Newborn Twin Sleep
From the moment I found out I was pregnant with twins I was inundated with comments like, “Sleep while you can!” or, “You’ll never sleep again!” While most people are well meaning, this certainly isn’t the kind of “encouragement” expecting parents of multiples need. Newborn twins will absolutely be challenging, but as a mom of twin toddlers who sleep 12 hours every night and give me a reliable two hour naptime break everyday I can tell you establishing a routine and getting adequate rest is absolutely doable.
Surviving the First Few Weeks
Those first few weeks with newborn twins will be some of the most amazing and challenging of your life. You will absolutely be tired, but there are some strategies you can use to maximize sleep. During this time you’ll want to follow your babies’ hunger cues. Whenever either baby is showing you they are hungry (day or night) you will offer either breast or bottle. As soon as one baby finishes eating (or at the same time if you have support) offer breast or bottle to their sibling whether or not that baby is showing they are hungry. This may also mean you are waking a sleeping baby to eat. They may not choose to eat, but by continuing to offer feeds at the same time eventually their schedules will sync-up. When your babies are sleeping at the same time that makes it possible for you to also sleep.
Getting into a Routine
Once you’ve survived the first few weeks, getting into a routine with your twins will be a lifesaver. Regardless of how the night went you’ll want to wake your babies at the same time every day. This will help establish their circadian rhythm and create a predictable routine for the day. Not only is this routine good for your babies, it will also create some much needed structure for you.
Beginning first thing in the morning you’ll start with an eat-play-sleep routine, which repeats throughout the day until bedtime. This means as soon as they wake they’ll eat, then stay awake for their appropriate wake window with activities like tummy time, books, walks, etc., and finally go down for their nap or bedtime.
Life with twins is much more difficult if they require you to rock them to sleep. From the beginning I suggest laying them down awake and allowing them to practice falling asleep independently. This does not mean letting your 3 week old baby cry for an hour in their crib, but give them a few minutes to cry on their own before you help them fall asleep!
Naps are often unpredictable at this age, but you’ll want to wake one within 15 minutes of when their sibling wakes. This may mean you wake a baby who would prefer to keep sleeping, but in order for you to be the best parent you also need some structure and uninterrupted sleep! If you are consistent with this routine over time their sleeping schedules will fall in sync.
Night Sleep with Twins
As with everything having to do with twins, middle of the night wakings have an extra level of complication as well. Just like during the day, when one twin is hungry you’ll also want to wake the other to feed. It may feel counterintuitive to wake a happily sleeping baby at 2:00 am, but the last thing you need is to be woken again right after you feed one and manage to fall back asleep yourself. The caveat with this rule is once they are only waking for one night feed and you notice one twin is consistently waking first, you can try only feeding the waking twin and letting their sibling sleep. You may get woken again later, but you might be surprised to find out they are ready to sleep through the night!
What if our Schedule is Thrown Off?!
I heard it countless times when my twins were babies and reiterated it in this article, “keep them on the same schedule.” While this is great advice and I encourage you to follow it, there will be times when it is not possible. Maybe one twin is sick and needing some extra sleep. There may be a time only one twin has an appointment that throws off their nap schedule. When this inevitably happens take a deep breath and relax, it will be okay! The first time I experienced this was the end of daylight savings time. One of my twins woke at his normal time (an hour earlier than I had hoped for that day) and his brother slept in and adjusted to the new schedule immediately. This resulted in their naps being opposite all day. It certainly isn’t something I recommend on a regular basis, but it meant for the first time I had quality one-on-one time with each twin! Life happens, do what you can and you’ll get back on track tomorrow!
