Three and a half month old twins won't sleep through the night.

[MummaOfTwins]

I have found other topics similar but none that are the same.

My oh and I have three and half month old twins (boy and a girl) and they still aren't sleeping through. The girl is up about 2 or so times a night, ranging from midnight to about six in the morning (that's the time gap she wakes twice in). The boy on the other hand is up usually every three hours or so. We've had only one night where they have slept until five-thirty in the morning.

I know that twins can take a while to sleep through, but the broken sleep and lack of sleep is starting to wear on us. Not only that but my oh goes back to work end of next week and he will no longer be able to help during the night.

Any advice/suggestions is greatly appreciated.

[leoness79]

Don't have an answer as my 10 month old still wakes 3 hrly overnight! 3 months is very young to be sleeping through! 😊

[Pawzette]

I agree with pp. 3 months is still young. My 7 month old still wakes over night.

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[ES2010]

My DS is 6 months and still wakes 3-4 hourly. I don't know of many 3 month olds that sleep through. That's very young.

[FiveInTheBed]

This may be a growth spurt if it seems 'out of the norm' for them.

Where do they sleep?

I would suggest having them in your room and, as tiring as it is dealing with each babe as they need you, alternating them when they wake.

I know some people prefer routine and 'syncing' - but it never worked for us.
I would get up to who ever woke feed and change and settle them next to me, Then swap when the other woke.

This may not be for you though.

I DO recommend accepting help from friends or family - or even ASKING for it during the day so you can rest...even if it is to help with house work or grocery shopping, or to dangle a toy infront of a wriggly baby while you get 40minutes shut eye. :goodvibes:

[MissSookyLaLa]

3 months is sooooooo young, very few babies are sleeping through at this age...

[beebs]

Are they in the same room? Same cot?

I ended up separating mine, one of them would sleep through - the other screamed all night. It took quite awhile for the one who cried a lot to get into the routine of sleeping, but at least my other boy got some sleep, and there is no way I would have been able to get them to sleep through the night together, they were just constantly waking each other up.

[lineyb73]

I have 6 month boy/girl twins and I hate to tell you that the little girl has slept through twice and the little boy once and that has been only in the last 2 weeks. They are in two different rooms but doesnt make a difference yet. The little girl normally only wakes the once and the little boy can be up to 4times in the night...both only get fed once through the night though. To be honest I wouldnt stress too much about it at the moment and just catch some zzz's during the day when they sleep if you can

[BlissedOut]

My 2yo and 1yo have both never slept through.

I think it's unrealistic to expect them to at 3.5 months old, if they do, then you're very fortunate, if not, then that's not abnormal.

[Nowhere]

honey im not sure what people told you before you had children but its pretty normal to go the first year with out much sleep at all, it sucks but its true xxx

[Hamilicious]

I don't have twins, so I really have no idea what you're going through :hugs: but let me tell you that they are still so little. My boy is 8 months old and sleeps through very rarely. He is often up twice a night for a feed and will only sleep for 30-45 minutes at a time during the day.

It really hit me at 6 months, so many people told me that he would sleep through by then but he isn't, and many of my friends with babies are in the same boat.

I was really struggling to settle him, so we went to sleep group two days ago and I know feel much better having some tips on how to prepare DS for sleep and to help him settle. Perhaps see your MACH nurse and talk to them?

Good luck, I hope you do get some more sleep soon.

[knomie]

Not many babies sleep through the night before 6 months old....

mummy to gods gift to us :)

[MummaOfTwins]

My oldest (who is four) started to sleep through from 6 weeks, so it was surprising when these two didn't.

And to answer a few questions, they sleep in separate cots in their own room, which is beside ours. They were in our room in bassinets until they were two months old.


And Lineyb73 if they are only fed once during the night, do you simply settle them when they wake or do you give them water (as I've heard that some people do that to help get their little ones sleep through the night)?

And juf84 I have just started to think about the sleep school/group option. I am curious though, as to what a MACH nurse is.

[Hamilicious]

MACH nurse - maternal and child health nurse :).

We are only two days into our new 'routine' after sleep group and it is definitely helping.

[Ulysses]

i think some people are lucky and have babies that sleep through from 6 weeks, but it is definitely not the norm. My 10 month old still wakes twice a night at least and until 9 months he was waking every 2 hours.

There are things you can do to TRY to stretch it out to like 4-5 hourly wakes but that is what sleeping through means at your babies age, so if that is what you mean by sleeping through then maybe you could try sleep school. But if you mean you want them to sleep from like 7pm until 5am or something then I think it is a bit unrealistic for most babies.

I hope it all works out, it must be hard with twins.

[BlissedOut]

My oldest (who is four) started to sleep through from 6 weeks, so it was surprising when these two didn't.

And to answer a few questions, they sleep in separate cots in their own room, which is beside ours. They were in our room in bassinets until they were two months old.


And Lineyb73 if they are only fed once during the night, do you simply settle them when they wake or do you give them water (as I've heard that some people do that to help get their little ones sleep through the night)?

And juf84 I have just started to think about the sleep school/group option. I am curious though, as to what a MACH nurse is.



If your baby is hungry, you should feed it. Not try to trick it with water.

[Misschief]

You have been extremely lucky to have had your oldest son to sleep through at such a young age, unfortunately your twins are different, which is normal.

