Sleeping arrangements with twins.

[Gidget19]

Hello, I am expecting two girls in March and am trying to get my head around the practicalities of sleeping. For now, I plan to put one cot in my room and the other in the living room until I move both into their own bedroom.

Can anyone recommend cot that will be stable enough with three sides? I’d like to have them close to my bed during the night but am trying to save money and not buy two bassinets or an expensive co-sleeper that they will grow out of in a few months.

It’s also worth mentioning that I’m a single parent (by choice) so while I will have some family help and support, I need to be prepared to get through their baby days alone.

DTDS are 21 now so manufactured co-sleeping kits hadn't been invented. Initially I had the girls on top of the duvet beside me in my king size bed, with a wall of pillows underneath to prevent rolling out type accidents. DP had moved into the spare room for the duration. Later I had them in cots, both in my bedroom. I then moved them both into their own bedroom, once the need for night feeds stage was past.

Look for co-sleeper cots second hand? They're pretty cheap that way and then all you need to get is a new mattress.

Also had twins before co-sleeping cots.

They both slept in a single cot, until they overlapped too much. The night time changing area was nearby next to a dim pluglight so that they didn't wake up too much (only changed them if necessary at night).

I had a stack of pillows/v-shaped pillow to keep me upright when feeding them, and a note book so I knew who I had fed and when

Then they went into separate cots next to each other, heads together - they used to wake each other up in the mornings. They went in their own room at about 7 mths when they were going through the night better and they kept waking me with their gurgles.

I have 18 month old twins. We used the Sebra Cots - we got two, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. They shared the cots until they were about 4-5 months old. In the upstairs cot we took the side down so it could be next to the bed.

When they were about 5 months old, we brought the downstairs cot upstairs and had two cots in our room so they could sleep separately. At 8 months we moved both cots into their own room.

Let me know if you have any questions.

We bought two cots and had one upstairs in the bedroom and one downstairs in the lounge and they shared the cot for sleep until about 4 months. (One at each end)

We then moved the lounge one upstairs and they started napping upstairs too with a monitor. They weren’t side sleeper cots, just normal ones

They moved into their own room at 6/7 months and have stayed in the cots until now (aged 3) where they’ve just gone into beds

I had two baby bjorn bouncers which were invaluable for feeding on the highest setting and napping on the lowest setting. Whole cover comes off and goes in the washing machine and they were invaluable!

For those of you who now have slightly older twins - would they sleep in their cots in the early days?

My DTs were discharged from SCBU yesterday. Last night they would t settle at all in their cot (next to the bed). I ended up bringing them into our bed.

I don’t mind cosleeping, I loved cosleeping with my daughter, but it just didn’t seem as safe with 2 - they need more blankets as they get cold very easily (4 lb each), which I don’t like having loose in the bed, and I can only get them to sleep one on each side of me, which I know is also not recommended (not supposed to have one between you and your partner).

Would very much appreciate any tips on helping them settlE in their Cots OR how to safely cosleep with twins. I need to avoid too much crying - they disturbed my 4yo DD a LOT last night as it was, and they only fussed when having nappies changed.

(Sorry to put this on your thread OP rather than starting my own, but thought this might be relevant to your situation too)

@crazychemist Any twin information I can get is welcome so ask away!

No practical help but good luck.

My DTs are 5 now but we had Snuzpods - one upstairs and one downstairs till they needed one each, then both upstairs. They went into cots in their own room at 6 months.

I never co-slept @crazychemist for much the same reasons, although mine were bigger (both 7lb+ at birth). One slept well in his own space from day 1, one wriggled more, and it has been the same ever since...!

(We did find out that the wriggler needed lactose-free milk which helped a bit, he must have had a hungry tummy in the weeks before we worked that out and he wasn't tolerating the usual formula!)

Twins Trust have lots of sleep information here, really worth joining too as they are very helpful even if you just want to call them for a moan

I had twins in a Chico Lullago travel cot for the first 5 months. It had a decent mattress compared to other travel cots and two heights so easy access when they were small.
Then moved one into their older cots until they went into their own room at around 5 months.
Looking back, I should have used the pram bassinets at the beginning in our bedroom as they were small and manoeuvrable without needing a Moses basket.
We used the pram for downstairs sleep until they were about 8 months old then they went for longer naps in their cots.

