Questions - new mom of twins

Hi,

My identical twin girls, Fiona (4lb 2 oz) & Sophie 5 lb 6 oz)are 8 1/2 weeks old but were born at 37 weeks, 2 days so their adjusted age is almost 6 weeks, and I have some questions.

1. Do I use their adjusted age from due date for development purposes, especially sleep?

2. Is it normal to only be getting 2-3 hour stretches at this point? The girls now weigh around 7 lb and 9 lb and they sleep for 4 hour stretches but I don't. They sleep in my bed and their wiggling has started to keep me up. They wiggle as they fall asleep and they wiggle when they are waking up and sometimes in between.

3. My girls won't usually sleep for long lying down together or on their own unless I am lying down with them. They only fall asleep being held in arms or a carrier (again unless we are all in bed together). I have tried to put them down drowsy but awake but that doesn't work - they cry and I won't CIO, especially not when they are this young.

4. My girls aren't happy for long in a swing, on a play mat or in a chair, they sometimes last 10 minutes, even when I am there playing with them.

I am so tired! I guess this is part of twin motherhood.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Hi,

My identical twin girls, Fiona (4lb 2 oz) & Sophie 5 lb 6 oz)are 8 1/2 weeks old but were born at 37 weeks, 2 days so their adjusted age is almost 6 weeks, and I have some questions.

1. Do I use their adjusted age from due date for development purposes, especially sleep?

2. Is it normal to only be getting 2-3 hour stretches at this point? The girls now weigh around 7 lb and 9 lb and they sleep for 4 hour stretches but I don't. They sleep in my bed and their wiggling has started to keep me up. They wiggle as they fall asleep and they wiggle when they are waking up and sometimes in between.

3. My girls won't usually sleep for long lying down together or on their own unless I am lying down with them. They only fall asleep being held in arms or a carrier (again unless we are all in bed together). I have tried to put them down drowsy but awake but that doesn't work - they cry and I won't CIO, especially not when they are this young.

4. My girls aren't happy for long in a swing, on a play mat or in a chair, they sometimes last 10 minutes, even when I am there playing with them.

I am so tired! I guess this is part of twin motherhood.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

1. Do I use their adjusted age from due date for development purposes, especially sleep?

Since they were born at 37 weeks, I don't think you need to use the adjusted age. I think that's full term.

2. Is it normal to only be getting 2-3 hour stretches at this point? The girls now weigh around 7 lb and 9 lb and they sleep for 4 hour stretches but I don't. They sleep in my bed and their wiggling has started to keep me up. They wiggle as they fall asleep and they wiggle when they are waking up and sometimes in between.

Yeah, my guys were still sleeping those stretches. It was around 3 months when they started to sleep longer. And, if you're not getting any sleep, is there a way you can put them in a PNP or something like that in your room?

3. My girls won't usually sleep for long lying down together or on their own unless I am lying down with them. They only fall asleep being held in arms or a carrier (again unless we are all in bed together). I have tried to put them down drowsy but awake but that doesn't work - they cry and I won't CIO, especially not when they are this young.

They're still really little. Right now, IMO, you gotta do what you gotta do to get them to sleep.

4. My girls aren't happy for long in a swing, on a play mat or in a chair, they sometimes last 10 minutes, even when I am there playing with them.

I don't have any advice for that, that's the way one of my boys is too.


Hang in there! It was REALLY hard for me the first few months. They're 3 1/2 months and we're getting into a groove.

 

Hi there (sorry, this is long!)

1.My ID boys are about 11 weeks now (born at 38wks), and I don't adjust for age (37 weeks + is considered term). They do usually seem a little behind their singleton friend who's one week older (also born at 38wks). So while I don't adjust, I do understand that physically they are just ever so slightly behind.

2. I think that is still pretty normal for alot of babies, however, once we started introducing a really consistent bedtime routine around 7-8wks, they started sleeping up to 6 (and sometimes even 8 hours!, although that one is rare). Consistency seems to be the key even at this early age. It's bath, breastfeed, swaddle and rock, into the bed.

3. We started out with the boys in our bed but had the same problem you're experiencing. Now they sleep next to the bed in a co-sleeper. We'll bring one in with us after the late night feeding if he's particularly fussy, but otherwise they're a few feet away. You can still hear their little sounds but it's much easier to fall asleep.

4. Yep. It think this is pretty normal for their age. I've started trying to get mine on a loose napping routine. When they actually DO nap I find their attention spans much longer, and I get lots more smiles .

