Seeking Moms of Twins with Sleeping Issues

Hi W.. You didn't say why you wanted them to go to sleep without rocking. Nothing says you have to stop rocking them. Contrary to opinion, babies cannot be spoiled by being held. Unlike thumbsucking or using a paci, or eating solid foods, there's no rules to stick by when it comes to bedtime. With my twins, I snuggled with them and rocked them both at the same time, and yes, until they fell asleep. After they'd fall asleep, I put each in their own cribs in the same room. I work outside the home, so I enjoyed that extra time with them. That said, we had a limit because I did also need time to myself. If they weren't asleep after a certain time, I would put them in their cribs and just let them cry it out.

So if you are really needing or wanting to get them to bed at a certain time, snuggle with them for so long, and then put them to bed. They will cry for a little bit but be just fine.

My twin boys will be two in July.... I did the Same thing! I had to rock them to sleep. I tried the crying thing and that just broke my heart so I just tried to look at it as my special time with each of them.... I had one that would not wait to rock while I put his brother to bed so I would rock him first. The other would either play or many times would lay at my feet and fall asleep. When it got his turn I would pick him up and rock him a few minutes too! I did this until we moved them in a big boy bed. They sleep in the big bed together and I sit at the foot of their bed while they fall asleep. Some people think of it as a huge hastle but what is 15 min of love in the evening for a few years compared to an hour of crying each night! Its all in how you look at it! See it as bad and it is..... See it as special and you will love it!!

I don't have twins, but I rock my baby too, and I'm trying to teach him to sleep on his own, without crying it out. I'm sure you're really busy and may not have a lot of time to read books, but I have two really good books about sleep that you could try out. One is the No-cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley and the other is Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg. They both have great ideas, as long as you have a little patience and put in the effort. Nothing's an overnight solution. :) Anyway, good luck with your twins. I don't know how you do with it twins and being a single mom! You sound like a great mom.

aw! My daughter will be 7 months the 4th of July. She's kind of going through the same stage. Seperation anxiety. I try my best to keep her on the same exact schedule..eating, bath, milk, then we rock for about 5 min. just enough to let her know it's bed time and I put her in her crib before she falls asleep so she will fall asleep on her own. I do that only @ night and during the day for her evening nap, i let her fuss it out.. it usually doesn't take long.. It's really hard the 1st week, but it gets much better! Good luck!

THere's some great advice on this in No-Cry Sleep Solution.

Good luck!

My twin boys will be 4 this July .... when they were your girls' age, I would put them on a king size bed and lay down between them and pat them both to sleep ... I didn't carry them or rock them in my arms .... I could pat both at the same time on the bed, so they slept at the same time.

They got used to the patting and fell asleep within 5-10 minutes. As soon as they slept, I picked them up and put them in their separate cribs in the same room. The cribs touched each other, so as they woke, they could see each other from between the bars ... they could also reach out and touch each other.

One of our friends rocked their daughter to sleep when she was a few months old ... but when she was 3 yrs, not only was she was too heavy for their poor arms, she sometimes needed more than 2 hours of rocking .... which took its toll on the parents.

It will probably be easier for you to lay down between your girls and pat them to sleep .... this way at least they are already on the bed and learn to go to sleep on the mattress instead of your arms .... and you don't have to carry their weight as they grow.

W., if you decide to transition off from rocking, it is going to take a few weeks of hard effort on your part, but it will be worth it .... remember, such a transition is better done sooner than later .... and try to be consistent. I wish you all the luck.

Hi Hon,

Though my Twins are now 13 years old and have their own unique sleeping issues, I well remember the days of putting them down in the crib. Mine too were in the same environment, same room different crib. I did have the cribs positioned so that they could hold hands through the bars though, which they often did. I'm afraid there's no easy way to tackle this. The only way to teach them to go to sleep awake is to put them to sleep awake. Here's what you do though. Rock them until they are almost asleep, just almost, you MUST make sure they are still awake when you put them in that crib! If they're just on the verge of sleep they shouldn't cry ...as long... as they would if you put them down fully awake. Don't get me wrong, they will cry. Find something to do...playing RPG on the computer is what saved my sanity personally. Go in every 15 minutes, rub their little backs and let them know all is good with the world. Whisper you love them, no lights..and leave. Trust me, they will go to sleep and each night will get easier until one night they just drop off without crying at all! It will happen, just hang tough!

Good Luck,
Lissa