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When do you start showing with twins? What is life with twins like? Join the conversation on our Multiple Births forum.

Multiple births

When did you establish a routine?

11 replies

SnugglySnerd · 18/04/2017 19:34

People keep telling me how much easier it will be to get my twins in a good routine.
They are 6 weeks old and their feeds are pretty well synchronized but I think they're a bit small for a proper nap routine. At the moment we are feeding when they wake. Sometimes they fall straight back asleep so we just leave them in their bouncy chairs. If they stay awake we put them on their play mat for a few mins or just sit and talk to them until they show signs of tiredness and we try to settle them again.
Does this sound ok? I just wondered when others established a proper routine. With DD1 she just settled into her own pattern of naps etc but it took several months. With twins and a toddler to look after I feel like we need to be more organised!

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neversleepagain · 18/04/2017 20:47

Mine came out of scbu in a routine, it was very much based on Gina Ford with regards to feeding times so I stuck with it. I fed mine religiously every 3 hours initially then it moved to 4 hours. Bedtime was 6:30pm after bath and a feed.

I liked knowing when they would feed, sleep etc so it worked for us.

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SnugglySnerd · 18/04/2017 22:25

Thanks, they actually do feed every 3 hours so that's good.
Need to start bedtime routine as that worked well with DD1. I think naps stress me out because DD would only nap on me or in the car for months. Obviously I can't do that with these as there are two of them plus the older one to look after so I need to get on top of it.

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neversleepagain · 19/04/2017 07:26

I put mine to nap upstairs in their cots from when they came home from scbu at 2 weeks old. Most people would find that weird but with twins you cant sit with them on your chest all day while they sleep. It's very different having two babies. I would wake mine to feed at 7am, 10am, 2pm, 5pm (small feed before bath) then the rest or the feed at bedtime, 10pm. I waited for them to wake at night. They went for long stretches at night as they were filled with milk during the day. Mine were very sleepy babies for a very long time (until they turned 2) so they would feed and sleep for months. They will be 5 soon and still sleep loads

Congratulations on your new babies!

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Crumbs1 · 19/04/2017 07:56

Congratulations.
Mine were children 4 and 5 so they just had to slot in from birth really. I breastfed so whenever they needed feeding they were fed with no semblance of routine until around 4 months. Sleeping during the day was 'as and when' in the car or pushchair. Sleep at night was more routine - they went into cot after a 9pm feed but didn't go through night until around 8months.

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mellysam · 19/04/2017 13:56

We did 3 hour feeding also, feeding them at the same time, but like you just put them down for naps whenever they seemed to want them at that age. I think we roughly went with the guidance of them only managing to be awake for 2 hours at a time something like that (can't remember exactly).
At maybe four months I think there was more 'routine' to their naps but it was something they did themselves, we never forced naps on them (because it's impossible to get them to sleep if they don't want to!).
Now at 7 and a half months they are having three naps per day (sometimes only two) and we know the time we can expect them to get sleepy/grumpy

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SnugglySnerd · 19/04/2017 21:21

Thanks for the replies. Today has been slightly easier. Totally misjudged it this morning, put them down when they were yawning but they weren't ready to nap and just grumbled for ages. This afternoon I couldn't keep them awake. This evening has been chaos, one is now asleep in the Moses basket, the other on my arm.
Really need to sort this as it's really not realistic to let them nap on me.

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snowsuit · 20/04/2017 10:59

Mine are 5 months and I used to feed them on demand. I have just started trying to feed every 3 to 3.5 hours in the hope that it'll help with night sleep (no luck so far 😴) Mine are identical and are v in tune with each other so usually they both get sleepy at the same time, which is nice, but it's only in the last month that naps have gotten more predictable: currently one at 10 (even if they got up early) then one at 1 then a catnap at 5. I still feel like it's all chaos really though. Mine are just such awful night sleepers, it's depressing. I have done some v gentle sleep training so that I can now put them down awake, which hasn't really helped with night sleep but does make things feel calmer during the days. Not sure if any of that is helpful. Hang on in there though! It gets gradually easier.

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Freshprincess · 20/04/2017 11:10

About 2 months old I read the GF book and started it a couple of weeks later. They were already feeding every 4 hours (more graduates from SCBU ) but not At the same time. Naps/ sleep were chaos and I was about ready to hand them back to the hospital!

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SnugglySnerd · 20/04/2017 12:42

Thank you. With my oldest I breast fed on demand and she napped on me and eventually settled into a routine at about 9 months. I don't really want to wait that long with two!

I need to work on putting them down awake. Sometimes they can settle themselves other times they want to be held but I can't do that and look after a 3yo!
Snowsuit can I ask how you did that please?

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snowsuit · 20/04/2017 20:37

I did it really gradually, which may not suit everyone! at first I would unlatch them just before they were totally asleep so they would doze off in my arms rather than on the boob, then when they had stopped complaining about that I moved to laying them down on my bed (we co-sleep a lot) after unlatching them, but still kind of holding them and laying next to them. Then laying down without holding, but lots of patting etc. And finally into the crib where I still pat them if they need it and cuddle them if they get too upset. I tried it first when they were about 9 weeks but there was quite a bit of crying so I went back to feeding to sleep and tried again a month later and they were much more cooperative! I read the no-cry sleep solution with DD1 and I'm vaguely following that idea of making the changes really slowly. CIO isn't for me but my twins got into the habit of sleeping on the boob which just wasn't doable at night so I felt I had to do something to preserve my sanity!

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SnugglySnerd · 21/04/2017 13:52

Thank you. Have had some small success today, DS has dozed off twice on his own in a bouncy chair. I'd prefer him to be in his Moses basket but it's a start. DD got very overtired and upset but after 3 attempts settled in a Moses basket and then again later in her bouncy chair.
Strangely enough they can both self settle at night, it's daytime that seems to be a problem. I think perhaps I'm just not used to their sleep cues yet.