Getting twins sleeping through the night

[loadsanappies]

Hi there,
I'm new to the boards this morning & looking forward to meeting lots of other mums in this virtual world! I've read quite a lot about getting twins to go through the night but wondered if any other twin (or more ?!) mums had any tips. I bought the "Baby Secrets" book I saw recommended here and it is really good. My twins are now 10 weeks old (but were 5 weeks prem). They are on four-hourly feeds at 7, 11 & 3 (although quite often refuse to feed at one of these & get "topped up" in between. I know its really early to be thinking about sleeping through but I'm going crackers with the lack of sleep. Any wise words would be appreciated. Oh, they are 8lb and 8.5 (a girl & a boy).
Hope you can help!

Hi Loadsa!

I've got 11 week old twins also on four hourly feeds and also on the Baby Secrets book! Although I've not looked at it for a while now as I keep forgetting - twin mush-brain. The boys were born at 41 weeks and were heavy weights!

My boys are now on an 11pm feed, 3-4ish feed and 7.30am feed through the night. I always wake them at the 11pm one, though they are beginning to wake themselves now, and let them wake me for the 3ish one. I'm just comtemplating giving them formula at the 11pm feed because I think this might get them through the night - it's an idea I've gleaned from other Mums and from reading between the lines in the baby books. My two are exclusively breastfed at the moment. That's the only way I can think of to get them to go through. (I would also appreciate any comments on this before I actually bite the bullet!) I seem to be coping quite well on 2 lots of 3 hours sleep so that helps - and I get loads of help from friends. AND the boys go to bed at 7.30 and stay there! Which means I get my evenings to relax (apart from the obvious washing and cooking and tidying stuff).

Not sure any of this helps you, but it's good to talk to someone in the same situation! I actually had a full 4 hours sleep in one go last night for the first time in, ooh, 11 weeks!

Wow - Devon (or is it Doris ?!), sounds like you are doing so well. My sis is staying at the moment and let me go back to bed at 7.30 yesterday morning until 12.30 (yes, 12.30!). The only reason this is possible is cos I am feeding formula. Cos the twins were prem, they couldn't suckle effectively so I had to express and I just couldn't produce enough milk for them. We soldiered on for 3 weeks before giving up. I have such admiration for you breast feeding both. Sounds like we are at more-or-less the same place in the "plan". Mine also go to bed at 7.30/8 but do often winge so I have to do the dreaded "staged soothing". I then wake them at 11 for a feed (my DH does this one, bless him). They wake again at between 3 and 4 and then at 7. I'm really keen to start trying to push the early-hours feed forward but dunno if this'll be possible until they are in their own room - otherwise, it means trying to sooth them without waking my best beloved....
Ah, the joys.
I wasn't altogether encouraged by stories of another friend with 18m-old twin girls who still aren't sleeping through (mind you, she has a full-time nanny and doesn't work so I guess not so vital she gets all her sleep overnight).
Chin up - and here's to a full night's kip!

They were my 4/5th children which I think helped. They just breastfed. They were 6 pounds 8 and 7 pounds 8 when they were born at 40 weeks. None of my children slept very well. I used to feed the about 6.45pm and put them down to sleep for the night, go off and have a shower and leave them to cry. Sometimes they'd then sleep - that was the theory. Then wake them at midnight when I went to bed and always always fed them together whether they wanted it or not, one on each side. Then I'd sleep and hope they'd sleep as long as possible. I certainly remember a lot of disturbed nights. Then I think ideally they'd then feed once in the night say at 3 or 4 and then wake up about 6am for a feed. It's difficult. This morning for the first time ever I had to wake the one who is the early riser at 9am! They are 8 now.

My older children slept worse than the twins. I think you just get better at it the more children you have and babies vary too. One of my twins has always and even now needed and hour's less sleep than his twin.

Hi loadsanappies

My twins are 9 months and your post has brought back lots of memories of madness and broken sleep. I used to eat raw coffee beans as I fed them trying to keep myself awake . Amazing how you get through it though - hang in there, I promise it will get better and soon. Sounds like you have support which is great - make the most of it and accept all offers!

