co-sleeping with twins?

Jodi - posted on 05/30/2012

Miriam. Well, they were born in January, spent nearly 3 weeks in the NICU and came home. We co-slept with them (my husband sleeping on the couch that is) for about 8 months. I just laid on my side with both babies on the same side of me. If they both wanted to nurse, I would lay on my back with pillows under my arms so they could kin dof lay on top of me and nurse. I never used a blanket, or apillow, but it was worth it. We did eventually move them into their own rooms, but when my older of the two wakes up, she gets to come snuggle in bed with mommy! I would do it with the younger, but she doesn't wak eup!!! lol

Tulanicambareri - posted on 05/24/2012

Diane H - That is exactly how I co-slept with my twins - me in the middle with two stiff, plump pillows on either side. I'd hold a baby in each arm and they'd kind of be positioned on top of me. They'd have a breast each. It's the only way we get sleep. I co-slept with my first two and wanted the same for my twins.

Miriam - posted on 04/20/2012

this is an old post but I would like to know how it went Jodi? we actually had twins Jan.3, 2011 and had them in their cribs in our room than moved them to their room than into our bed because they were waking way too much :( now we co-sleep (had to upgrade to a king from a queen and still crowded) they are 15 months and I want them to go to their room, but they still wake a few times at night, so Im wondering how you went about it or if you are still cosleeping??
:)

Jennifer - posted on 01/25/2011

I have twin 2yr old boys and I co sleep. It was harder when they where infants. One of my twins would sleep with me and the other would sleep in a glider next to the bed. Now I have a twin bed inbetween the 2 toddler beds. It makes 1 big bed. Enjoy!

Michelle - posted on 01/24/2011

we never tried to have any of our kids sleep with us, so i don't know much about it. but with our twins they slept in the same crib from the time they came home, but they had to be touching each other to sleep. they will be 4 in July and sometimes they still end up in one bed at night:)

Cheri - posted on 01/22/2011

They slept in the same basinette in our room the first 3 months, then moved to cribs.

Katie - posted on 01/22/2011

Have 6 month boys... We never had them sleep in our bed but they are still in our bedroom. Were in 1 crib till they started hitting & waking each other. Went to 2 cribs and its great.. super easy to get to and nursing is nice and to not have to walk to far to them..

For the convertible cribs - I have them and found them for a decent price.. $150 at walmart with $2 delivery to your door. Just bought them online. It is $300 but they convert into a full bed.. so we will have them forever.. Here's the link. GOOD LUCK! http://www.walmart.com/ip/Graco-Lauren-C...

Carlene - posted on 01/22/2011

I just put the twins in one crib together for the first 8 months. then they started rolling over on top of eachother. i never co slept with them unless they were sick or something. otherwise joe and i wouldn't have room in the bed. haha

Veronica - posted on 01/22/2011

We put our body pillow at the head of our bed (to avoid us rolling on them) and poofed them into the pillow until they were about 3/4 months... we then seamlessly transferred them to their own room in their cribs. It was so much easier for me to feed them at night... but we have a CA King bed... not sure how this would work with a Queen.We had one of those Arm's reach beds but it was so bulky and they didnt both fit in it for too long. Waste of $$ and space, if you ask me! :) Good luck!

Diane - posted on 01/21/2011

My twins are 17 months and we co-sleep in a queen size bed and have from the begining. It's getting a little cramped these days so they start out the night in their own toddler beds in our room and then join us when they wake up in the night. In the begining I would sleep on my back with stiff pillows right up against my sides so that I could hold one baby in each arm sort of on top of me at the breast and my arms would be comfortable that way. At first I needed my husband to help me get set up like this but eventually I was able to manage on my own and as the twins got bigger I was able to lose the pillow supports. When they were done nursing if I needed to change my position I would sort of slide away from the who would stay asleep while being moved and then set them side by side kind of like how you lay next to a nursing singleton but with my arm above their heads and my knees pulled up under their feet. It takes some getting used to but it's definitly worth it and way easier than getting up for 2 babies all night, godd luck!

Elanei - posted on 01/21/2011

Not being able to co-sleep with twins, we had a bassinet on either side of our bed which they slept in until they outgrew them and then were transferred to their own (shared) room in their cribs. The bassinets were great b/c I could still have them close to me & later on, there was no issues changing rooms.
Good luck! And congrats on the twins! :)

Serree - posted on 01/21/2011

Mine slept with us in the bed until 2 months when we found out they had reflux and then they slept in bouncy chairs inside the pack-n-play at the foot of our bed until they were 4 months old. At that point we moved them to their own room, and they did fine.

Cassidy - posted on 01/21/2011

I never co-slept with the twins. I did co-sleep with my first so I see where you are coming from. However the twins liked to sleep side by side each other and I seemed to cramp their style. At first the slept next to me in a pack and play bundled side by side. When they started rolling for their safety we placed their cribs head board to head board and they sleep with their hands through the bars holding each others. I separated them into cribs when they started rolling I was afraid they would roll on to each other and I did not want one of them to suffocate the other. They have been great sleepers since then as long as they are in the same room. Take one out and the other still wakes up and they are five now.

Lauren - posted on 01/21/2011

I had the arms reach original co sleeper which I also bought used off a local classified ad. We only co-slept for 7 weeks and then my girls went into their room (with a night light) in the same crib until they were 3 months old. After that, I felt like they were old enough to sleep alone and young enough to not know the difference whether the other was right next to her. So, far this has worked great and they are 3 and a half months old and sleeping through the night. We actually all sleep better because I am not waking up to every little peep they make. I hope this helps...