We had an arms reach cosleeper cot which is the size of a travel cot so much bigger than a standard cosleeper cot. They shared that until they were about 5 months and started rolling and waking each other up. Then one stayed in that and the other slept in a travel cot at the end of the bed. Then we moved them into separate cots in their own room about 9 months.

We also had a travel cot downstairs that they napped in together

@crazychemist

For those of you who now have slightly older twins - would they sleep in their cots in the early days?

My DTs were discharged from SCBU yesterday. Last night they would t settle at all in their cot (next to the bed). I ended up bringing them into our bed.

I don’t mind cosleeping, I loved cosleeping with my daughter, but it just didn’t seem as safe with 2 - they need more blankets as they get cold very easily (4 lb each), which I don’t like having loose in the bed, and I can only get them to sleep one on each side of me, which I know is also not recommended (not supposed to have one between you and your partner).

Would very much appreciate any tips on helping them settlE in their Cots OR how to safely cosleep with twins. I need to avoid too much crying - they disturbed my 4yo DD a LOT last night as it was, and they only fussed when having nappies changed.

(Sorry to put this on your thread OP rather than starting my own, but thought this might be relevant to your situation too)

One of my twins was in nicu for 2.5 weeks and the other just over 2 months and they struggled a bit at home - it was so quiet compared to the hospital. White noise helped. We also mocked up the sleeping arrangements DT2 had in hospital (rolled up towel in a U shape inside a pillow case) for him to lie in for the first couple of nights but we had an o2 monitor on him like in the hospital. Probably not sensible if you don’t have one!

Mine were in SCBU for a couple of weeks. It was very hot in there - the health visitor said to use my own judgement on room temperature (it was around the time that this was a big deal).

What I found was they hated any sort of draught.

I had twins (as a single parent) and also had a 4 year old.
I requested in hospital they slept in one cot. When we got home I had a moses basket upstairs and downstairs which helped putting them somewhere safe when dc1 needed help. They then went into a cot bed once they'd outgrown the basket. They both slept well together until about 22 months when they seemed to wake each other more so put them in separate beds however invariably found them in the same bed till they were about 4.
Other things that helped - same routine this might mean waking one to feed at first but means you'll get more rest. I tandem breast fed and expressed for one dt when out.
I used the cheap bouncy chairs after feeds so they weren't laying flat.
A sling in the house helped as if both were unsettled one could go in that the other under my arm and had a free hand for dc1 /cup of tea/making a meal.
A rucksack for a nappy bag is best as if you've got baby in each arm it's easier.
Think about where you'll be using your pushchair a side by side one wouldn't fit through most of the doors in our village shop so I had a tandem.
Set up online grocery shopping.
Expect everyone to stop and chat to the babies - dc1 used to count how many people stopped us it was usually into double figures!
The best advice I was given was by a midwife who'd had twins and she said do it your way, don't do it how a parent of a singleton would do it you'll have to adapt.
Take each day as it comes and enjoy. 💐

@Itmaybeus thank you for posting. I will be a single parent too (although these are my first children which may make it easier than it was for you) but it’s nice hear you sounding so positive.

My twins are 17 months old now and we got two IKEA Gulliver cots and had one upstairs and one in the lounge. We took one side off the cot upstairs and attached it securely to my side of the bed.

It worked really well as it was great to just be able to reach my hand over to settle them in the middle of the night without getting out of bed all the time. They also needed me to be close to them and this was the safest way to do it.

The IKEA cots are pretty simple, relatively cheap and practical. They'll also be used as toddler beds when my twins are ready.

Having twins is hard work and you have to be so organised to make it work, but it's amazing being in that special club. My twins still get so much attention when they're out!

Good luck, it's daunting at first but you learn very quickly!

My girls weren't good at sharing a co-sleeper as they liked having space (would hit each other and wake each other up) so i ended up buying a Hauck Sleep & Play Travel Cot (it has a bassinet that you can zip in) and a proper Cot mattress to go in it. Having the bassinet level meant it was high enough that I could just peak over the edge to them.

Its great as I have kept it at the foot of my bed and use it as a play pen in the morning whilst I am getting ready.