Sadly there is no magic solution - it just takes time. I followed the Baby Secrets routines which worked well for us. Mine started sleeping through at about 5 and a half months (corrected). I have structured their daytime feeds and sleep from day 1 which I think really helped. Amazing when it happens as after months in a fug you suddenly get your life back!

Guess I haven't got much advice other than just hang in there, accept all offers of help and don't beat yourself up over things not being perfect. It gets better all the time, I hated having twins at first and felt really short changed on the whole new baby experience but now I love my life with them.

Thanks for all the wise words...
As it happens, this morning they are driving me potty. They would not wind at the last feed and as a result, one of them brought his milk back up. Sometimes I think the lack of sleep is the least of our troubles! Little missy is now shouting the house down. Will I ever get out of this house again ?!

Mine cried a lot from 6-12 weeks, so much so I thought there was something wrong with them. I was convinced I had really miserable babies and found it hard to have any attachment to them. I now realise that's just what some babies do! It slowly improved and now they are very happy and contented little ladies, am slowing retiring my large collection of dummies .

As for getting out, you will in good time. I was convinced my life was over and I would never be able to leave the house ever again but as the feeds get further apart you get much greater flexibility.

not sure if anyone has mentioned it - but my two rules are keep them in sync and sleep when they sleep - and forget everything else.

This isn't so easy if you have other kids to deal with at the same time !

Hang in there - it will start to get better soon - the first few months are the hardest (I think - mine are 4 next week so it seems a very long time agon now !)

Hi again, Loadsa,

Are things any better? Just for the record I went out to a Jive class on Thursday; I'm out for supper tonight and possibly out on Monday to go to a friend's birthday assuming DH will allow me out again! So it does get better. So long as I'm home to feed at 11 it seems to work, but does depend quite heavily on dummies to get them to sleep at 7.30. My boys went from 11pm to 4.30 last night, so I think it's coming.

Glamourbadger - I can't believe you ate coffee beans! I do a very fetching falling-asleep-sitting-up-feeding-both-at-the-same time thing. Thinking about it that's probably easier to do with bfing than with a bottle, so that's no help. DH has got to the stage of being able to sleep right through the crying even when I put DT2 right next to him on the bed. I have very little sympathy for him.

Chin up, Loads. Won't be long and they'll be sleeping and so will you.

Thanks Doris - not been around for a while cos of the lack of sleep/too much to do combo. At least one of the twins is now smiling/giggling a bit - most, if not every day. Having said that, they have been particularly irritable the last couple of days - just can't shake the feeling I am "missing something" quite fundamental!

Hi there

I have a gorgeous boy and girl now 14 weeks. They started sleeping through from 7pm to 6am about 2 weeks ago and it makes such a difference to my life!!

We tried to follow a few books but they all seemed so rigid that we would get a bit down about not following it to the letter so we decided to just find our own way.

We used to feed at 6, 10, 2 and 6. We would wake them for the 10pm feed but they just wouldn't feed enough and then wake at 1ish starving. We decided to drop that feed and they started waking at 2 - 3ish and gradually over 2 weeks just got later and later.

I don't know about yours but ours are so hungry - they have been on SMA hungry baby milk from about 8 weeks and we now give a tiny amount of baby rice at 10am feed and rusk at 6pm feed (i know this is against the law but if the health visitor wants to come and look after my hungry babies at 3am she is welcome!!)

I think basically you will find a way that suits you and your bundles of joy - just don't pressure yourself.

Good luck xx

Hi, I used the baby sleep system at www.babysleepanswers.co.uk. It was written by a mum with twins and was recommended to me by my twins club. There is also free online support for purchasers of the book. Well worth a look.

hi im a new 1st time mum of boy girl twins cant wait to meet more mums that actually understand what im talking about and know how i feel. im so tired my babies feed every four hours different times every day they are 17 weeks and in no routeine as its different times every day i have gone on to sma white milk when they were 8weeks old and i give them a farleys rusk before bed with 70z of milk my little girl sleeps most of the night were as my son wakes up constantly im at breaking point im so worn out and dont no what to do.