I know it's kinda early, but you could check out Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child (otherwise known on this board as HSHHC). It really is true what he says about "sleep begets sleep". The more they sleep the happier they are and the easier they are to put to sleep. Until I started reading this book I didn't realize how tired the poor little guys were all the time. Good luck!

 

1. Do I use their adjusted age from due date for development purposes, especially sleep?

37 weeks is full term for both singletons and twins, so I don't think you need to adjust.

2. Is it normal to only be getting 2-3 hour stretches at this point? The girls now weigh around 7 lb and 9 lb and they sleep for 4 hour stretches but I don't. They sleep in my bed and their wiggling has started to keep me up. They wiggle as they fall asleep and they wiggle when they are waking up and sometimes in between.

Yes, in my experience, it took until 12 weeks to get longer stretches consistantly. Do you have a co-sleeper? Maybe a little distance would help you sleep more.

3. My girls won't usually sleep for long lying down together or on their own unless I am lying down with them. They only fall asleep being held in arms or a carrier (again unless we are all in bed together). I have tried to put them down drowsy but awake but that doesn't work - they cry and I won't CIO, especially not when they are this young.

I would hold off on CIO too. Do you swaddle tightly? Are they in sleep positioners? That might make them feel more snug.

4. My girls aren't happy for long in a swing, on a play mat or in a chair, they sometimes last 10 minutes, even when I am there playing with them.

This is true. They don't have a very long attention span at that age. Ours were the same way.

Good luck. It does get better, I promise!

 

quote:
Originally posted by winwin:
Hi,

My identical twin girls, Fiona (4lb 2 oz) & Sophie 5 lb 6 oz)are 8 1/2 weeks old but were born at 37 weeks, 2 days so their adjusted age is almost 6 weeks, and I have some questions.

1. Do I use their adjusted age from due date for development purposes, especially sleep?

Since your babies were practically full term (for twins) I dont' think you'd use adjusted age per se... although it may take a few extra weeks for your kids ot hit some milestones. Mine are 37.5 and they are on par with full term babies.

2. Is it normal to only be getting 2-3 hour stretches at this point? The girls now weigh around 7 lb and 9 lb and they sleep for 4 hour stretches but I don't. They sleep in my bed and their wiggling has started to keep me up. They wiggle as they fall asleep and they wiggle when they are waking up and sometimes in between.

We put ours in sleep positioners in our bed -- it really helped keep them in their place.. we still use the positioners but in their cribs now.

3. My girls won't usually sleep for long lying down together or on their own unless I am lying down with them. They only fall asleep being held in arms or a carrier (again unless we are all in bed together). I have tried to put them down drowsy but awake but that doesn't work - they cry and I won't CIO, especially not when they are this young.

Putting down drowsy but awake is probably a little early - I think this is a 4 month old thing. you can use swings at that age, and it might help. Mine slept in swings until 3.5 months.

4. My girls aren't happy for long in a swing, on a play mat or in a chair, they sometimes last 10 minutes, even when I am there playing with them.

Some kiddos don't like the back and forth movement, but you can buy a swing that goes side to side and that might work. you're just at a tough time.. but if memory serves, mine were sleeping well in their swings at 6-10 weeks then everything fell apart .. and naps were tought to get back on track until 4 mo.

I am so tired! I guess this is part of twin motherhood.

Unfortunately that's par for the course. it does get better, but you gotta go through the next month or so to get things to even out.


Any advice is appreciated.


Don't kill yourself about sleep schedules too early, I did and I wasted a lot of time. 3.5 months is probably the earliest to start.

Cheers,

Teri D

 

Thanks everyone, I feel much better knowing I'm not alone.

One more question - what is a sleep positioner - are they the attached pillows that hold them in place? Is there an online store - preferably one in Canada to avoid duty?

Thanks again.

 

Congratulations, and it sounds like you're doing a great job!

Early on I kept adjusted age in mind but over time those few weeks don't matter.

You should look into putting them in a cosleeper next to the bed. Everyone will sleep better that way.

Babies at this stage want to be held. Try swaddling them and laying them both down next to you, then transferring to a cosleeper when they fall asleep.

It's normal for them not to like the swings and bouncies at this age. When they get more interested in their surroundings, they will enjoy those things.

Cherish every moment! They change so quickly. Those early days were sleepless but it was so wonderful having those cuddly floppy newborns.

