co-sleeping with twins - is it safe?

[PrincessScrumpy]

When I had dd 3 years ago my mw and hv went crazy when I mentioned that occasionally we had dd in our bed as she really didn't sleep for 4 months. With twins I'm ready more and more people saying they co-slept with the babies and it seems the norm. HVs even seem to support it with twins. I just don't get why the advice is different for twins than singles on this matter.

I'm looking at ways to get through the bad nights sleep we have coming. Any tips.

I couldn't manage it much, but I hear of people who do. It was such a shame for my girls as they both calmed significantly when they were close to me.

I tried to have one either side of me at first, but that meant there ended up being one behind me which was not good at all. I didn't have an instinct for the one behind me, and even if I placed her away from my back she somehow ended up pressed up against me either by squirming or falling into the dip in the mattress.

So after that I tried putting one with her head at shoulder height and the other sort of along my thighs with her head at hip height, below the top one but both in front of me. I wasn't happy with that either.

In the end I gave up and had a cot bed with the side removed and the mattress base moved up so it was level with my mattress and I had them lying there perpendicular to me. They each would partially co-sleep, in that I would fall asleep with A and then when B woke I would put A in the cot and put B on the breast and fall asleep with her.

Sorry that was quite negative wasn't it. I hope someone says something more practical and helpful! It's good to pool ideas, although you'll probably work your own weird and wonderful positions and strategies out.

I have always co slept with my twin boys. When they were newborn I slept in between them in our double bed. I just switched round to whoever needed feeding. As they got older we moved into their room and slept on a couple of duvets spread on the floor. This solved the problem of rolling off beds. I am still breastfeeding them at bedtime (they are nearly 3!) and they still fall asleep next to me on floor, then I lift them into bed. If they wake in the night I end up getting in bed next to them now. I feel I have had much more sleep over the last 3 years because we have had happy, settled children at night. Breastfeeding and co sleeping is the only way I could have managed this.

I've never managed to co-sleep with both my boys together. We started out not co-sleeping as dp in particular was worried as he's such a deep sleeper but after falling asleep during night feeds with one on my chest, I decided just to do it but the baby had to be on the outside away from dp. I just dreaded the night they both wanted to be in bed, but it didn't really happen til they were older. Once they got mobile & dp realised he wasn't going to squash them, we put the baby between us or if necessary took a baby each in our bed and our guest bed. I could never fathom having one behind me either.

Have to say, my HV was not very impressed at the suggestion of co-sleeping at all. I just didn't mention it .

yahoo group ap multiples has lots of practical advice about co-sleeping with twins.

I cosleep with mine. As others have said, one either side doesn't work as then one is behind you when you're on your side.

I have them in the middle of the bed side by side. Then I move from one side of the bed to the other (on outside of bed IYSWIM) to feed each twin lying down. DH is in spare bed!

If DH is with us, I juggle one in the cot next to the bed (with side down and mattresses level) and one in between me and the cot. Neither Of us are really happy with there being a baby next to DH as his long hours, silly commute and taking care of us makes
him too knackered to sleep with a baby.

As an aside, my HV would be horrified to know that I cosleep, so I haven't told her. I don't think it is any more/less recommended or safe to cosleep with twins or a single baby, I just think with twins there is less 'doing things by the book' and more 'doing whatever gets you through the day with everyone clean, fed, happy and sane'

Good luck with it all

i've co-slept with my two since birth i would recommend it as it has def avoided any major sleep deprivation on my part... i have each baby lying either side of me on a foam pillow (to give them the height needed to reach a boob!) with an arm cradling each baby...we've slept quite peacefully like this for over 4 months now! trust your instincts and do what feels right...i think that's all you can do with two! good luck x

I co-slept with mine, it was the only way to get any sleep!

It was the only way to go. Such lovely long sleeps. Breasts pulling out to the side and pinging back to the centre. Happy days.

I would imagine that the advice is different because the HVs etc are getting more education on SAFE co-sleeping rather than giving a (pardon the pun) blanket ban and frown.