Tips on Getting Twins to Sleep Through the Night
If you think you're the only one who can't get their kiddos to sleep, then you're not alone. Twins, or babies in general, don't sleep at night automatically, especially in the first few months. Find out how to get your babies to sleep through the nights as early as possible.
Twins usually sleep at various times during the day and night. This erratic schedule is enough to drive parents insane and weak from lack of sleep. Get your twins to sleep at night by following these tips:
Sleep together
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Twins have been sleeping together in their mother’s womb for about 9 months, sleeping in the crib together can help make them more comfortable. When one baby awakes at night and finds his twin beside him, he’ll be soothed by his presence and may resume sleeping. This is a classic way to get your twins to sleep at night.
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Feed consistently
Make sure that the twins are well fed to avoid waking up at night due to hunger. Babies often need feeding every three hours but could go longer as time goes by. Also, they tend to get drowsy after feeding time so you won’t have a problem lulling them to sleep at night.
Spread naps
Some parents may not believe it but spreading naps can help. Multiple naps during the day help prevent oversleeping during one of the late naps that can prevent them from sleeping straight at night. Be careful not to let them sleep too late in the afternoon or it could affect the number of hours they’ll be sleeping at night.
Wake the other twin
Twins need to do everything together – feed, sleep and play. However, this also applies to their waking time. When one baby is awake from his nap, make sure to rouse the other from sleep. This may sound cruel to you but it is one of the ways to make sure that you and the babies sleep at night. You don’t want to end up awake all night trying to lull one baby to sleep at a time. Once they’ll be in sync with each other, feeding, sleeping, and waking up together will be no problem.
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Bath before bedtime
Image source: iStock
Most babies tend to sleep longer when they are fresh and comfortable after a bath. If your twins are ones to feel relaxed and drowsy after every bath, make sure to include this in their bedtime routine. Straight from the bath at night, put your twins immediately in the crib so they can sleep.
The night is for sleeping
Make sure that the nursery is dimly lit at night to help them distinguish between night and day. To further encourage sleeping, put them to sleep immediately after feeding when they wake up at night. Minimize any huge or energetic actions and stick to soothing motions. Once this routine is set, your twins should be able to sleep at night without interruptions.
Separate them
When one of the twins seems ready to sleep at night, it is time to separate them… just during bedtime. This way, the night sleeping pattern of this baby won’t be disturbed and you’ll just end up creating a routine for the other twin. Once both babies are sleeping at night, you can put them in the same room again. This will help in putting both twins to sleep.
How did you make your twins to sleep at night? We’d love to hear about your experience about this. Watch this fun video of twins putting themselves to sleep: