Sleep Tips for Parents of Twins: How to Manage Rest with Multiples
“Sometimes miracles come in pairs.” – Richard Branson
Helpful tips for Newborn TWINS
Organise yourself …and others!
You will need to be super organised to ‘manage’ the long feeding and winding times, the time to settle both babies, your own self-care, and the many loads of washing! Accept all offers of help. Say YES to any help. Maximising the support you have in those first 3-6 months is so important. Your visitors will WANT to help you, by having a list of daily jobs/chores pinned up somewhere obvious, they can pick & choose! You won’t have to ask them and they will be happy to sort it knowing you need it, and are happy for them to do it.
Keep a logbook or try one of the many ‘baby tracker’ apps out there to record naps, feeds and nappy changes, etc. Patterns will emerge making your coordinated schedule much easier to establish.
Sync up your babies schedules - tandem time!
Don’t be persuaded otherwise. If one baby feeds, so does the other. If one baby wakes, wake the other. Even though all babies are individuals, twins need to be synced up in order for you to survive! Having them on the same feeding and sleeping schedule as soon as possible will keep your sanity and allow you to catch those moments of time to look after yourself.
It will take time for your twins to become tandem in their routine. Stick with it and you’ll never look back. If your babies wake at different times, you can try to gently extend their nap to meet their sleepier sibling, if that doesn’t work, you can get both babies up and start a new cycle with a full feed. It will be a real juggle to begin with, just have faith that by being consistent, you will get there!
Not enough arms!
If possible, make sure your bassinets are close enough together that if you need to comfort both babies at the same time, you can do this comfortably.
A front pack will definitely come in handy when you are raising multiples, especially if both babies want to be held for a longer time. A carrier allows you to carry one twin and hold the other, meaning both babies are secure.
Connect
No one gets it quite like a fellow ‘twin-mum’! New Zealand has many community organisations for families of twins, triplets and beyond. Local Multiples Clubs, coffee mornings and multiples playgroups all provide support and companionship.
