Congratulations on becoming a new parent to twin infants! As exciting as it is to welcome two bundles of joy into your life, it can be a challenging experience too, especially when it comes to getting a good night’s rest. Sleep training your twins may seem like a daunting task with double the work, but it doesn’t have to be that way. This comprehensive guide will provide you with tips and tricks to help you feel like you have a better handle on your twins and their sleep!
Getting your twins on a sleep schedule is key to having good nights of restful sleep. This means setting a bedtime and waking time that is consistent every day, even on weekends. Having an established routine will help teach your babies when it’s time to go to sleep and when it’s time to wake up. Keeping the noise level
Create a safe sleep environment for your twins. What’s the best way for twins to sleep?
Creating a safe sleep environment for your twins is essential to ensure their overall safety and wellbeing. To start with, place your infants in separate cribs, ensuring a comfortable and safe surrounding. Make sure to use a firm mattress and avoid placing any blankets, toys, or pillows around the babies while they’re sleeping (this includes bumpers of any kind and stuffed animals).
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all babies sleep on their back, on a flat, firm, separate sleep surface such as a bassinet, play yard or crib. To ensure the safety of infants during sleep, the AAP advises against using soft bedding including blankets, pillows, bumper pads and soft toys in cribs. Additionally, they recommend avoiding the use of weighted blankets and swaddles, crib bumper pads and inclined sleep surfaces. Stores now sell mesh bumpers and vertical bumpers which are not recommended by the AAP.
It is important to remember that babies should never be placed to sleep with hats or hoods as these can cover their face and interfere with breathing.
Also, be sure to remove any hanging strings or cords from the crib that could cause choking or suffocation hazards. And finally, ensure that their rooms have a regulated temperature, with proper ventilation and no drafty windows. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants should sleep in a room with a temperature that is comfortable for a lightly clothed adult. This means that the room temperature should be kept between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (20-22.2 degrees Celsius) when an infant is sleeping. Humans as a whole sleep better when the room is cooler (I know my girls sure do). It is important to ensure that infants are not dressed too warmly and to avoid using heavy blankets or comforters that could cause overheating (and as discussed above two safe sleep red flags). Lightweight sleep sacks can be used instead of blankets to help keep infants warm and safe during sleep. My favorite sleep sack when my girls were infants was the Halo Sleep Sack but the Woolino sleeping bag is also a great choice.
And for the best environment for good sleep, I highly recommend using white noise and room darkening shades over the windows (the darker the better). White noise creates a cocoon of sound around your babies while the darkness helps send signals to the brain that they should sleep. Consistency in sleep is key!
Establish an appropriate sleep schedule for twins
Establishing a schedule is essential when it comes to your sanity and caring for your littles. Depending on the age of your babies, they may still be dependent on wake windows (birth through 6 months of age) or may be old enough for a fit schedule (this happens usually between 6 – 8 months of age) YAY! A consistent flow of the day and bedtime routine could be an excellent way to teach your twins the difference between night and day. Creating a bedtime routine may involve bathing and feeding your babies, reading them a bedtime story, and singing relaxing lullabies (this was always my favorite part). Try your best to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, and avoid disrupting your baby’s sleep routine whenever possible. Also, make sure you strike a balance between daytime sleep and nighttime sleep. Sleep begets sleep after all!
Master the art of feeding both twins
Feeding twins may be a daunting task but being well-organized can make all the difference. Some parents prefer to breastfeed one baby at a time, while others choose to feed simultaneously using a breastfeeding pillow (I am in awe of you). If bottle-feeding, you can divide and conquer by having your partner or a caregiver feed one twin while you feed the other twin. Establishing a consistent feeding schedule also helps with the sleep needs of twins, and keeping their feeds at the same time or close to the same time will help with the goal of getting them to sleep at the same time.
Napping twins, keep those schedules tight!
Trying to keep track of every feed, pee, poop, and sleep for two tiny humans can get pretty confusing if you don’t have a system in place. This is where a sleep log can come in pretty handy. Whether you are a pad and paper person or prefer one of many digital options available online, make sure it is user friendly. When I am working one on one with a family who has purchased one of my private sleep packages, I provide them with an app that they download onto their phone and log everything that has to do with their littles sleep and feeds. It helps us keep everything straight and clear for both twins. But as I said, you may find logging the information in a notebook to work just as well. When my daughters were babies that’s what I did…but then again, if there was an app for that back then, I would have probably embraced it.
My recommendation for approaching daytime sleep with twins is to keep their schedules as close as possible and to separate them in different rooms at naptime if you can. While they are maturing into more consistent naps between 4 to 7 months, there is a greater chance that they may have difficulty transitioning between sleep cycles and one may wake earlier than the other. When this happens, I recommend letting the still sleeping twin sleep for just a bit longer (15 – 30 minutes) and then wake them up. Eventually, as their sleep skills improve, the need to wake one won’t happen as often. But it’s also been my experience that there may always be a little variation in nap length as even though they are twins, they still are unique little humans!
Remember to take care of yourself
Taking care of twins can be exhausting, often leaving parents feeling drained and sleep-deprived. Remember to prioritize self-care, taking breaks whenever possible, and sleeping when your babies sleep. Ask for help from family and friends, and remember to take a breath and enjoy the beautiful moments and cuddles with your twins.
I understand that helping establish healthy sleep for your twins may seem like an enormous task for new parents, but with a little patience and dedication, it can be done. Creating a safe sleep environment, establishing an appropriate sleep schedule, mastering feeding techniques, and prioritizing self-care can make all the difference. Remember, every family’s sleep journey is unique, so find what works best for you and your twins.
If you’re a tired parent struggling to get your twins to sleep, I’m here to help. Don’t let exhaustion and sleepless nights take over your life any longer. Check out my private sleep coaching services and get ready to say goodbye to sleepless nights. With tips on creating a safe sleep environment, establishing an appropriate sleep schedule and the best sleep training techniques, I have the experience and expertise of everything tired parents need to help their babies sleep through the night. Click the link below to schedule a FREE sleep evaluation with me and start your journey toward better sleep today!
Hi, I’m Jenn. Mompreneur, and my children’s personal uber driver. As one of Pennsylvania’s longest serving and most trusted sleep consultants I have helped transform the lives of thousands of tired parents over the past 10 years. As a 1:1 pediatric sleep coach, I help exhausted families around the globe find the right sleep solutions for their children through one-on-one coaching. Read more about me and my philosophy.
