Sleep help please? Twins wake, cry, wake cry...

I have 7 week old twins so I'm doing the best I know how given the stress of the situation. Anyway, what I've noticed is that my babies don't sleep soundly and I don't know what I can do to help them.

I have white noise going, soft music, I swaddle, keep the room dark and have them in their own cribs. What happens is that they will drift off to sleep but awake like 10 to 20 minutes later, cry a bit, fuss and then fall back asleep. This happens almost the whole duration of the 1 to 2 hour nap. Sometimes the cries escalate and I have to go in and pick up and soothe...which I’m trying not to do too much because I’m trying to training them to self soothe a bit (hey, I only have 2 arms right). I also offer them the paci, but after a few sucks, they spit it out and if they do keep it in, they just cry if the lose it while sleeping so I’m just giving up on the paci at this point.

Why are they not sleeping soundly? Is here something else I could be doing? I just don't think they are getting good rest because they wake cranky.

As a side note, I’m not a big fan of CIO at this age, but how long is too long to let them cry if I'm soothing one?

If I put them in their swings and vibrating bouncer seats, they'd sleep like champs, but I'm trying to not do that because I don't want to create a sleep habit and will be harder for me to break in the end.

I'm at my wits end. This is soooooooo hard.

Suggestions? Thoughts?

 

We ended up letting our boys sleep in their bouncy seats until 3 months. They transitioned just fine to the cribs. Unfortunately at 4.5 months we are still doing 2 night feeds since they only eat 3-4 ounces at a time but they go back to sleep after they eat.

 

Put them in their swing and boucy chair during the day and don't worry about it! We had no trouble breaking that habit at all! If it takes the load off your shoulders then I would most definitely put them in the swing and bouncer!

 

First, forget about whatever preconcieved notions you have read or heard. USE THOSE SWINGS. Seriously, we had no problem transitioning and many here have not. The most important thing is getting them sleep.

My LOs did the same thing. They had a lot of gas and digestion issues that young. We swaddled them and slept them in papasan chairs - same as bouncies with no bounce until they were 3 months. We just sat them in the crib so they could get used to the environment. They are probably waking up when they have a little gas pang. We also used a straight heartbeat sounds all the time. If babies that age get upset, I would recommend getting to them as soon as possible - you are not going to hurt them. If they are fussing, I would give them up to 15 mins to get back to sleep. Again though, not screaming, just whining/fussing trying to make their nest. At this point though, even now, my LOs might let out a loud cry and if I wait a second, it is quite - some babies have the ability to never wake up and do this, but it still breaks your heart.

You have a great feel for them waking up cranky, happy, etc. Get them in those swings and see if it makes the difference...you won't regret it for your sanity.

 

Let them sleep in their swings and bouncy seats!!!!!! I sooooo regret not just doing this sooner. But I, like you, felt like it wasn't the "right" thing to do or would be a bad habit to break. Well, we ended up doing it anyway, and we all got great sleep because of it. They took all their naps in the swing until 7 months, and DS slept half the night in the swing until 7 months. At 7 months, we made the transition. We had to do CIO for going to sleep at night and a little for STTN in the crib. But, that was more because of them resisting going to sleep (we had always put them down for the night in their cribs). The actual transition from swings to cribs was easy.

Think of it this way - don't suffer through weeks and months of bad sleep because you are worried about a few rough days when you transition from swing to crib. Chances are it won't be that rough, and even if it is, months of good sleep are worth a few rough days!!!!

 

For the first few months, I used whatever worked! Swings, bouncy chairs, carseats, wherever they were happy to sleep I was happy to let them! I didn't really have any trouble transitioning them to the crib when they were around 4 months.

 

I've been a nanny for this age twins twice. I've done singles too but twins add a totally different dynamic. First let me say if you transition to crib at about three months you will have no problem doing it. Your little ones spent nine months (or hopefully close to it) bundled and squeezed in a tiny ball and constantly jossled around as you walked, turned, laughed, and everything else so laying still and open in a big bed (even when swaddled) is new and scary. Give them some time to adjust to their new surroundings before moving them to a big cold open crib. To make the transition easier try slowing or stopping the swing after your child is asleep so she gets used to being still. And please rest assured 7 weeks is enirely too young to CIO they are too young to even remember that their crying didn't work last time so it won't help in the future it my work but only because the baby exhausted herself. If you are busy soothing try a bouncer that you can bounce with your foot for the other. The first twins I cared for were very premature and needed oxygen canulas for months so crying could cause a dangerous amount of oxygen loss. To keep one calm while I fed the other I would put one in a bouncer and change the verocity of bouncing to match the verocity if crying.

More than anything keep your stress level down because they can feel it. Play your favorite upbeat music or sing. Call a friend because you need social interaction. And when all else fails do what I did and let the babies cry for a minute while you take five to cry in the bathroom. It sounds selfish but you will be amazed at how quickly you will be able to soothe them after you have released your own tension.

 

I was just thinking about your post again because I remember how desperate those days could be. I loved what Butterflychick said about your stress level - they can sooooo sense it, and I took 5 mins to cry more times than I can count...LOL. We transitioned to the crib at about 4 1/2 mos with zero problems and we would have used the swings longer, but they let us know they just were not comfortable sleeping in them anymore. I almost got rid of them but I am glad I didn't because now they like to swing in them occasionally for something different to do, and they can play with the toy tray that I never used before. I think like another pp said you just have to know that with changes (like from swing to crib) you might have a few rough days, but that is worth your sleep right now.