Observations on differences in STTN

I, like every other new parent, would LOVE to get more sleep. And you hear everything... once they hit 10 lbs they'll STTN, add cereal, give them more to drink, etc...

So my two are getting EXACTLY the same food (BF and formula), same amounts, same timing. They weigh exactly the same (okay, one is 1 oz heavier...11 lbs). One goes to sleep with very little fuss at 9pm...sleeps until 3-4, then wakes again around 7ish. HEAVEN. The other is very difficult to get down, and then rarely sleeps more than 2 hrs at a stretch.

So really... I think they are just "wired" differently. Almost makes me think there is little I can do to really help our bad sleeper, aside from just wait it out. I guess in some ways that makes me feel better...and some ways worse . Our bad sleeper does have reflux though...maybe that's the difference. We just started Prevacid last week, so I'm hoping that may help.

Anyone else have a "good" and "bad" sleeper?

-maria
DS1 4 yrs old
DS2 and DS3 ...13 weeks.

 

Yup. One of mine is a thumb sucker so if he wakes up he can easily put himself back to sleep. My other has always had a little harder time sleeping. If anything is bothering him he is up a lot more. They both have colds right now. The bad sleeper woke up 3 times in the night and cried for 5 to 10 mins before falling back to sleep. If it's a really bad night we have to rock him for a bit before he'll go back to sleep. I know he can sleep 11 hours and has quite a bit but like I said if anything is bothering him he can be up every hour sometimes.

 

Abby has always been a better sleeper and napper. We use to wake her to eat because Ellie was waking up. Finally, I decided to just let Abby sleep and she did. Ellie is still the one to get up earlier than Abby normally. I can't complain too much, though. They go to bed at 7:30pm and Ellie is usally up at 5am. I can get her back to sleep with the binky until 6am most days. Before daylight savings, she was sleeping til 7am. It makes no sense to me why she is waking at 5am now, but I can handle it. I keep remembering back to when they were 2 months old and getting 5 hours out of them was great.

 

My baby H has been STTN since mid June. Baby B on the other hand is not STTN. Every once in a while she throws me a bone for a few nights in a row, and I think, aha, she finally got it, and then she starts waking again.

 

Typically Mark is worse than Eli, and ironically Mark is the thumb sucker. However, what I have found is that their sleep issues are very different. Mark is a sleep fighter--he will cry to try to and keep himself awake. Fortunately, it only lasts about 15 minutes these days. He also wanted to be held while leeping when he was little, and even to this day he will wake up, and immediately go back to sleep if I put him near me.

Eli usually wakes up and immediately looks around and starts yelling, which is his new bad habit. Once he starts yelling, he wakes up the whole house.

 

Yes, I was just thankful that ONE would sleep. I know some people don't agree and I tried to avoid it, but until we did CIO around 8 months he rarely slept through the night. It made him learn how to put himself back to sleep. Now he wakes up, fusses (not screams or really even cries) and will put himself back to sleep within a few minutes. Of course yours are too young for that right now. At that age our bad sleeper would only sleep on one of us!

 

Oh yes, I can relate! DD will sleep 12 hours and not move a muscle but DS is more restless. He will sleep from 8pm-1am most days without stirring but after that, I make regular trips to their room to give him his dummy (i.e. pacifier). On a good night, I will maybe go 2 or 3 times. On a bad night it can be 5+ times. He´s ill at the moment which explains the frequent night visits! I think, and hope, that he will outgrow this restlessness but who knows!

 

My babies are almost 11 months now. My Baby boy sleeps all night or at least until 6am. Even if he wakes in the middle of the night he bumps his head to put himself back to sleep. My baby girl still thinks she's a newborn She sometimes wakes every 2 hours and will only go back to sleep if I nurse her or give her a bottle. If all conditions are perfect i e she's not too hot or cold, not teething, not sick she might sleep 4 hours. I try to just let her cry it out but she goes on and on until I can't take it anymore. I'm soooo sleepy!

 

Yep! Sometimes it goes through phases, but my DD is much more likely to wake up in the middle of the night, while we usually can just lay down my DS and not see him again until morning, LOL.

I think you're right, kids have different personalities/tendencies with their sleep habits, just like everything else.

 

Yes and No...
They both had trouble falling asleep as infants. We tried walking, rocking, patting, etc....nothing worked but Mama's milk. ;-)
As infants, Aiden would look all around and try to party at all hours of the night and Will was just fussy/gassy. Finally, Will learned to fall asleep more easily. Aiden still loves to crawl around and play first. With that said, Will always seems to wake up first (after 45 minutes of napping, typically) while Aiden could sleep much longer.

I totally agree that with twins the sleeping patterns are so much more complicated. My oldest was not the easiest to get to sleep as an infant, but once we tried CIO, it worked like a charm and we have not looked back since. He's over 2 and 1/2, sleeps 11 hours at night and still takes a 2-3 hour nap. I know I got lucky on this one b/c it helped me survive the twin pregnancy and first 9 months of having twins. ;-)

With all of that said, I just kept reminding myself of how quickly they grow and that missing out on sleep for 6 months or so wouldn't be the end of me. Although, the first 3 -4 months were VERY tough for both me and DH. (TS saved me!!!!)
It did get better, though.

Good luck to you!!!!

 

One is a way better sleeper than the other and they're only just over 2 months old. I wish they had the same schedules.