Best of luck!

 

While 37 weeks is full term, I would keep in mind that their weight is that of many babies at birth. My first was over 8 pounds and six weeks early. So they probably need to eat very often.

As far as how long they sleep, I wouldn't personally have them in bed with me. I know there are many here who might disagree, but we did that with my daughter and she was 2 (and we tried a million things) before we got her out of our bed. I also always worry about their safety. And they will quickly get to the point where they squirm so much they keep you up.

As far as swings go, it took a little time before any of my kids cared for them. Bouncie seats always worked sooner. And it depends heavily on the type of swing. My first hated a swing until I got the full-sized Fisher Price aquarium swing. All three loved that one.

 

quote:
Originally posted by winwin:
Thanks everyone, I feel much better knowing I'm not alone.

One more question - what is a sleep positioner - are they the attached pillows that hold them in place? Is there an online store - preferably one in Canada to avoid duty?

Thanks again.


Co-sleepers helped both of my daughters sleep in cribs. I think they like the feeling of being held in place. I'm sure you can find them in Canada. Do you have Babies 'R Us or Toys 'R Us there?

 

1. Do I use their adjusted age from due date for development purposes, especially sleep?
Mine were born at 36w5d and although my pediatrician said I didn't have to adjust, I felt like I did in terms of fussiness. I think it took a little longer to see the 6 week peak fussiness fade (by maybe an extra 2 weeks or so).

2. Is it normal to only be getting 2-3 hour stretches at this point? The girls now weigh around 7 lb and 9 lb and they sleep for 4 hour stretches but I don't. They sleep in my bed and their wiggling has started to keep me up. They wiggle as they fall asleep and they wiggle when they are waking up and sometimes in between.

Yes it's all normal. They wiggle and grunt and moan! And sleeping 2-3 hours is normal, you'll start to see it move toward 4 and then a few weeks later you'll get a 5 and you'll be in shock. Then 5 will become the norm... etc. Right now what you're seeing sound totally normal! You might start transitioning them into a co-sleeper next to your bed, or move their crib next to your bed and remove the rail. Or better yet, have it in your room, but not right next to your bed...you NEED to get more sleep honey! You will feel so much better, I swear!

3. My girls won't usually sleep for long lying down together or on their own unless I am lying down with them. They only fall asleep being held in arms or a carrier (again unless we are all in bed together). I have tried to put them down drowsy but awake but that doesn't work - they cry and I won't CIO, especially not when they are this young.

Around 8-10 weeks I started experimenting more and more with getting them to sleep on their own. Out of my bed, and out of my arms. Try different things, and keep notes, and when it's not working, give up, but try again the next day. This is a good time to start. You DONT have to do CIO, but do practice not jumping at every little whimper, moan, sigh and groan. Babies make a lot of noise. check to see if they are really awake or just making noise in their sleep. Also maybe try letting them cry for 30 seconds. Then try a minute. Just to learn how their different cries sound. Sometimes it's not really a cry, it's more like a fuss or a complaint. I was so sensitive to every little sound at first, and it's normal. but slowly as they get older you'll be able to read it more and ignore the little stuff more. I highly recommend getting a white noise machine (we use wave sounds) in your room and play it LOUD. This will dull some of their noises for you so you can ignore the stuff that doesn't matter. Trust me you'll hear them if it's important, but you need more sleep and I bet that you're waking up a lot of the time when you don't really need to.

4. My girls aren't happy for long in a swing, on a play mat or in a chair, they sometimes last 10 minutes, even when I am there playing with them.

This is normal too, and it will get better. They'll start to self entertain a little more, slowly. Do you have a play mat? I didn't think ours were ready, but we started using one around 8 weeks and they actually like it. It's a good break for me and they seem to enjoy looking at things & wiggling around.

I am so tired! I guess this is part of twin motherhood.
YES - but it really does get better, and you're almost there. Work on the sleep, that will really make a HUGE difference. By 12 weeks things were so much better. You are close - hang in there!

 

Mine were born at 37 weeks 2 days as well and we've never used 'adjusted age' and its never been brought up by their doctor as 37 weeks is considered full term

My twins didnt go 4 hours for a few months, so its perfectly normal..it will get better

for the sleep positioner and co sleeper, try Walmart (I'm in Canada and I noticed one in Walmart one day) Superstore or Toys R Us, although the babies r us in toys r us isnt all that great....not like the american one