XP Talk to me about EASY

ninjabridemom

The first month we've been in survival mode, to be honest.  Now it's time to get to business. I really like the thought of EASY, and it's been recommended by a few people to me.  We sort of do it but it ends up being more like E A E S -- they don't generally sleep after being up for an activity even though they're tired.  I haven't read the book yet (Baby Whisperer but Baby Wise has also been recommended) but I'm reading up on the pat/shush stuff to get them to go to sleep on their own.  We'll be trying this!!    Any thoughts/tips/etc about EASY with twins is much appreciated!! TIA. 

erniebufflo

What's EASY? We're just now starting to follow the advice in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins," ourselves.

ninjabridemom

Eat - Activity - Sleep - You.  It gives you a structure w/o a schedule.  I like it b/c it teaches them to sleep w/o eating and it gives them a set expectation of the day.

 

I should read that book, though!  What are the basics of HSHHT? 

macchiatto

We started following EASY from the very beginning and it was somewhat helpful in getting them on the same routine, but we started following some of the HSHHC advice (HSHHT didn't come out till my boys were 6m old; I did read that too though) at 2m and that made a huge difference. I highly recommend it! It's a great resource; solidly research-based and has lots of good info on sleep, specific advice for each stage, lists of drowsy cues and how to develop good sleep schedule and habits for each stage, trouble-shooting for each stage (newborn through adolescence), etc. The twins version is a very short, quick read. It's OK but I like the original much better. (And it does have a short section on multiples.)

MrsLnt

For us, usually the only A after E was a diaper change, then it was back down for a nap. The pat/shush never worked for us, but swaddling and white noise usually helped them sleep.

We were EFF so we were able to set feeding times and just worked the naptimes and bedtimes from there. Google Babywise Mom blog awake times and there is a blog with a woman who has chronicled using Babywise and she's got an awesome chart of suggested awake times by age.  

lovebugkim

We used this method with the boys & it worked really well. Their feeding schedule was every 3 hours so when it was time to eat I fed them, burped them, & then changed their diapers. Their activity was usually tummy time or laying under their gym playmat. They would then go down for their naps either in their PNP, swings, or bouncy chairs. I always took the You time to wash bottles, clothes, or nap myself. It worked really well for me & we still follow that method, although their schedules/needs have changed over time. 

besu-chan

I'm gonna put in another vote for HSHHT. It really helped me to figure out how to put them down drowsy. We also do swaddle, white noise, and pacis. I had one girl who wanted to eat a little bit in shorter intervals, so I had to work hard to encourage her to eat more at each feeding so that she didn't need to eat again before going down and/or in the middle of a nap. Honestly the Y didn't really become "you time" until about 3 weeks ago. Now it is my time to clean bottles, do one chore, then read or take a nap

ninjabridemom

Thanks, guys! I'm going to check out that book for sure.  And I'm glad to hear that others kept their kids napping in swings, etc.  My SIL said the same thing w her twins.  They just don't go down as easily in the cribs during the daytime.

 

A question about the swaddling, etc., though -- does the baby get confused about night sleep and day sleep if you do the same thing?  Does that even matter?  Right now the boys sleep well w noise and light in the swings during the day -- I'd like to keep this mostly b/c they can sleep through almost anything, and I want them to keep doing that.

macchiatto

We swaddled for both naps and night and they didn't get confused. They slept SO much better swaddled; we swaddled kind of long, till 6m! We would try weaning before then and they just weren't ready.

Also, the first 2m a lot of naps were in swings or bouncy seats or wherever they would sleep. It's about survival at that point! But from the day we started following HSHHC tips at 7.5w, naps were in cribs and overall they did really well. Occasionally if one had a hard time settling down or woke up way early and we were hoping to get him back to sleep, we'd put him in the swing to nap but mostly they did great napping in cribs from 8w on.

tootlebug

we loosly follow that i guess...but im not anal about it.  i try and put them on their activity mats, take them out of the house for visits/walks during the day.  i also put them on the mat together...they like to lay there and stare at each other.  but i kind of let them dictate when they want to sleep....unless we are going somewhere, but then they will sleep anyways in the car or stroller.  (i feel like there is only so much "stimulation" you can do with 1 month olds).  i will also add in baths to have more "awake" time.  i try to do this in the evenings although sometimes it's hard bc i have my son too and that's when the help leaves.

i usually let them dictate when to eat too...although now im trying to hold them off for 2.5-3.5 hours during the day and they are usually okay with that because they do good feedings each time.  our nanny is great at holding them off - my husband not so much, he thinks they need to eat all the time when sometimes they are just fussy or bored.

i have learned their tired cues though...one twin will fuss for 1-2 hours when she's not hungry, and i know she just needs to sleep.  sometimes i have to let her cry for a good 10-15 minutes then she will just go to sleep.  we usually do naps in the swings or RNPs then swaddle them in the halo sacks at night.  they have been sleeping in longer stretches too...last night one went 7 hours and the other went 5 1/2 hours.  im hoping this is the beginning of a good trend. 

i remember with my son, (who slept through the night at 7 weeks btw - we're talking 9-10 hours) he didnt get on a real schedule on until about 3 months.  then it was 3 naps a day for 45 minutes (which was admittedly hard because he was up the majority of the day) but then he would sleep really well at night, which i would take over long naps during the day.  he woudl also go to bed at like 6-6:30 at that age.

hope you are getting sleep ninja, twins are hard that's for sure.  i just keep telling myself that it will get better around august or something!  ive been thinking about you - havent had a chance to post a whole lot.

xoexpat

I am also curious about this, I just got the Baby Whisperer book and started reading it.  But does EASY work for nighttime feedings also?  What is appropriate nighttime activity? Just a diaper change and then back to sleep?  I am really anxious about how DH and I are going to handle these twins as first time parents, and we'll be staying at my mom's house for several weeks.  

macchiatto

xoexpat:

I am also curious about this, I just got the Baby Whisperer book and started reading it.  But does EASY work for nighttime feedings also?  What is appropriate nighttime activity? Just a diaper change and then back to sleep?  I am really anxious about how DH and I are going to handle these twins as first time parents, and we'll be staying at my mom's house for several weeks.  

You definitely would not follow EASY at night; it's just for day time. At night you keep feedings as "boring" as possible in hopes that they'll go right back to sleep afterward.

I really liked a lot of the Baby Whisperer and I liked the EASY routine but other than that I wasn't wild about her sleep advice, especially for twins. (But having seen it in action with family members and their singletons, I'm not wild about it for singletons either.)

ninjabridemom

Thanks, Tootle!  Twins ARE hard.  We do the activity mat, too, or play with them ourselves for activity.  We also try for the 2.5 to 3hr, but w Gabe needing to gain more weight we try not to let them go past 3.  I can't wait until we get the okay from the pedi to let them sleep until they wake at night.

 

I've gotten used to the 3hr schedule.  It's harder, though, when they don't give us that time to sleep/rest haha. 

 

I'm going to feel less bad about them napping in the swings.  Thanks, guys!!