“When will my babies begin sleeping through the night?”
“I feel like a walking zombie and don’t know which way is up!”
“Will I ever sleep AGAIN?”
Do these thoughts run through your head often?
If you fear that you will forever be a tired mommy, we have great news for you…you CAN teach your twins to sleep through the night at a fairly early age.
We can’t tell you how many times we have heard someone say to a new mom, “I had my babies sleeping through the night by 8 weeks,” and thought to ourselves, “That can set a very unrealistic expectation for new moms.”
While 8 weeks can be a realistic time frame for some babies to begin sleeping longer stretches, there are parents who might have their babies sleeping through the night earlier, and some much later.
The thing is, you simply can’t expect to bring your babies home from the hospital and begin sleep training them soon thereafter. As we are sure you are aware, sleep deprivation comes with the territory, especially with twins.
But don’t fret, your babies will be ready to begin sleeping through the night sooner than you think!
It’s important to note that successfully sleep “training” your kiddos depends on the individual circumstances of each of your children, and that can even vary between your twins.
Being able to understand your babies’ unique temperaments and sleep habits will be key factors in your success with sleep training.
SO HOW WILL I KNOW WHEN MY BABIES ARE READY TO BEGIN SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT?
First a foremost, your babies need to weigh between 12-14 pounds. Any smaller and babies just aren’t ready to go without a feeding during the night. Their little bodies still need the calories.
DON’T START TOO EARLY! Your babies just won’t be ready to successfully learn the healthy sleep habits that will help them sleep through the night.
Before you begin thinking about tackling a project like sleep training your twins, be sure that you are adequately recovered from their birth, feeling healthy and mentally ready to face some challenging moments in the middle of the night.
More importantly, before you even think about sleep training, spend time bonding with your babies, cherishing those sweet cuddles while you get to know their cues and temperaments so you know exactly how to meet their individual needs.
Having this in depth understanding of your babies will help you immensely while you are teaching them to sleep through the night without eating.
The truth is — you may start this process only to find that you need to wait because they are still needing to eat at night, which you will only be able to determine if you know your babies’ cues inside out.
AND IN THE MEANTIME…
While you work to pack on the pounds, you don’t have to sit back and wait, only dreaming of a full night’s sleep.
There are two simple things you can begin putting into place NOW that will help to ensure your success with sleep training down the road!
- Begin using a consistent bedtime routine before putting your babies down for the night. The steps included in your routine are not as important as your consistency in following the pattern of steps NIGHTLY! A strong bedtime routine is a great foundation to lay before helping your babies to learn to sleep through the night.
- As early as possible, begin teaching your babies to fall asleep independently, by laying them down in a sleepy state, but with their eyes still open.
Now, we know what your thinking…your newborns fall asleep at every feeding, so laying them down awake is CRAZY! Really, we are telling you, as they begin to move away from that newborn sleepiness, try waking them just enough to see the whites of their eyes, then lay them down and hit the road!
The ability to fall asleep independently can be more and more difficult to teach as babies get used to the “props” that help them fall asleep. The earlier you can eliminate bad habits, the easier it will be to teach your twins to sleep through the night.
FEELING A LITTLE BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL?
DON’T!
…because it is never TOO late to teach your babies healthy sleep habits.
And let us reassure you that the LONG TERM benefits are priceless!
If your babies are a bit older AND your babies have some habits that may need breaking, all hope is not lost.
Start by evaluating your bedtime routine and ask yourself, “Am I consistently following the same steps every night?”
And then — take some time to consider what your babies require to initially fall asleep or get back to sleep throughout the night. What role are YOU playing?
If your babies need you, on any level, to get to sleep, then those are the habits that you need to work on breaking! If you can break those habits, your babies WILL fall asleep independently…without YOU!
Whether or not you are here because you are pregnant with twins, just brought them home or are feeling desperate for more sleep after many months of exhaustion, we all started with one thing in common…
We all dreamed of becoming mothers and bringing the joy of children into our homes, and now we’re TIRED…
Photo Credit: Penny O. Photography
But friend–
We want to help you get a full night’s sleep, not just tonight, but EVERY night.
We want you to have the knowledge to CONFIDENTLY teach your babies healthy sleep habits.
We want you to successfully get your twins sleeping through the night NOW!
…so we have a question for you tired mama:
