I need your help moms of twins!

Nikki - posted on 08/11/2009

my twins born 7 weeks early wake at 7 am bottle feed then sit down then breakfast then was dressed ets by 10 am its play time 12 pm i take a walk or shopping etc snack at 2 pm dinner 4 30 play till half 5 then bath and bottle then bed my little boy wouldent sleep so i went threw th crying fase he soon got th message though i found putting my partner in th spare room hellped and having a minni fridge and bottle wormer up stares was a god send

Lena - posted on 07/31/2009

I have 9 mo b/g twins. First 3 mos were pure HELL. IT GETS BETTER!!!!!! I swear. It is even FUN!?!

Yvonne - posted on 07/26/2009

My twins are 9 months now and I am finally feeling some sense of sanity. I have been easing back on the feedings to 24oz daily and the rest is food and snacks. Unfortunately my little terrors are up by 6:30 or 7am for their first bottle...luckily they get to bed by 7:30 too. They slept overnight without a problem for a while and recently started waking about 2am for a feeding. My doc told me, NO feedings at night, but give em a bottle of water to satisfy their thirst. But they are pretty mad when I give them water:) I started giving them a few ounces of diluted fruit tea (Caffeine Free) and it works pretty well. They don't rely on a feeding, it has a flavor, and it isn't as sugary as juice...plus I can satisfy the oral fix and get em back to sleep pretty quickly. It may work for you...:)

Janel - posted on 07/16/2009

I had mine on 3 hour E.A.S.Y until they were 4 months adjusted. E.A.S.Y. is from the babywhisper, and consists of:
E- Eat (mine were bottlefed, and ate about 2-5 oz. per feeding)
A- Activity (this can be as simple as looking at a mobile, being snuggled, holding a rattle, tummy-time, staring at the fan or investigating the corners of the rooms with their eyes)
S- Sleep (45 minutes to an hour)
Y-You (hey, time for you! shower, nap, stare at the wall, do dishes, whatever)
Rinse and repeat every 3 hours

As soon as they were 4 months old (adjusted) we moved to 4 hour E.A.S.Y.

Now, at 8 months old (adjusted) we should be able to ease up on some of the bottle feedings, but I'm finding it difficult. They eat breakfast, lunch and dinner (8 am, 12 pm and 6 pm), have naps at 9 am and 1 pm, bedtime at 7:30 with a bath at 7. Unfortunately, before each sleep period they seem to want/need a bottle, including one at around 10-11 pm and one around 5 am (they had started skipping that one, but the teething pain has been waking them up and then they realize they're starving hungry, too).

Cheryl - posted on 07/16/2009

hi there hun,im a mum to twin girls who r now 19months,iv been through the hardness u r experiencing and 2 b honest there still so young,i got mine in to a routine a.s.a.,p i wud get up 2 feed one baby and changer her then the next would wake up but u have 2 leave her and do 1 at a time she will learn to wait..Therw stil so young and independant on there mother tell family and friends how tired u r and ur suffering and need help!!!My twins didnt sleep though the night until they was well over a year.Your only 1 person u can only see 2 1 baby at a time if u feed an change 1 and then put her down see to the other 1 and if she is crying at least u know shes feed and changed and is proberly crying for attention...

Channa - posted on 07/01/2009

I read the posts up top... I hope things have gotten better for you!

Kelly - posted on 05/28/2009

I agree with Erin... it will happen when the babies are ready! My twins are 6-months and one has been sleeping 10-12 hours straight since 3-months and the other still wakes 1-2 times a night! All babies are different, and you will waste a lot of your precious energy worrying about what everyone else is doing!! You have to do what works for you and your babies. It will get better!!

Erin - posted on 02/23/2009

It is exhausting trying to get babies to sleep through the night.  My babies are just now starting to consistently sleep through the night and they just turned 10 months.  I tried to schedule them and do all the tricks people say to use, but they would still wake up a lot at night for the first 4-5 months.  Every baby is different and some babies just sleep better than others.  Hang in there it does get easier.  If you can, sleep when the babies sleep during the day or at least take one nap per day, I would highly recommend it.  All the housework and other chores can wait.  It's important that you take care of yourself so you have the energy to take care of your little ones.  I know it seems like you will never get any sleep but thankfully it will get better as they grow.  Hang in there.  If you have someone who can come over to help or give you a break, don't be afraid to ask.  We all need extra help when it comes to twins.  It is a lot of work.

