How do you co-sleep with twins?

When my DD was a baby, she co-slept from between about 3 and 9 months. It was very comfy, DH and I both liked her there in our bed, and it made night nursing so easy. She was either between DH and I, or between me and a bed rail.

I always thought that, when my next baby came along, I'd get a 'snuggle nest' or similar co-sleeper for added safety, and co-sleep again. But I can't figure out how to make it work with twins! And, for that matter, is there ANY way to nurse twins (tandem) while laying (half-asleep) in bed? Or, do I have to sit up to tandem nurse? I've been trying to wrap my mind around it and solve this puzzle, but I finally decided to just give up and ask the experts - experienced twin mamas!

So, please, share any twin co-sleeping and/or nighttime tandem nursing tips!

 

If there's a way to tandem nurse lying down, I hope someone will tell me! Every time I see a nature show or something with lions nursing multiple cubs lying down, I get SO jealous. :lol:

You'll probably need to do just one at a time to stay in bed, otherwise you'd have to get up.

I know some moms out here have coslept with twins - I think having one in bed & the other in a cosleeper... Hope they'll show up and tell all the details.

Also, be sure to visit the TS breastfeeding forum! They know everything.

 

This is on my really want to know list as well!

 

LOL - well, I have done it, but it's not easy! Let me see if I can explain it...I lie on my right side and have the heavier of the two © lie on the bed on his side and nurse on my right breast. Then I pick up J and put him on my left breast (also lying on his side), so that he is basically laying on top of C. Then I take one of the little pillows that they give in the hospital after you have a c-section and put it behind them both and wrap my arms around that, so that my arms are giving some support. I usually only do this if I'm already nursing one and the other starts to cry. And like I said, I don't like to do it if J is already at the right, b/c he's smaller and I don't want C to crush him! If they both wake up at the same time, I just go ahead and sit up. But I do hate it, getting all the pillows in place, etc., to tandem is such a pain in the middle of the night. Oh, and BTW, the only reason I'm able to co-sleep is because my DH sleeps in the guest bed.

What I've been doing mostly is just rotating them. Nurse one and let him go back to sleep, then when the second wakes up, move the first one over and put the second one in his place. I have trouble sleeping on my left side, so I stay on my right and just have to contort to nurse on the left breast. Anyway, they usually wake up at different times when we get into this routine. This means I'm *awake* more often, but I'm not *up* as much. Honestly, I can't decide if this is better or worse than just getting up and tandem nursing.

B.A.
DD 2-28-05
C & J born 8-24-07 at 38 weeks

 

Hi there! I asked this same question about a million years ago! Okay, not that long, but it feels like it sometimes! This is what worked for us:
When the boys were newborn I slept on the couch and just got up with them and nursed, tandem if they were both hungry. That lasted about 3 weeks, I guess. Then we all moved to our bedroom. I had the boys in a cosleeper until they were 5 months old! I'm sure we were over the recommended weight limit by then, not to mention they were jammed in like sardines by that point! As far as nursing, I just would alternate. Of course, once in a while they both woke up and I'd either sit up and tandem nurse or my husband would comfort the fussy one while I nursed the other. Then we'd put the fed one back in the cosleeper if he was asleep or we'd just lay him in bed next to us while I nursed his brother. Usually I would just nurse one, we'd fall asleep, the other would wake up, I'd switch babies and do it again. Some nights were a blur! At 5 months I separated them, put one in his crib and the other in the cosleeper. Now the one in the crib tends to sleep thru the night and the one in the cosleeper tends to end up in bed with me. Hard to tell if that's b/c I hear him and pick him up or b/c he's not ready to sleep all night. His brother is a lot louder so if he fusses I hear him for sure. (Tho last night all three kids slept ALL NIGHT! It was the best night of sleep I've had in MONTHS!!)
You'll figure out the night nursing, just roll with it!
HTH!


oh yeah, I never figured out tandem nursing while lying down! Saw photos of it but never was successful!

 

I rotated as well. We had a crib and a co-sleeper in our room. They would both start out in the crib together to at least get them used to it. When one baby would wake to eat, I would nurse lying down and puthim in the co-sleeper. I'd then wake the other baby, nurse him, then keep him in bed between the co-sleeper and me (never between dh and me). At feeding number 2, I'd switch them from my bed to the co-sleeper so they both had time in bed with me. It worked really well for us. Now they both sleep through the night (until lately) in their crib together. If I have to wake up to feed one of them, I just keep them in the bed with me most times. The co-sleeper is now a toy/diaper/towel bin. Hope that helps you a little.

