6 Month Old Twins Use to Sleep Through the Night but Starting to Have Problems

They are probably teething. Are their gums swollen? My son teethed from 4 months on (off and on). Try a little tylenol for one night and see if it helps. Just make sure you follow the infant dosing and use infant tylenol. Also, make sure you are feeding baby enought at night. They may be going through a growth spurt and need more calories. Try extra formula or feeding at 11 pm. They may help them sleep longer. Also, sometimes babies just cry out in the middle of the night and then go back to sleep. Try putting one in another room so they don't wake each other up. It is fine for them to sleep in your room but it makes for restless nights. I co-slept until 10 months and realized that I could have made the switch much sooner to a crib! Little cries in the middle of the night are normal for young babies. Separate them if you have to. Just layer the clothes and they should be warm enough babies have that extra layer of babyfat to keep their temp more regulated.

Some babies go through a growth spurt at 6 months and actually need to be fed at night. That may be why they're waking up.

Hi S.,
The key is to just ride it out with patiences. We have 1 year old twin girls. No refux, no pacifiers. Our babies just recently started sleeping though the night. Be patient, they go through stages quickly and it could be a number of things waking them .. teething, hunger, their sibling, or just the need for some comfort. I found the best is to not focus on when they are going to sleep through the night and to focus on meeting their needs and then you'll have much happier babies on your hands. Don't find that it's a no-no to put them in bed with you, just don't make a habit of it. At times when my husband and I were both exhausted I would let the waking baby rest in our bed and then put her back into her crib when she fell asleep. Also it was only a few weeks ago that we took them out of our bedroom and put their cribs into their own room together. Praise yourself for making it this far. It only gets easier. Enjoy the journey.
Best,
L.

S.,

The wakings could be do to a new milestone they have achieved. T.B. Brazelton's book Touchpoints really focus's in on this and it's a very interesting read.
Other than this being the issue babies go thru a lot of changes in the first year and things are always changing. It seems just when you get one thing set they change something they have already mastered -ie. sleeping thru the night.
I know it's not an answer but this too shall pass. And remember every baby goes thru this.

L. M

Hi S.- I don't have any definite solutions...I only have one, so have not had to figure out how to keep two asleep!! (Blessing to you!!). From my experience with my daughter, they are probably plenty warm...they could be ready to move to their cribs- we put our daughter in her own room in a crip at 3 1/2 mo and I think we all slept better for it...I think your shifts during the night could be waking them and vice versa... also, if one seems to be keeping the other awake maybe try putting one in a pack and play for now- or keep the one in the co-sleeper while the other is in their crib...

Overall, my sister has a 6 mo. old boy who is having similar issues, so it's probably like others have said- a growth spurt or something...

Hi S., At about 6 months, our twins were beginning to wake each other a lot during the night (We have a girl and a boy). We chose to put them in separate cribs and ultimately in separate rooms and they did wonderfully! Honestly, I think we had more trouble with it than they did. Our pediatrician suggested making their sleeping arrangment as we wanted it for the future no later than 7-8 months so that they wouldn't have trouble adjusting to many different sleep situations/environments! Enjoy the craziness! M.

Hello - Well first I just want to tell you that bringing your baby/babies into bed with you is not a 'no-no.' As long as the bed is a safe place(no loose blankets/pillows that could threaten them, no chance of them falling out, etc.) there is nothing wrong with that. You do whatever works for you, for your family to get some rest. It may not be everyone's choice, but don't feel bad about it if it's your choice and don't worry that you'll never get them out of your bed and/or into their crib!

There are lots of reasons why this happens with babies - both of my kids were okay sleepers by 3-4 months, then got worse & worse, thenit gradually started to get better again. For us, we've also had issues during teething. In additon, both kids slept worse when they were going through some developmental changes. My daughter, for example, at 7 months is SO active & doing more & more each day - been crawling for a month, pulling herself up to standing wherever she can... it takes her a while to settle, her little mind is racing non stop it seems...

Sorry I don't have a whole lot to offer as far as advice, but just understanding what some of the issues could be might help you to deal a bit better - and don't beat yourself up for how you are handling things... Hang in there - it goes SO fast!