Karin - posted on 02/17/2009

how have you been?? 

Maribel - posted on 01/15/2009

hi not sure if im any help but i had my twins premature at 34 wks..they will be five months in two weeks and barely getting on a schedule.. i stopped stressing about getting them on one since they are both different. my mom watches them during the day and DH and I both work..basically they are napping maybe 1/2 hr to 2 hrs but not always the same..they are starting to sleep less in day so i tell my mom she has to keep thme stimulated by letting them play..by the time i get home at six we feed and change at least 2 times and recently they have been going down at 9:30pm and wake up between 3-4 a,m then up at 7 but only to lay in bed and see me get ready for work until my mom takes over...they do sleep in the same crib together and although we arent suppose to ive been putting my daughter swaddled on her tummy since she was 2 months and even the my son hates being on his tummy or swaddled i started putting him on his tummy since Sunday and he has slept more hours at night then he has ever...by the way i only put them on their tummy at night..Both are at 5 oz evey 2-3 hrs during the day. there were times i put cereal in bottle when they were younger but not anymore also hoping to start feeding them cereal when they are five months although doc ok'd them to start now.

Safaa - posted on 01/14/2009

Thank you all for your help and support. Actually for the past two nights, one of the girls slept through the night and woke up only one time to feed but the other one stayed awake almost all night and went to sleep only when her sister woke up at 6:30 am. Hopefully they start sleeping together and waking together at the same time!

Thank you guys!

Jillian - posted on 01/13/2009

You are not doing anything wrong. My girls are 3 months old ( born at 36 weeks) and some nights they do sleep during the night - other times they don't. My husband and I each take one and that makes it easier for me during the day, We found that if we each took one to separate rooms - we would get more sleep. During the day, I am trying to get them to sleep in their cribs. I am bottle feeding the girls (one takes 3 oz and other 4 oz). I found that if I fed them during the day and evening when ever they were hungry - they slept better at night. I hope this helps! Good luck.

Melissa - posted on 01/12/2009

Hi Safaa! My twins are 3 months old and I am by no means an expert at this. They are sleeping the night most nights, though. My twins are also bottle fed. They sleep in those infant cushy seats which I place in their cribs. I am about to tackle the challenge of laying thme flat in their cribs. They just didn't like sleeping flat on their backs and they say to keep them upright for 30 minutes after feeding. Well, in the middle of the night, I'd put them in their seats when they fell asleep after a feeding. I feed them at the same time or a half an hour apart to keep them on the same schedule. They eat about every 3-4 hours during the day and then have a good 8 hours at night. I play with them in between and let them nap when they want during the day. I also try to keep them out of the cushy seats during the day so they don't get bored of them. Good luck and i wish you a good night's sleep soon.

Melissa - posted on 01/12/2009

A really great book that helped me out is The Happiest Baby on the Block, the author is Harvey Karp! It really helped me! When I started using his advice my babies started sleeping longer at night...let me know if this helps you

Sarah - posted on 01/12/2009

I forgot to mention one important thing....swaddle, swaddle, swaddle!!

Sarah - posted on 01/12/2009

I also had preemie twins at 32 wks. We were instructed by the NICU Doc's and nurses to wake them every 3 hrs to feed. We did that for about 1-2 months, until their Dr said to stop. It depends on how much they weigh. Mine were 3.5 and 3.7 at birth.



Since you are home alone w/them a lot, you must, at times, be on the verge of madness! I go through that still. Is there anyone else that can help out during the day? Right now, let them nap whenever, wherever, no more than 4 hrs. (they may still need to feed every 3). Try increasing amts at feedings, they will let you know if it is too much, or not enough.



Also, check for Reflux, mine are on Zantac, and I can tell a HUGE difference!! Much less crying. I have books under the legs of one side of their crib to keep them slanted at an angle to prevent any regurgitation while they sleep.

Liz - posted on 01/11/2009

I never woke them up to eat because if I did my twins wouldn't eat and then we wasted the formula.  I wish they had the same feeding schedule earlier on. But now that they are seven months old it's become a bit more consistant.