Gina - posted on 01/21/2011

I co-slept with my twins...they were on monitors for about a month and it was really a pain nursing them in the night and then getting the cords tangled, etc. I slept on the floor with them and then we graduated to a full-size bed. I slept on either side to nurse (and get a little sleep myself); NOW (they are two and nursing at the same time) I sleep in the middle and nurse them to sleep.

Danielle - posted on 01/21/2011

I wouldnt cosleep, what we did with our twins was put one of their cribs in our room. The twins slept in the crib until about 3 months and then we moved both the crib and the twins back in to their room, where they slept in their seperate cribs. Co-sleeping is nice, but its a hard to break habit, both for you and the baby. I have the co-sleeper but never used it attached to the bed, we use it along with our other playpen for beds when we are travelling.

Tracy - posted on 01/21/2011

i co-slept with my 2nd and had all intentions of co-sleeping with the twins. i had a snuggle nest and was going to have one sleep in there and one in an arms reach cosleeper and trade them off. it just never really worked, they liked being together. so they both slept in the cosleeper attached to my bed until they were 5 or 6 months old and they fit in there just fine until then. i think twins and two parents in a queen would be a tight squeeze. we upgraded to a king when my 2nd was born since my 1st spent a lot of time in our bed. i highly recommend the armsreach - shop around, i got mine (full size) at albeebaby for about $120 shipped.

Kristen - posted on 01/21/2011

we co-slept with our twins until they were about 6 months....they got too big for all of us to sleep in the bed.
it worked out fine and they slept through the night, from 4 months. when we finally moved them to their cribs they continued to sleep through the night.
we probably could have moved them earlier, but i guess it was me who wanted them close at night :)

Alda - posted on 01/21/2011

My girls were born at 28 weeks and spent the first 4 months of their lives in hospital. They slept in their moses baskets in our room for 6 months and then we put them in their cots in the nursery. We also only stopped using their apnoea mattresses on their 2nd birthday. I would never ever ever even consider co-sleeping as I've heard too many horror stories about parents rolling over and smothering their babies in the night. Just the mere thought of accidentally killing my own baby is enough for me never to consider it. I know there are plenty of people who do it and good for them if it works out, but I think it's taking too big a risk, I really do. Hope everything works out for you x

Abby - posted on 01/21/2011

You need to do what you think is best as a mother, but I will tell you that I did NOT co-sleep with my twins. I put them right in their crib together. My husband and I took turns getting up (I was breast feeding, but I pumped a bottle for him) and it wasn't bad at all. It also "taught" my twins how to sleep in their own beds. So that transition has never been an issue. Usually I think co-sleeping is more for the parents than the children, but it's certainly not a bad thing. Just thought I'd give you another option.

Liz - posted on 01/21/2011

We were going to get the cosleeper, but the babies ended up coming earlier than expected and we weren't prepared. We had them share a crib in their nursery from day 1. My husband wanted to try to cosleep with them in the bed, but there just wasn't room in our queen - and we're not large people.

The co-sleeper is probably your best bet, and I believe it actually goes up to 30lbs in the bassinet. Our boys would have been able to share that for a long time - definitely past 3 months. But I don't think it's a long-term solution if you want to cosleep longer than that...you may need to get a king! :P Hope you find something that works for you!

Jodi - posted on 01/20/2011

Kara, I never thought of taking a side off of our crib!!! I believe it turns into a day bed and then eventually a twin or full sized bed, so that's a wonderful idea!!!!

I've been checking craigslist, unfortunately I never find them in my area and with a toddler it's just not realistic to drive 2 or 3 hours (the nearest ones I can find) to pick one up, and of course no one will "deliver", not that I blame them!

Jessica, co-sleeping isn't for everyone. But, for the record, my daughter transitioned very smoothly into her own toddler bed at about 15 months with absolutely no problems. Granted, we still room share, but that's my choice, I don't see the need for her to be all alone in a dark room yet. Just my preference for my kid though. I have no doubt children who don't co-sleep sleep just fine and what not, but so do children who do co-sleep. Lots of studies support both sides, I'm glad you did what worked best for you and your family!!! Co-sleeping is just what we do though!

Thanks for the input ladies! Definately will have to see about turning our crib into a co-sleeper, talk about saving money!!!

Jessica - posted on 01/20/2011

I only co-slept with my twins for the first couple of nights when the got home because they wouldn't let us sleep. After that, they slept in a crib we had set up in our room for a couple of weeks. We then moved them to separate cribs in their nursery. And just to let you know--they did well at each step and have both been sleeping through the night since they were a month old. I never really liked the idea of long-term co-sleeping though for the simple fact of being afraid they would never be able to sleep anywhere else.

Kara - posted on 01/20/2011

The full size cosleeper holds 30lbs as a bassinet and holds up to 50lbs as a playpen (http://www.armsreach.com/index.php?main_...) ...I have one for my twins..I found a very clean one on craigslist for half price and they seem to be lower priced on amazon and walmart.com.



You could also just use full size crib and take one side off... http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/turn-your...

Ciera - posted on 01/19/2011

hmmm, well, mine slept in their swings right next to my bed for like the first 4 months or so and then they slept in their beds after that. it was too much for me to actually sleep in the same bed with them. for naps i would sleep with them but not at night. mine are 2 years old next month and they still sleep together in the same bed. i DO enjoy co-sleeping with my 5 month old now though. congratulations!