Overtired and fussy

I'm new to the forum and seeking advice! I have 10 week old twin girls and experiencing extreme fussiness all day. They sleep good at night and usually get up between 7 and 8am. They normally go 4 -5 hours and then 3 hour feedings after that. It seems they are still overtired however they will not nap during the day more than 20 - 30 minutes if I'm lucky. When they are not sleeping they are fussy and when I try to put them down they cry and/or wake themselves up. I swaddle, listen to white noise and have a dark room. They enjoy the white noise however they wake up after 20 - 30 minutes and can't go back to sleep. They also have reflux and are currently on medication and that does not seem to be their issue. I guess I want to know if anyone else has these issues! We do have some good days but it seems the fussiness is more often than not. I believe all their needs are met as if I talk to them one on one, I get smiles most of the time. I just feel like they are overtired but I don't know how to solve it! Advice?

 

That sounds almost exactly what we had at that age. Our LO's didn't start sleeping better until about 4 months - then they finally got so they would take a 45 min. nap rather than a 20-30 min. nap. Now they will take an hour nap, which I think is a miracle considering where we used to be!! (if I'm REALLY lucky, they sometimes take a 1.5-2 hour nap, but not very often).

As far as the fussiness, we had different stations in the house and would rotate through them - swing, bouncer, two different play mats with toys overhead, and a tummy mat. That seemed to help some. Unfortunately, they can't do much at that age, so the best you can do is just bear with it and rotate them through some stations, toys, etc.

 

Hmmm...Are you putting them down within 60-90 minutes of awake time? You could be missing that window of opportunity-and it's short! At first signs of them being tired-yawning, fussy, rubbing eyes-I'd start putting them down. It might not even be 60 minutes-it could be 45. And sometimes, they might not even seem tired if you are creeping up to that 60 minute window-I would still put them down! I did with Annabella, and it was amazing. She wouldn't show any signs, would be happy as a clam-yet I still put her down and she would go right down and stay right down.

Now when they cry/fuss after the 30 minutes, do you try to get them back to sleep? Shusshing, patting their back/bums, gently bouncing the crib mattress? I would give them some time(no more than five minutes) of fussing, and then go to them and see if you can get them back down. I know afer 30 minutes, I wasn't ready to throw in the towel on nap time yet! LOL! Good luck!!

 

that's the fussy age . there's nothing you can do. keeping them occupied is good-they like to look at you so dance, sing, whatever. bouncy seats are good too. the good news is they will outgrow it.

 

Thank you for your responses! I think I'm overtired and just needed to know it is normal behaviour. My husband and I moved across the world from our family and friends when I was 5 months pregnant so we are going this alone and me more so since I'm the one at home all day. I will focus on that this too shall pass! After dealing with reflux and formula issues with two weeks of ongoing crying, I have been overwhelmed with the fussiness. I was hoping we had moved on to happy time but I guess it'll take a little longer. I'll just sing and dance until I drop!

 

I picked up Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Twins when my LO's were having trouble sleeping and I realized I was missing a lot of their sleep cues. While they're a little young to start actual sleep training it's not too early for you to start recognizing their sleep cues and patterns. There's likely to be a lot of changes to sleep schedules over the next few months, so it's good to know what to watch out for

 

Yes this! I read the same book and agree that watching for their sleep cues is the biggest thing! If I catch their sleep cues then they go to sleep easily. If I miss them (which is easy to do with twins), then its much harder for them to settle down and go to sleep. The book compared catching their sleep cues to surfing and catching the wave at just the right moment.

You are just at the fussy stage. One of my twins was extremely fussy (all day screaming) at that age and it was so hard to believe at the time, but it really does get better at 3 months. Just this past week, it was like a switch flipped with my fussy twin and he's been as happy as can be now. 8-12 weeks really was the hardest month for me.

 

We lived this! I felt like for the first 3 months my two did.not.nap! All they did was doze after feedings and I felt like the minute I took them off the boob they would wake up. Reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child really helped because I was missing their cues. I also did a lot of wearing one in a front carrier to help them sleep longer and a LOT of driving them around because they would sleep in the car. It started getting better around 3 months and by 4 months we actually had. 1 hour naps! Keep your head up, it will get better!

 

I agree with all of this! My twins could barely stay awake at hour at that age. And like another poster said, 4 months was a big turning point.

 

Wow my twins are the same age and I am having the same problem with my DD. My son naps really well (2 two-three hour naps, 1 one hour nap), but my daughter is a whole other story. She will fall asleep while rocking, I pit her down in her bed, and within 15 minutes she is awake and fussing. Sometimes she will settle back down with the paci, but most of the time I have to pick her ilup and rock. She will sleep for hours if I am holding her, bit with my 14 month old I can't do that!! I have tried swaddleing (she HATES it) putting her in the swing or bouncy, nothing works. She wants to be belly to belly on me. It gets exhausting. There is only so much rocking I can do before I want to sleep!! Oh, and she refuses to sleep on her back or side. She sleeps on her belly. The good thing is that she sleeps pretty well at night. O pit them down around 8:30-9:00 and she sleeps till 2:00, eats then goes back to sleep until 7;00. I would rather her sleep like this at night and fuss during the day, than have her fuss at night.

If you find something that works on getting then to stay down, please share. I could use the help myself. Good luck.

 

If you're breastfeeding, you may want to look at your diet...I had to cut out bananas (?!) as well as the usual culprits that were causing gassiness...once we got past that and made sure she was sleeping enough, we were ok! Try putting them to bed about 20 min earlier in the evening.