Hi girls, please all pop in to the thread we use daily, hourly and minute by minute if its a bad day! Its the D'y ever wonder.......thread. We will stick the kettle on and compare notes We are a friendly bunch each with her own challenge and we drag each other through the dodgy bits and crack open a glass of something nice if we make it through a day without crying

Join us do and share with us.........

My experience is the same as unyummymummy, but I also followed the fab 'baby secrets book' with my twins. My son started sleeping through the night 7-7 at 12 weeks exactly, and his much smaller sister is nearly there at 18 weeks (they were 4 weeks prem). It will just happen when they get to the right weight if you stick with what you are doing. Have faith - it really works! I know it is gruelling when you are feeding two babies 3 hourly 24/7, but it will soon be over. We also didn't bother with the 10/11pm feed - just wait until they wake up hungry, and grab some sleep! You will find they will eventually fall into a pattern of a 2am ish feed and a 5am ish feed, then they'll just get by on a 3-4am ish feed, then they'll drop that too - automatically. No need to bother with the spaced soothing etc - its too knackering!
One thing though, whilst they need a lot of night time feeds you must wake them both, and feed them both, or the lack of sleep will finish you off. Another quite good trick was to have the cots in seperate rooms -I slept in one, and husband in the other, and then it is just like having one baby! Easy peasy - we would pass like ships in the night, by the kettle!Good luck x

Welcome! Do come and join us over on the d'ya ever thread. We love the newbies. lol

We even have a triplet mum on board.... We bow and scrape when she enters!

Looking forward to chatting with you all.

There's a fresh lemon drizzle cake in the oven.

How are you doing, Loadsa? And Carly? You sound worn out. It really does get better. I'm not sure how old my boys are, but they're around 4.5 months and huge (again don't know how huge!), and I've just dropped the 11pm feed. For some reason they seem to think that waking at 3 and 5 is still a good thing to do, but I dummy-plug for about half an hour and they do go off again eventually. I started baby rice and pureed veg 5 days ago and dropped the feed 3 days ago.

Gorge is absolutely right about waking them both at the same time. I think that's what's saved me my sanity.

And a quick update on DH - he thinks he gets up about 6 times a night to plug a dummy... only thing is I've never noticed him do it more than a couple of times. And I'm a woman who wakes at the sound of a dummy dropping from a mouth to the mattress (bad mummy storing sleep trouble later, but at least not sleep deprived now!). Hmm. Who do you think is dreaming here?!

Come join the D'ya thread!

Hi Carly and loadsa! How are you both doing? Come talk.... we're here

I am new here and am so glad to read that its normal for twins not to be sleeping through the night. My mum and various other mums of singletons keep telling me that 'normally' they should be straight through now, (obviously I'm doing something wrong and must be a terrible mother!). My boys are 6 and a bit months, and up til 5 months they were just getting to a routine of one feed at 3/4am from 8.30pm til 7am. Now its all gone to pot, from having a terrible babysitter for a month, heat, and (I think) first teeth coming. So they are waking sometimes 3 times a night each, and if I wake them up at the same time they still wake up separately later... Yawn...They are not really weaning well though so I think they are hungry and they are still sharing a cot and kicking each other so have to sort that out too!

only got as far as the second post ! Devondoris - I would hold out for a few more weeks with breast feeding in the night - unfortunately that middle of the night one is the one that does most to build supply.

oops - just realised this is an old thread

Hi Selena,

I think all kids go through changing sleep patterns - not just twins. At different development stages their sleep seems to get worse.

I always found if mine got enough sleep during the day then they slept well at night, if we let them get overtired then they were a nightmare at night.

And it was about 6 months that I put them in separate cots - it was about then they started physically disturbing each other.