 

here is a picture of how our babies slept

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h298/mar...05/100_1472.jpg

When they first came home, they were so little we put both of them in one sleeper. We are just now at 4 months old trying to get them transitioned into their cribs.

 

Mods, I am still new here... is there a way that this thread can be moved to the breastfeeding forum? I didn't even realize that there was a breastfeeding forum here, duh. :FIFblush:

Thanks!

 

We still co-sleep our 1.5 babies.... I would invest in a bed rail or two. We have two on our bed that way I'm not stuck on which side I have to sleep on and when dh gets up for work, we are all secure.

And to nurse lying down, I am modestly endowed (Barely a C cup) and what I do is attach on that and make sure they are laying perpendicular to each other. Their head is in the crook of my shoulder and they sleep very well this way. I also have pillows under their bums to give them the right height. I still nurse them this way when they wake together at night!

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID...651/t_=32971651

 

QUOTE(Erykah @ Jan 1 2008, 12:44 PM) [snapback]553098[/snapback]
We still co-sleep our 1.5 babies.... I would invest in a bed rail or two. We have two on our bed that way I'm not stuck on which side I have to sleep on and when dh gets up for work, we are all secure.

And to nurse lying down, I am modestly endowed (Barely a C cup) and what I do is attach on that and make sure they are laying perpendicular to each other. Their head is in the crook of my shoulder and they sleep very well this way. I also have pillows under their bums to give them the right height. I still nurse them this way when they wake together at night!

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID...651/t_=32971651



that is EXACTLY how I do it!!! You just learn to do what you have to do - when you have 2 hungry, screaming babies you figure it out!

 

At bedtime do both, one at a time in the bathtub first and then tandem laying down. I lay on one side (my left with my back to the outside of the bed) and latch one guy on to the lower breast. Then I put the chubby guy who usually tanks up pretty well in the tub up on my side and either hold him with my arm with his legs over my back and his tummy on my side or length wise with his legs down by my pelvis and him sort of straddling me? Does this make sense? If you totally can not picture it let me know I'll try to explain better. The guy on top is able to nurse until he gets too sleepy and I lay him down on the other side of the guy nursing laying down. The on from the top is my easier one and he usually lays on his tummy and goes to slepp with me patting his bottom while the first guy latched on laying down keeps nursing until he's asleep or almost asleep and I pop him off and give him a paci. Then I just lay there for about 10-15 min until they are very asleep and then put them into their cribs.
I decided to get thim into cribs at least for the first part of the night about a month ago. They can crawl and even with our mattress on the floor they get up and out if I just run to go pee! Now I just have to get up once in the night to nurse and I either do it one at a time or just sit up and tandem them in the football hold. The nights of nursing 3+ times really sucked! I did a lot of juggling. I remember moving from one side of the bed to the other for laying down nursing. I kicked my hubby to the guest room too. But most nights he'd take at least one shift between nursings to let me go sleep soundly in the guest room.

I felt like cosleeping prevented me from getting up and going to the cribs (also in our room) a million times a night. Hope it works for you. We change our plan it seems about monthly and so far are making tiny steps to more sleep.
Mj

 

I would LOVE to be able to nurse them both at night laying down, I just haven't figured it out yet. I have always just done one at a time. I had a mini co-sleeper and they grew out of it so fast. I ended up with their crib in my room and would just get who ever was crying and take him to bed, I could usually fall right back to sleep with him nursing. I know a lot of people will say they hate to wake a sleeping baby but I would always just nurse the other one as soon as I was done with the first (he would usually get up anyway within a half hour). I hate tandem nursing at night but if I have to because the other wakes up, that is the only time I do it. Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you.

 

Well, you've already received from great advice but I thought I'd chime in. There was no room for co-sleeping in our queen size bed. We didn't do it. And I could never tandem nurse lying down and be able to snooze at the same time. Like the others, I rotated. I never woke a baby to eat. When one woke, I nursed and dozed and when the other woke I just switched the babies. Swaddling helped a TON in getting them to stay asleep while transitioning from my side to the crib.