Sleeping Arrangements

ladybirdm · 2011-03-29T19:56:32+00:00

Hey :) I'm expecting DCDA twins very soon and am wondering what to do for the best. It seems that the advice is that babies sleep in your room for the first six months or so. i am planning to do that for the first couple of weeks whilst my partner is off work, but then i'm considering getting a single bed in sleeping in their room as it seems silly to wake DP and have two sleep deprived people. i have also thought about getting a feeding chair in their room and sleeping in my bed as DP is worried ill need some timeout. i'm not sure if i'm looking at this too far in advance and just need to go with the flow or should i start to plan? Thanks in advance xx

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lozzamumoftwins · 29/03/2011 22:18

hi

I had a really small house when I had my twin girls so I slept on the sofa for 5 months and had them down stairs in moses baskets, which also helped me get to the kitchen easier and tend to them quickly at night.

I then stuck them in the same cot until they were about 8 months then seperated them into their own cots. I slept so much better when they started sleeping in their own room but do whats right for you.

I didnt have a plan just did what felt right so I'd say go with the flow. You'll know what to do . Good luck!

londonlottie · 30/03/2011 20:07

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GibberingGinger · 30/03/2011 22:29

I planned on having the boys in a cot in our room but as it turned out they really didn't like each other and slept much better in two separate moses baskets. We had them in our room for a couple of weeks, but were getting so tired and sleep deprived and stressed by about week 5 that we often needed a grandparent to stay overnight and help with the night feeds (we have a toddler too so couldn't nap in the day) and having a grandparent coming into the room wasn't ideal So we had a single bed in what was going to become the boys room and used it as a hot bed during the night. Whoever was on duty (me, DH, mum, Mum in law) was in the bed rocking or soothing whichever baby. We even had a microwave in the room to heat bottles so save having to go downstairs (probably find out in 10 years time that microwaves are incredibly dangerous but nevermind its got us through a few bad nights). But my advice like LL's is try not to plan to much and just go with the flow when they arrive.

Mandy21 · 31/03/2011 09:47

I think on how you sleep, how you're feeding them, whether your partner will help and how big your room is!

We had the babies in with us - at first we just put their moses baskets (obviously without stands) side by side in one cotbed at night, then they both went in one cotbed when they grew out of the moses baskets and eventually they each had a separate cotbed in our room. They were in with us for 9 months.

We always used to feed them together (so if one woke we'd wake the other) so that we had at least some sleep in between feeds. I was also breastfeeding so Twin 1 would wake, I'd change nappy and feed it for say 15 mins and would wake H up 5 mins before the end of the feed. He would wake Twin 2 and change its nappy, by the time he'd done that Twin 1 would have finished feeding, he'd then pass me Twin 2 to feed and I'd give him Twin 1 to wind and settle then he'd go back to sleep, I'd wind and settle Twin 2. Seemed to work quite well!!

I think however you plan it, things can change when the babies arrive and no matter how you do it, you're going to be pretty shattered!!

GoingLoopy · 31/03/2011 14:08

I was so burnt out after a couple of months that my sleep was more important the dh's (did also have ds1 to look after). He got out of bed and would bring babies to me to feed and he put them back in bed again. When I felt better he needed to catch up on his sleep and I got up. Its really important to us to sleep in the same bed there was only a few nights after they had into their own room that I slept im there so he wasn't disturbed.

PrincessScrumpy · 01/04/2011 22:44

I definitely needed dh's support with dd when she was born (singleton baby). He got up and changed nappy (took 5 mins) the I'd get up and feed dd (1 hour). With twins I know I will need his help despite the fact he'll have to drive to work every day too. You cannot take the night time on on your own for those first few months (imho).

We'll have a cotbed in our room. I'm planning to get a sofa bed for the nursery so dh could go in there if he needed to sleep (ie big meeting etc).

HappyAsASandboy · 01/04/2011 23:07

My twins are 5 months old now. We put one cot in our bedroom before the birth, and I thought I'd have them both in that together for the first 6 months, then move them into two cots ^in a shared room at 6 months.

In reality, I rarely use the cot as we cosleep much of the time. DH sleeps in the spare room when he has work the next day, which gives us a bit more room, but otherwise it is 4 in a kingsize bed

I get the most sleep if it is just me and the babies in the bed. They sleep toward the middle, and I have the cot on one side and a toddler bed rail on the otherside. Then I sleep down the side, changing sides to feed the other baby when it wakes. I find the babies wake less if I move from one side to the other rather than moving them around.

All this is probably a bit hard to imagine pre-birth. If I were you, I'd think about all your options, make preparations for the method you think you'll find easiest, but keep revisiting all the options once your babies are here. Nothing is set in stone, so you can go with whatever works best at each stage

Having said all that, I haven't slept for more than 3 hours ^in one go since they were born. Don't try it my way if you're hoping for more sleep than that!

Good luck with your twins

HappyAsASandboy · 01/04/2011 23:09