two, as I feel they like the comfort of each other in the room.

Also, I did the same as Tan early on- one up both up. It can eliminate a lot of unecessary waking for you.

And lastly- I found the only thing that helped me deal with the lack of sleep in the end was acceptance. I spent months trying to fight it, to help them sleep better. In the end I accepted it, started going to bed a LOT earlier (8:30 religiously) and taking naps where I could steal it. It was the only thing that got me through. :)

[sparklesare]

:iagree: One up both up in this house too atm...that being said though DS1 always tends to wake first...then DS2 about 20mins later, so it works out kinda well.

Nomsie: Sounds like you were at your wits end but like you said, lesson learnt and you had to give it a go. I know i would of in the same situation.

Im also lucky in that the boys settle so well. I wrap DS1 as he is still a fan of it - was in the NICU at the Royal Childrens from birth day surgery up until 4 weeks old and really lvoes to be wrapped up tight still. DS2 sleeps in his sleeping bag. Cant sleep without it.

They are so different, yet so alike..:cool:

Also did any of you join your Multiple Birth Association in your area? What did you think of it? Worthwhile etc. Ive been to a couple catch ups etc and found that so helpful. I finally felt like I could relate to the madness I was going through with others...besides you guys! ;)

[TripleTime]

Im a member of AMBA Newcastle, couldnt live without it. Kinda like my safety blanket IYGWIM.

I was on the committee untill feb when things started getting out of hand at home with sickness & i was nearing a brake down.

[Sheer Bliss]

:iagree:

the local AMBA is gold! I am our newsletter editor now that I have a bit more time with bubbas being bigger. Meets are awesome, as you are right, only someone else with multiples can truly 'get' what it is like. Other mothers groups are still great, but the multiples catch ups are always a good sanity saver. Sooo many times when my babies were younger and crying when I was trying to have a cuppa/eat, the mums of the older ones, having been there before always insisted they take them off my hands so I could enjoy my cuppa etc. Just lovely!!!

[Nomsie]

I didn't join AMBA, as the closest group to me is nearly 2 hours away. I feel I have missed out a bit for not doing it, but when you have 2 newborns/small babies, you can't exactly just get in the car and drive for 2 hours to a meet and then 2 hours back again :(

[bgbgbb]

I am a total 'go with the flow' when it comes to sleep/feeding with bubbas. I always said when pregnant with my twins that i'd go for a routine as I didn't think i'd survive without one, but TBH I found it more frustrating trying to get them into a routine and stick to it!


Absolutely! Too much pressure is put on us to get babies into a routine, whether it be feeding or sleeping. The best way to approach it is to do what's best for you, in the early days. If bubs sleep better on your chest than in their beds, then you get more sleep too and you are a much happier mummy. When they reach 6 months it's easier to try controlled crying.