Napping when the twins naps

When I was pregnant everyone gave me advice - "make sure to nap when the babies nap", it sounded really good, and I had planned to do exactly that. But, since the twins were born I don't think I have EVER been able to take a nap. Either one doesn't go down quietly for the nap, one wakes up early, or one doesn't nap at all - which means at nearly EVERY nap someone is crying at some point. I still try sometimes to lie down when the babies do, but I usually just fall asleep and I wake up to the sounds of someone fussing or crying.

Has anyone else actually been able to get a nap in, and if so how old were your babies when you did this?

 

Never when they were in the newborn stage. Which is what eveyone told me to do at the time - sleep when they sleep. But they never seemed to sleep at the same time. I have occassionally within the last month or so. But my babies always wake up in 45 minutes and then I have to be there to try to get them to go back down. So if they didn't go to sleep at the same time, I maybe have 20 minutes so I don't even bother. Other times I find it makes me more tired to get just a little bit of sleep, so I don't bother. But there have been times I've layed down for 45 minutes and have actually slept. Usually I just lie there though and fall asleep 10 minutes before one of them wakes up. I try to tell myself even just lying down and resting is good, and not to stress over how fast I fall asleep.

The times it works the best is if my husband is home. I can lie down at that time and know he will handle the mid-nap wakeups so I can get stress-free uninterrupted sleep if I need to. Usually I just lie there and think about everything else I should be doing and don't sleep anyway. But I think you said before you have a nanny that sometimes helps out? Could she maybe fill in for you at naptime so you can get longer stretches?

 

I wasn't able to unless there were other people here because they didn't nap on a schedule and they didn't nap for very long. However if I had helpers here, they'd keep the girls in the front room while I napped in the bedroom, but thats not really napping when they napped. :hug99: Those early months of sleep deprivation are really difficult.

 

I do sometimes! Now that we have more of a schedule it's easier. But if I nap w/ them, I hold one and we sleep together. It's usually the best way to get Maya to sleep anyway. Sofia goes down easily if I put her down in time. However, I don't like it when Sofia wakes crying b/c she lost her paci- it usually wakes Maya, but we can all usually go back to sleep. They actually nap a LOT longer when we do this. So one part of me wishes I was up doing stuff, but I only have a week left before going back to work so I decided if we all nap together once a day, it will be nice for ME

When they were younger it was much harder because they were on a 3 hour feeding schedule.

 

Around 6 1/2 - 7months I started napping when the boys nap and it was awesome! I don't do it as much anymore because I'm getting better sleep at night and there not up at 6am anymore. We went by HSHHC and that got them on a good synchronized schedule.

Good luck because I know it sure is exhausting without a nap.

Erica

p.s. when one wouldn't go down I would just shut my door and leave them and check on them in a bit and they were always asleep but if I stayed up and listened I always ended up getting that one up.

 

QUOTE(EricaG @ Aug 10 2008, 10:25 AM) [snapback]922946[/snapback]
Around 6 1/2 - 7months I started napping when the boys nap and it was awesome! I don't do it as much anymore because I'm getting better sleep at night and there not up at 6am anymore. We went by HSHHC and that got them on a good synchronized schedule.


That's when I started being able to nap as well. Honestly though I don't much anymore b/c they are sttn and I get a good chunk of sleep then. Typically I work like a madwoman cleaning, cooking, etc. during their morning nap and then on the afternoons I don't work or we aren't out and about I chill during their afternoon nap. I do enjoy my free hour on those rare days, so nice to sit back and relax for a few.

 

Oh, I so feel ya. It seems that in the past two weeks (ALL OF A SUDDEN) I have been able to nap with my babies. I find it more possible when I put one in the swing (i try and switch off. And go upstairs and cuddle with the other. I swear my babies (esp. DS) fall asleep the minute i lay them on my chest and pat their butt. And the swing is just as effective. My babies sleep the longest during those times, too. and I'm never really worried about the one in the swing because if they do wake up they are safe (immobile) and are entertained...

Try it out. Sometimes we'll fall asleep on the couch but the minute one makes a noise the other one wakes up so that's why I like to go upstairs.

 

I HAVE to nap when my boys nap. I work night shift, so if I don't sleep with them during the day, I don't get to sleep before working all night. I've been napping with them since they were around 4-5 mos old. In the beginning, I'd put one in the swing (usually a sure fire long nap) & one on my chest. The older they got, the better they've gotten about napping more than 30-45 mins at a time . I ALWAYS nap with them in the morning, as it seems to be their longest nap (1 1/2-2 hrs). Depending upon what I've been up to I'll nap with them in the afternoon. Usually I'm busy trying to get stuff done & can't relax enough to take a nap. My boys fall asleep almost immediately, whereas it takes me a while. There have been PLENTY of days where I've just fallen asleep as they're waking up & I think that makes me worse, but there's never a way of knowing if that'll happen (ie short nap days, days it takes me forever to fall asleep, days something wakes me up mid-nap, etc).

In the newborn stages, I rarely napped when they did....I had horrible nappers for the first 6-7 mos that would rarely sleep more than 45 mins unless they were on their tummy, in which case I could never sleep. Napping has been heavenly since around 7 mos & that has made my life MUCH better!

 

It is impossible for me to nap when my babies do, usually that is my time to get stuff done!!!!

 

I have accomplished this amazing feat twice and my boys are 17 months old. Mostly I think it's because I can't seem to rest until all of the little jobs around the house are done (dish washer loaded, high chairs, wiped, laundry on or folded, etc.). Also, when the boys were little I couldn't relax - I was in constant fear that one or both would wake up the minute I closed my eyes for a nap. Looking back, I realize I should have left the dishes and got some sleep! Just do what you can, but it's NOT easy with two babies.