Being a parent to one baby is a lot of work so as you can imagine, that work is multiplied with twins! Having your twins on opposite schedules can be a parents’ worst nightmare. You don’t have to accept that as your reality though. Parents can help their twins by sleep training so that everyone is on the same schedule. Here are a few sleep training tips for twins to help your family rest!
1 – BASE DECISIONS ON YOUR TWINS’ ADJUSTED AGE
Adjusted age is important when determining age-appropriate sleep training specifically for twins. Twins reaching full term is considered 38 weeks. Parents should take their twins’ due date as the starting point for determining the stages of sleep training. Sleep training can begin at week 16 from the due date. Say your twins are born 2 weeks before their due date. You would begin sleep training when they are 18 weeks old.
2 – TOGETHER AT NIGHT, APART FOR NAPS
Some parents choose to have their children share a room for nap time. Others choose to separate them. It is a personal choice, but keep in mind, that little ones tend to sleep lighter during nap time.
3 – WHITE NOISE AS A BUFFER
White noise serves as a buffer not only for noises coming from outside but also in the room. Babies naturally stir in their sleep, sometimes making sweet little coos or having brief cries. Placing a noise machine at medium volume between the children can help drown out those sounds.
4 – KEEP YOUR TWINS ON THE SAME SCHEDULE
Maintain the same schedule for both children to keep their bodies in sync. Your twins should go down for their first nap of the day at the same time. The last thing you want to do is wake a sleeping baby but there is a time when this becomes necessary. If Twin A wakes before Twin B, only let Twin B sleep for 15-30 minutes longer than when Twin A woke up. Say Twin B slept 10 minutes longer than Twin A. When it is time for nap number two of the day, place Twin A down first and then Twin B down 10 minutes after Twin A. Parents should try to keep this gap as small as possible to keep their little ones’ bodies in the same rhythm. You are aiming for equal amounts of time slept.
5 – BEDTIME ROUTINE
Establish a bedtime routine that is the same for both twins. The twins will learn the sleep cues put into place for them. Putting them to bed at the same time will help them establish the same sleeping schedule for their long stretch of sleep. This will then help their nap times fall into place.
6 – SLEEP LOGS KEEP YOU ON TRACK
Whenever you begin sleep training, a sleep log can be very beneficial. Parents already have a million things running through their heads. You can take the guessing out by keeping a sleep log to remember the exact schedule of the previous days. It doesn’t matter if you use a basic notebook or a cute sleep log that you ordered online. Track when your twins went to sleep and woke up. You will be able to look back and see if patterns are shifting and if any corrective action needs to occur.
So much of parenting leaves us feeling out of control and helpless. Remember that there are things that you can do to make your situation a little less stressful. You can set yourself up for better long-term sleeping habits with a little extra effort put in in the beginning. Rocky Mountain Sleeping Baby is here to help set you up for success. We hope you found these sleep training tips for twins helpful!