Liz - posted on 01/11/2009

Since my twins were three months old, and we had to move them into cribs because they got too big for their bassinets,  we've put them on a routine of bed-time between 8- and 8:30 every night.  Luckily my daughter has slept through the night since they were about 1.5 to two months old, so it's only been lately that i've experienced things again because both my son and daughter are sick with colds.  One of the best ways to feed the two together is either use bobby pillows, or put them in bouncers. Not the best on the back, but it works fairly well if you're alone with twins.  If my daughter doesn't get enough sleep during the day she won't sleep at night, and if my son sleeps too long during the day he won't sleep at night, so it really all depends on the baby. My twins drink eight ounce bottles and we give them bottles before bed.  On bath nights we start around 7:30 and give them baths, put them in their pjs, give them bottles, and then put them to bed.  They also have music going on in their room so if the other does cry it isn't the only noise going on in their room. It's not too loud, but loud enough that a sudden cry wont startle the other one awake.

Safaa - posted on 01/10/2009

Thank you Karin and Tamara. I will try your suggestions and hopefully it gets better. I am really tired and I am looking forward when they sleep through the night and be in some kind of a routine. Thank you guys again! 

Tamara - posted on 01/10/2009

I didn't do what Karin did - but wish I had - her method sounds like a good one. I think establishing a consistent wake time in the morning (around 7:00) is a good suggestion. Go ahead and do this now. I struggled with this b/c I too did all the middle of the night feedings and comforting and if they were sleeping at 7:00 and it meant I could sleep for a little while longer then I did. I don't think I did myself any favors by doing this.

One thing that I realized looking back is that my 2 needed to sleep at lot more at 2 months old than I realized. I can't speak for your twins but I underestimated how much they needed to sleep. At this age their max awake time was 1 hour. Which sounds CRAZY - but it was true. They have just gotten to where they can stay awake for 2 - 3 hours and they are 7 months (I'm talking about day time sleep). But your daytime sleep affects night time espe cially if your 2 are overtired.

I can identify with what  you are going through - my son was IMPOSSIBLE to soothe back to sleep - he was very colicky and had reflux. I did whatever to get them to sleep - everything from swing to bouncy seat to car seat to laying in the bed with me. I can say that he does sleep in his crib now - during that time I was afraid I was creating bad habits but didn't care b/c I needed rest. Noise Makers helped me too. When mine started waking each other up and weren't sleeping good yet - I split them up - I put them back together in the same room but split them temporarily. Before I had twins I had all these ideas about what I would and would not do - but when it came down to it I did whatever I needed to - to get them to sleep. You have to do what is right for you and your babies. You need sleep and however you can make that happen. My son slept in his carseat for 2 or 3 weeks then his swing for 2 weeks. It was motion sleep and all the things they say are bad but it was the only way I could get him to sleep.

Good luck and email me anytime (I'm sometimes up at all hours) - oh and get some help.... I hired a babysitter to come and spend the night and take care of them one night. You have to have a break - if you can afford it - it will cost around $130. I did this around the 2 month mark 2 different times b/c I didnt' have family here and I was about to lose it.

I promise it gets better!!! Hang in there....

Tamara

Karin - posted on 01/10/2009

Hi safaa,

my twins were born 10/21 so also about 2 mths 2wks and I also bottle feed.  They weigh 11 & 12lbs.  what i id in the begining was feed the every 3 hrs so  7;10;1; 4  all the while waking them to feed them.....then after thier one mth check up the dr. said not to wake them anymore let them sleep...so at first one would make it from the 7 PM feeding until 2 am at which point i woke the other and fed her right after because i wanted to keep some sort of schedule the next feeding was again at 5am. ...  after the 5am i would always wake them at 7am and feed them again (usualy they would only take half of what they normally ate at the time) so that i could stick to my schedule 7;10;1;4......after about three weeks and increasing the amounts of formula  during the day they both slept until 6:30am - 7am....I was told that once they do this (sleep through) don;t give them a bottle just sooh them and give them a pacifier ...so when they did stir usualy around 4am i did that and to my surprise they went right back to sleep.  hope this was helpful  I did also read a book called the contended baby book which was helpful your can take what you like from it.

anyway good luck let me know how you make out.  ...don't forget take one day at a time don't think too far ahead it made me nuts to do that.