How to sleep with twins

[Brightandbreezey]

I’m a big fan of co sleeping and having babies close in the early months/years. I’ve currently got a 22 month old who has mostly slept with either me or my partner and is just starting to go in her own bed for most/some of the night. I have no experience of cots/cribs etc. as she pretty much slept next to me in bed within the first week after birth….so feel a bit lost now I’m pregnant with twins!! I’m due to have my twins late January and I cannot work out how to sleep with them!
Obviously there so much that can happen… I know they can be premature and low weight and that the current advice is not to bed share if they are. I would like them to share a sleep space together but obviously it’s going to depend on their temperaments and what they prefer.
I’ve been looking into next to me and side to bed cribs. But I don’t want to pay a lot of money if I’m not going to use them! We’ve never had either of these so don’t know if they are any good especially for twins!
I know I’m probably going to have a c section. I had one last birth and had an awful recovery and that’s why cosleeping worked for me in the end - lifting and moving was just too hard and my LO did not settle unless she was close.
I have two Moses baskets but was thinking of leaving them downstairs for naps. And then wondered if they would do for the first few nights upstairs until we get a feel for what is going to work for us?
We have been gifted a Stokki cot also but I cannot work out how people actually get babies to sleep in it and how on earth I would be able to lean in after my c section to get them in there!!
I’d love to hear from any parents of twins who like to sleep with them close and what worked for you? Thanks in advance!

X

Thanks…That’s super helpful 👏🏼
You do know that it was actually the norm to co sleep in western culture until about 200-300 years ago don’t you? And it’s actually the norm in a lot of none western countries too?
I’m not here to criticise anyone else’s choices and specifically asked for advice from people who have had similar experiences. If you haven’t had similar experiences, why not just pass this by? Cheers!

Twins C-section.
We Co slept with our oldest child. Like you we never had a cot

The twins was tricky
We had one in the middle and one on my side ( after the first week in hospital ) with a barrier so baby didn’t fall out.
We also always used sleeping bags for them ( lightweight summer ones ). Sleeping bags stops them moving about and waking up.
Tbh I was hardly sleeping in those early weeks as I was feeding most of the time so probably spent more time in a comfy chair feeding than in the bed.

When they were a bit older ( 6mths ish, it’s all a blur tbh ) they slept in a cot next to each other in their sleeping bags
I know there will be lots of shocked remarks by what we did but we read up a lot about Co sleeping, it worked well for us

I won’t be responding to critics, OP asked 😁

ps. I should add we don’t sleep in a bed, never have, we are on a mattress on the floor

My twins were born at 36 weeks and one was tiny, I would have been scared to co-sleep at the beginning (as I had with my eldest). For the first weeks they shared one end of a normal sized cot next to my bed. The cot had a drop-down side which was fine for me after my c-section. They were so darn cute sleeping next to each other and settled well. I guess twins are used to each other's company!

I had a second cot downstairs which I used for naps (again, next to each other). Bouncers were handy for when I was feeding one and the other was waiting. I only breastfed two at once when they were tiny. It's really not easy to do!!

As they grew we moved the second cot upstairs and each had their own. I did co sleep sometimes at night, if they/ I dozed off after a feed, but never as consistently as with my first baby. Maybe because of that, they were somewhat better sleepers!

I think you'll have to experiment a bit to find what works for you. Top tip from this twin mama is to feed them both when one wakes at night, even if second one is asleep, wake them and feed. Saves you from completely broken sleep and they get onto the same cycle. Good luck!

Agree with @doihaveacase re waking to feed
Although I did this generally anyway as I followed Gina Ford for all of mine
( hence the sleeping bag obsession 🤣)

My twins shared a next 2 me for a while, then we had a next 2 me on each side of the bed. Worth noting I needed DH to help me sit up and pick up/ pass a baby each time they needed feeding (c section at 36 weeks).

Thanks so much for the really helpful replies!
It’s so interesting that the three responses are so different and I think that’s why I’m struggling to make a decision as obviously different options can work!

@ForkHandlesNotFourCandles - thanks for sharing your co sleeping experience. I’m not completely against co sleeping with them as it worked with my first. I guess I’m just worried about 2 in the bed! We have our mattress on the floor currently but thinking of putting it back up as I will struggle to get in it after c section (I’m struggling now being pregnant!). We have a barrier up for our toddler but read they are not safe for newborns! So much to think about!
@doihaveacase - thanks for sharing your experience too. I think I’ll always have my bed set up to safe co sleeping at times as it obviously does happen like it did for you so thanks for that. Having a different sleep space option is good too. The cot we were gifted doesn’t have a drop down side unfortunately. But I think it’s a great idea… we may need to look at buying something. And thanks for the tips on feeding in the night!
@anicecuppateaa - yes absolutely I remember after my last c section it was just so hard to move. My partner helped with lifting so much in those early weeks! Something I’m not looking forward to at all! Do you mind me asking how long yours stayed in a next to me for (both together and then separately)?
Again thank you all for your responses… it helps for me to think things over!