So now I am worrying a bit that they are fussy during the day because they are overtired but in order for them to not be overtired they need to not be fussy so that they actually sleep.. It's a vicious cycle.
I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins and I did retain some of the information and should likely crack it open again but when I actually have time to read these days I would really prefer to continue plowing through the Hunger Games Trilogy... I say plowing because I am not loving it but feel the need to keep reading to see if somewhere soon it gets better (I am nearing the end of the second book... if you're read them and think that the third one is awesome please let me know).
At this point I am really hoping that someone has some advice. Right now we are sitting here watching Modern Family with one baby in the bassinet behind us and one asleep in Andrew's arms... is that wrong? Part of me thinks that they should likely be in our room at this point, asleep in their bassinet. The other part that realizes there are so few hours of calm in our days says to just let this continue.
So please tell me... should we be sleep training them now?
I don't think its too early...I was a part of sleep study at Women's College Hospital in Toronto when my first kid was born and learned some cool tips:
ReplyDelete1. Daytime - they should sleep in light and with noise
2. Nightime- room should be dark (Sets internal clock)
3. Swadle
4. Go outside once a day.
5. Wake them up during day to feed (you want your 4 hour stretch at night).
6 . 7-10pm is usually the witch hour...
that's all i can remember. I had kids beside me in bassinet...used a soother so they could fall asleep on own.
do what works for you though & your family!
good luck!
My baby is four weeks old. I have no intention of putting her on any kind of strict schedule yet, but we do have a bit of routine that is based mainly on convenience for me rather than trying to "train" her. During the day she "naps" downstairs with me (either on her Boppy pillow, in her chair or swing, or in my arms as I nap too). After around 6pm we start "getting ready" for bed, which involves a bath, changing into a nightgown, another feeding, and walking/bouncing/dancing/light snoozing until about 10-11 when she finally conks out, at which point I put her to bed upstairs in our room in her hammock. After each feeding at night, she returns to the hammock until the last feeding anywhere from 4:30-5:30 and then she comes to bed with us while I nurse her. Now that I've typed that all out, I guess we are training in a way, but it certainly wasn't intentional and it's not always consistent. I'm sure you will, in time, find out what your girls need and what you need and make it work.
ReplyDeleteWe actually had a book recommended to us in the hospital called Baby Wise...It's about naturally sleep training your baby starting at 2 weeks, but you can adapt it to any age I think. It's pretty simple and I find it's not cruel at all like some methods are...We feed Aiden, play with him, then put him down for a nap in 3 hour cycles...He slept 6 hours last night with a feeding every 3 hours! So far, it has worked for us!
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in what people have to say on this. Our preemie is 13wks old but his adjusted age is 4wks and sleep is rough!
ReplyDeleteAlso i recently read the hunger games trilogy and really liked it, but if you're not into it with the second book I'm not sure the third is worth your time.
I think that the recommended age is 3 months, but there are some things that you can do now. My LO is a horrible sleeper and I regret not training her earlier. The 2 biggest mistakes that we made were feeding her to sleep instead of letting her play after feeding, and never allowing her to soothe herself to sleep.
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed you are blogging with 6 week old twins! You are one incredible momma.
ReplyDeleteNow that we have that out of the way, do not worry about sleep training yet. So much is changing in their tiny world right now, that you might drive yourself crazy.
One thing that helped us tremendously was getting outside. When we missed our chance at fresh air, naps and night time sleep was always worse.
Keep us posted on what works for you!
it might be a bit too early. i guess it really depends on why you want to do it. some people sleep train really early because they are going back to work. we waited until our twins were about 12-15 weeks old. it went relatively smoothly at that age. hope you find what works best for your family!
ReplyDeleteWe started at 6 weeks because Westley cried a lot and the only thing we hadn't tried yet to help was sleeping training. BUT - let your intuition be your guide. A friend stopped when W was around 4 weeks and I frantically asked her about scheduling and she gave me the best advice, "You'll just know." And you will. It's okay to let them sleep in your arms. You'll know when it's time to put them in their cribs.
ReplyDeleteWe are doing baby wise. Eat wake sleep cycles. Babies only cry when hungry and are sleeping 4-5 hrs btw feedings at night. They are 7 weeks now, but their adjusted age is 2 weeks :)
ReplyDelete