Welcome to the world of boss mode parenting! Wrangling twins and triplets to sleep can be quite the adventure, right? In this Spotlight feature, we've got four amazing twin parents ready to dish out their experiences. Get ready for some stories that will hopefully help you and your little ones!
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Alice Lee:
I’m thinking I’m the one with the unpopular opinion 😅
I observed a close friend struggle with her twins' sleep. They weren’t able to get them on the same schedule so they did a divide and conquer; Twin 1 with my friend, and Twin 2 with her mom. I saw they did not have enough rest (the adults!) because while one twin starts his nap, the other twin has just woken up.
With this in mind, I used this Facebook group, SG Parents Of Twins And Triplets (SPOTTs), as my bible during my pregnancy and was very determined to do sleep training.
It was chaos the first 8 weeks. My mom nearly disowned me, and I nearly disowned her too.
At Week 8, our sleep consultant, Debra from Lullabubs Sleepers, came and magical sparkles were all around us that night. They are now still always on the same schedule. They are as different as night and day. One was a sleep champion and the other just refused to sleep peacefully. But it worked out fine. They slept through the night (STTN) from Week 12 onwards (they were of good weight and health etc). And while we love them so much, we are also glad when they go for their nap and bedtime sleep, as that gives the adults the chance to rest as well.
When they were 9 months old, my helper decided to take care of them herself during the day, so we told my Mother-in-Law she didn’t have to trek across the island to help out. We attribute their easy happy nature with having adequate sleep so the adults do not have cranky babies to deal with.
I wouldn’t have it any other way, this has worked so well for us.
Shamini Ras:
This may be completely unpopular; I know a lot of people talk about sleep training and putting twins on the same schedule. However, both my twins were absolutely different right from the get go – they just had such different personalities and I struggled so much with trying to force them to a schedule rather than just going with my gut feeling as a mum. I ended up getting a second helper; so there are two helpers caring for both of them. They feed on demand and there is a somewhat sleep schedule, but both of them have different sleep needs so the schedule is different for both of them as well. I felt this made me less insane and I felt much happier.
I just wanted to say, do what works for you, even when you stand out from the crowd.
Chee Anna Bri Yuyu:
Our MCDA girls are 19 weeks corrected now and we have joined this Facebook group: Twins, Triplets, & Quads: Safe Sleep Training & Learning for Multiples.
We don't have any extra support from a domestic helper or our parents, and at the same time we have another toddler.
Arming ourselves with knowledge really helps us be confident about when and how to put them to sleep.
Polly:
I had many underlying fears about my premature twins’ bumpy start. Adding to that, preemie babies sleep differently as compared to full term babies and there isn’t much information out there about this.
Also, what mother of newborn twins has time to research their twins 'strange’ sleep patterns?
My twins literally behaved like unborn babies until they were 8 weeks old and then newborns. This in itself can be quite alarming!
The solution of my twin’s sleep problems always pointed to sleep training but when I initially looked into it, people mostly suggested the 'Cry It Out' (CIO) or timed interval sleep methods. It was not what we wanted for the twins.
I started reading and researching sleeping methods, determined to find a gentle approach that would suit my family and didn't break the bank. This was when I decided to become a fully qualified and certified baby sleep consultant. I wanted to learn more about baby sleep and share my experience.
My twins are now thriving, bubbly, rambunctious kids that meet every single milestone and sleep through the night. They actually look forward to going to bed! It is the same for my third singleton baby, who has slept through the night since he was very little.
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Big thanks to the twin parents above who have so generously shared their experiences with us. We hope you find their stories helpful and reassuring! May your little ones eventually arrive at the land of good sleep, whatever route you choose to take.
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