Last night an absolute miracle happened: both of my twins slept through the night. Amelia has been consistently sleeping through the night for a while, but for Grayson it has been a struggle. He usually wakes up between 2-4 in the morning for a bottle before going back to sleep, but last night after months of trying to figure out what works for us, we finally got both babies to sleep through the night.
When the twins first came home from the hospital we set an alarm and made sure we woke them up every two hours to feed them. At the time I was still struggling with nursing. Amelia had a bad latch and Grayson always fell asleep while nursing, which led to me exclusively pumping so that my babies could have the benefits of breastmilk. Once they were back up to their birth weight, we started spreading out their feedings, first every three hours, then every four. Eventually we started letting them wake up on their own.
No we are at just shy of 5 months. Unfortunately I still have to get up in the middle of the night to pump, but the babies sleeping through the night means my husband is well rested for work, instead of chugging coffee to make it through the day. So here is what works for us and what didn’t:
- Feeding right before bed: This is a MUST for our babies. Before we would feed them at a designated time and then put them down by 7. They always woke up within three hours of us putting them down and after they ate they would then start eating every three hours. Before their last feeding we get them ready for bed by changing their diapers and getting them into their pajamas. Then they get their bottles.
2. A later bed time: When we first started trying to establish a bed time we were putting them down WAY too early. We have learned a later bed time works better for us. We are now putting them down closer to 9:30, with their last nap being mid afternoon. This morning they woke up 5:30, had a bottle, and went back to sleep until 8:30. I always pump after their feeding, but now I may have to start setting an alarm!
3. Lights stay OFF: In the early days when they woke up to eat we would turn on the lights. This definitely did not help anything. Once the lights were on it woke them up and getting them back down took at least another hour and they did not get back into a deep sleep. Now when we feed we keep the lights off to keep them sleepy. This may be common sense, but for two new parents we had no idea.
4. Diaper changes: We no longer change their diapers right after they eat unless necessary. Regardless of the state of their diaper, we always changed them after they ate, even if there were only two drops of pee. The cold wipes woke them up even more. Now unless their diaper is totally soaked or they have a dirty diaper, we leave them alone and keep them nice and toasty in their pajamas. Mostly now they dream feed due to these steps we follow and then we are able to put them right back down.
I hope this can help any future twin mommies out there. These are ALL things I wish I would have known before. The only other piece of advice I can offer twin mommies is KEEP YOUR BABIES ON THE SAME EATING SCHEDULE. If one wakes up to eat, feed the other one too. This is the single most important rule we follow in our lives with the twins. It may seem annoying or frustrating if one is sound asleep, but trust me it will help so much in the long run! Good luck mama bears!
Marvelous Mrs. Morin 