I am not sure if a sleep school can offer you any solutions at such a young age.
I remember wanting to take my 4,5mo DS to sleep school (Tresilian) and I was told they couldn't do anything for me until he was 6 months as before that age he was just too young :-\

Also, define "sleeping through". Some people think that sleeping through is 6 hours continuous sleep.
Other people think it needs to be 8 or 10 hours.
I thought DS was starting to sleep through when he started to sleep from 7pm-1am

I don't envy you having to do this with twins, but luckily you're not alone and you have BH to vent when your OH is at work. Goodluck :hugs:

[ItWasntMe]

My child is almost 3 and wakes 5-10 times a night. I think your twins are doing well to be only waking a few times a night.

[lemonpancakes]

I highly recommend the American book "12 Hours Sleep by 12 Weeks Old". It's simple and doesn't involve controlled crying. I'm pretty sure they discuss twins in it. We followed it and DD slept 12 hours from 9 weeks old. You can buy the book on Amazon (I haven't seen it in shops here).

[SAgirl]

I think 3.5 mi ths is very unrealistic to expect them to sleep through.

They r still so young and people with babies who sleep through from 6 weeks r just plain lucky.

I dont agree with denying them a feed at night and giving water instead :( they are obviously waking because they r hungry. Babies do that. It's normal.

My DS is 14 months soon and still wakes at night. He's not being fed overnight only because he is on 3 full solid meals per day.

It's exhausting, any mother would agree, I guess u just need to push through and rest when u can.

Do u have any family or friends who could help u during the day so u can rest?

[Hamilicious]

I just want to clarify that the sleep group I went to was not sleep school, it was a two hour meeting with other parents and a nurse. We watched a video (Safe Sleep Space) and discussed tips to help our babies settle and sleep.

I also cut down one of DS's feeds overnight, but only after 6 months. He was waking three times a night which, for me, was too much. For three nights I would cuddle him to sleep for the middle of the night wake up instead of feeding him. On the fourth night he didn't wake for that feed.

3.5 months is too young to do something like this, but if you find you are still having trouble once they are older, it's just an idea that helped me.

[MunchkinsMum1]

I don't have twins. But I work on the view that babies wake in the night for a reason. DD (8.5 mo) can sleep through night but also can wake for a feed. Each night is different. Babies are there not to control but to comfort. They are only so little for so short a time. It is hard, but do what feels right to you. Remember, they are little humans. :)

[lineyb73]

mumma of twins...what i do now at 6months is if they wake I put in the dummy, give a quick pat and walk away..if they go back to sleep great but if they keep waking I feed them. Works out as only one feed a night. At 3 months from memory they were feeding 1-2 times a night..I would go by their cues on whether they were hungry or not. Would try the dummy but only once before feeding and would always give milk not water. I am not sure what others do but at that age if one woke I always woke the other and fed them..mainly to save some sanity and get more sleep. Now at 6 months I feed them when they wake only which funnily enough still seems to be fairly close to each other. Try not to stress too much about them not sleeping through the night as you will only put extra pressure on yourself..they will do that when they are ready to.

[babynomad]

My 18 month old still doesn't sleep through . Your little ones have yet to go through teething or it maybe starting and that can last a long time. Also they maybe a bit cold at the moment. I think kids sleep through when they are ready and although it's tough for us ( yawn) they will get there . My 3.5 year old has only mastered sleeping through for the last year but even then he has phases of waking . The joys of parenthood hey ? :)

[trishalishous]

my sister found that if she had her girls in her room, sharing a cot, they slept better. she also would 'dream feed' the other twin, when one woke for a feed, and eventually they slept better, as they werent hungry all night.
i believe that they learn in their own time, and that every child is different.

[86cin]

My 3yo still doesnt sleep.throgh the night but our 3month old sleeps from.630-3-4ish. Then goes back.down til 7ish. Each child is different and we have to remember that sleepong.through is classified as anything more than 5hrs at a time.

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[elanora]

try making them skip a nap or two. will automatically fix their routine.

[elleandsam]

My 18 month old has a cold and is waking overnight again. It's pretty normal though. Thing is no one truly sleeps through, we all have periods of wakefulness but they are so short that we don't remember "re-settling" ourselves. Many adults still have a drink of water, go to the toilet etc. At the moment my 18mo wakes and can't resettle because he's congested, but even still my daughter who just recently turned 3 woke a few nights ago and couldn't find her comfort item so called out to me to find it.

Babies sleeping through before 6 months are incredibly rare and you're doing all the right things. Keep feeding those bubs and one day they'll either sleep through or move out of home ;)

[Lissy12]

My 6 month old wakes anywhere from 3 to 6 times overnight. Has never slept through. He has had 5 nights where he only woke once. The first time he was 2 months. The next 2 times he was 3 months and the next 2 times he was 5 months. Up 4 times last night. If you find a miracle solution, mumma of twins, then please let me know! Good luck. And congratulations on your twins:)

[shirleysmum]

HI mumoftwins

I hate to tell you but my 18 mth old twins are still not sleeping through consistently. My DS had about 3 weeks just recently where, for the first time ever, he would sleep from 7pm to 5am. But then he started daycare and has been unwell and now he wakes any where after 2am, and will scream for an hour and half. My DD has never looked close to sleeping through...she wakes around 9pm, midnight, 2am and then is restless from 4am. It is exhausting, and sleep chronic deprivation is the absolute pits. It sucks the excitement and enjoyment out of everything.

The only thing that has worked it that I feel better in the mornings is to co-sleep. Also, I also have a sleep during the day when they do. I don't have other children so I'm able to do this. Also, I did whatever it took to get them back to sleep quickly.....feed, cuddle, bottle......whatever works.

The reality is is that disturbed sleep may go on for a while I'm afraid.