One twin thinks night time begins at 3 pm!

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for this issue: our one twin, Emme, is an amazing sleeper -- takes 3 1.5 to 2 hour naps during the day, goes down for the night by 7pm, and, as best as we can figure, would sleep until about 7 am -- it's hard to say, because our other baby, Jack, wakes her up by 5:30 am on a GOOD day. I think Jack's main issue is that he thinks that 2-3 pm is the end of the day and the beginning of the night -- he goes down at around 2 or 3 pm and we have to wake him to bathe him, feed him, and put him back to bed. I have no idea how long he would sleep if we didn't wake him up.Now he's not taking more than 4 oz at 6:30 or 7 pm, after his bath, and that along with his extended nap period means he's been waking up at about 3 am, not starving, but ready to start the day. He wakes up around that time chit-chatting, and we have been whisking him quickly out of the nursery and putting him in the co-sleeper in the living room to avoid waking Emme. He talks for a while, goes back to sleep, then sleeps fitfully until 5:30 or so (I know he's not hungry because he is INSISTENT when he is hungry and won't go back to sleep), when he wakes up definitely ready to eat. I've noticed that this interrupted night time sleep has had a definite affect on his mood and his nap patterns until that 2 or 3 pm time, when he knocks right out.

Okay, after all that detail, my question -- should I be trying to shift this sleep pattern? Should I be waking him up earlier than 6:30 or so for his bath?

Any and all advice is welcome!

 

Sorry -- forgot to say, they're a little over five months old.

 

3 am? :thud: That sounds like a long day for you! I would probably start shifting his bedtime back to match his twin just so that you can have some down time at night. It's good that you have two relatively good sleepers.. just a matter of adjusting schedules!

What I would do is keep the 3 naps during the day. For the afternoon nap wake Jack up when Emme wakes up and do your best to keep him up until about a 6 pm bedtime. You might want to transition slowly in 1/2 hr increments over the next few days, but once you're at a schedule you're happy with stick to it for a few weeks and see if it is working.

 

I agree with Jen. I would definitely wake Jack up when Emme does. And try your darndest to keep him up until bedtime. Maybe do some different activities, I know, as much as a soon to be five month old does. LOL! Play/listen to music, sing songs, read books, tummy time, etc. Maybe get some fresh air outside if possible. Hopefully you will be able to adjust his sleep patterns to that of Emme. It's tough having them on different sleeping schedules! :hug:

 

Okay, that's what my instincts were telling me to do but I always feel so bad waking them from a nap. But everything I read says nighttime sleep is so much more valuable than daytime sleep and right now he's getting the bulk of his sleep during the day, so I know that's something that has to change. We're getting a new stroller this week and the weather in Chicago is finally looking up, so maybe your suggestion of a walk is just the ticket to keeping him a little more content and relaxed until bath time.

Rollergiraffe, amen to your comment about good sleepers -- I'm trying to remember that we're very lucky, despite the 3 am wake up call. Sometimes I read moms writing in about babies not sleeping AT ALL and I think I would go absolutely insane. So I'm trying to keep it all in perspective.

Thanks to both of you for your advice -- I really appreciate it.

 

My cut off time for naps at that age was 3:30 pm...any later than that and they wouldnt go to bed at our designated bedtime which was 6:30. Maybe you could work towards somthing similar?? Yes, it may involve waking a sleeping baby until you can get the routine set but it may be better for you all in the long run. Just keep doing it for a few days and hopefully your baby will get used to it! At 5 months babies are usually ready for a nap shortly after they wake up in the morning (like an hour to an hour and a half). Then, after each nap (I think you said they were napping 3 times per day) extend the wake time in between. Kind of like the 2-3-4 method, but modified for the younger baby. So ideally your schedule would look like this:

6:30 wake up
8-9 nap
9-11am play/eat
11-12:30 nap
12:30-2:45 play/eat
2:45-3:30 afternoon catnap
3:30-6:30 play/eat/bathe
6:30 bedtime

hope that helps some!!

 

Definitely wake up the sleeping baby once the first baby is up. I followed the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins book and it stressed that as long as both twins aren't sick, then 'one up, both up' just like it was feed one, feed both when they were newborns. The author mentions giving the second baby an extra 15 minutes to sleep, but waking him after that. It keeps them on the same schedule, which will save your sanity!

 

You guys are so awesome. I started waking him up with Emmeline and for the last two nights he's slept through until after 5 am. Saturday morning he even slept until 6 am! They're both basically on the exact schedule described by murtygirl, with a bit of an earlier wake up time. Thanks for the reassurance -- it's so nice to have a place to come to make sure I'm not making any huge mistakes. I appreciate the help and encouragement more than you'll ever know!

 

Yay! Now enjoy that solid block of time to yourself and hopefully some happy babies too!

 

I wish I had followed these guidelines when my girls were infants!! Instead I felt like a zombie for the first 6 months of their lives and remember very little of it!! I hope I can get our new baby onto a great schedule!!

Yay to Jack and Emme for being good sleepers!!!

 

That is fantastic!! So glad you are getting it figured out. I love this forum, too The ladies here are awesome help!