Taking Care of Babies at Night?

agdgirl27

How do you handle it when you babies wake up at night. Do you and your husbands get up or do you get up and do it on your own.  I am just worried about how I will take care of 2 babies at once.  Let me know how you guys operate.

Cassie42

We always got up together. The key for us was to stay organized. Each night I packed a basket of things we needed for the night so we did not have to make trips downstairs.  Most times they woke up together, if not we always woke the other one up. One of us would make bottles, the other would change diapers, then we would feed them and get them back to sleep.  It worked well for us,  and while we both had to get up, it did cut the time in half so we would normally be back in bed within 30-40 minutes.

Once they started to STTN, if one does wake up, I usually handle it, because he just wants a few ounces, and he goes right back to sleep.

quicksylva

we are really lucky, and ever since they were about 4 wks old, our kids only get up once during the night. we feed them between 10 and 11, they wake up around 2:30 or 3, and they sleep till 7am, generally. We do the 10/11pm feeding together (he changes and burps), and then for the 3am, we both wake up, he changes them and goes back to sleep, i feed and burp them in the bed with the tv on low, and put them back down. It's actually working really well for us for the past few weeks. we'll see what happens when they start sleeping in their own room, but hopefully it will continue to go well!

lutzcowgirlie

I nurse my babies, so in the beginning DH would get up with me so that he could help change diapers and hand me babies. Once they were set up to nurse he would go back to sleep and then when I was done nursing I would put them back to bed.

 

Now that they are older, they don't wake at the same times, so I do it on my own. It helps to have someone else there, but it isn't impossible if you have to do it on your own.

regenab

When they were little we both got up together and changed and fed them. If one didn't wake up we woke that baby up to keep them on the same schedule. At 8 weeks old my larger baby was able to go longer stretches at night without waking, but the smaller baby was still getting up every 3 hours. We decided at that point we would each be assigned a baby at night and we alternated babies each night, so every other night one of us was getting more sleep. At 12 weeks old they were both doing longer stretches and we decided to start sleep training them to STTN without feedings. Again we were each assigned a baby so we could work with that individual babies sleep patterns to get her to STTN.

Now that they STTN 12 hours I get up if they wake up at night for any reason. I only need to go in and soothe them back to sleep ususlly or maybe change a poopy diaper if that is the reason they woke up. The last 3 nights my one twin keeps moving herself around in her crib and ends up smooshed up against the crib side and this wakes her up and she wants me to move her back. As soon as I do she goes right back to sleep. I am the one getting up right now because I have not started my new job yet so I am home all day (girls have already started daycare) and can take a nap if I need to. On the weekends my husband gets up with them if they wake. But again they only require us to either change a poopy diaper or soothe back to sleep because they woke and have not yet mastered putting themselves back to sleep.

My husband travels a lot for work and there are times when the girls were small that I was by myself at nights handling their nighttime feedings. It was hard at those times because I didn't get much sleep since I was up about every 3 hours, then would lay down for a half hour and get up again for the second baby to eat. You get through it because you know it is not forever. If your DH is home with you then I would have him help you, that way you both can get back to sleep within a reasonable time after wakings. Just because you are home all day long does not mean you can just take a nap whenever you feel like it. Once they get to be about a month old you are only going to have an hour or 2 to yourself when they nap, if they nap at the same time. You will be using that time to do important things like showering and eating. Because when they are awake you will barely be able to go to the bathroom. They will take up all of your time for a while during the days.

 

macchiatto

Hey, you're on Twinstuff, too, right? I just saw this post over there. (I'm also on both ... and also occasionally ask the same question on both; it's helpful to get a wide variety of responses!)

I'll let the experienced MoMs answer this one but just wanted to say hi to a fellow double-boarder.

Disney102399

We did the same exact thing as Cassie42.  Although sometimes I would let DH sleep and I would try to manage them by myself.  It was hard in the beginning cause they were eating every 2-3 hours...  There was no way I could of done it by myself.  Now if one wakes up I take care of them.

mwilson44

In the beginning when I was nursing DH would help with changes and giving me babies or getting them back to sleep if I was struggling.  I went through a period (when I was exclusively pumping) where I did every night on my own because I had to pump anyways.  Now that they are bottle fed we take turns and sometimes - like last night DH did it on by himself so it's definitely doable!

togagirl

My DH isn't as helpful as most of these guys!  It takes me yelling at him 5 times for him to get up and then when he does, he acts like the world is ending.  So most of the time I usually just do it myself.  I am also still pumping so I have to get up and pump anyway if they eat a bottle. Once in awhile if they both wake up at the same time I will wake him.  It's really hard now that I am back at work and I'm really hoping they start STTN soon. 

doublewhammy

For the first two weeks we both got up to take care of them.  Week three, DH went back to work so I got up with them on my own.  One of my girls eats much more quickly than the other so I would always do her first if they were both hungry at the same time.  Week four, DH got laid off so we went back to both of us getting up.  Now we both do the 11 p.m. feeding and they don't wake up until 7 a.m.  I don't know how I got so lucky, I just have sleepy babies.  That being said, if there is a random night now that they wake earlier than usual, we both get up even though I am back at work.

Jessarella

The first few months was an unorganized mess of sleepless nights for all of us. My colicky baby would scream for hours at a time so my DH had to get up and help me with the other baby.

Once we got things figured out. I slept from 8pm-12am. My shift began from 12am-5am, then DH 5am-8am, Then he would go to work. Then me from 8am-on.

I am probably not the best person to ask, because my preemies were a lot to take care of with Oxygen, and colick, and reflux...nights were the worst.The first few months of their life is a sleepless blur to me!

I will wish upon you babies who love to sleep through the night! Good Luck!

coffee bean

My situation is just like Togagirl's. It's more effort than it's worth to get DH up and he's all grumpy when he does get up.  I did 98% of feedings by myself when they were getting up in the middle of the night.  Luckily, they started sleeping through the night right around when I went back to work.  Otherwise, I would have been toast!

lovethe1story

Before they sttn (6 months) I was the only one on duty after midnight.  DH works and needs his sleep.  I wanted sleep, but did not need it as badly as he did.

They slept in our room til 8 weeks, so some nights DH would sleep in the guest room if they were having a rough night.  After they moved into their own room, I would either go into their and nurse/tend to them or go in their and sleep in the extra bed in their room with them.  Tandem and side lying bfing really helped in those early months.

lajolla09.30.06

At first we would both get up and I was just nursing in the middle of the night so he'd help me get them latched on (I'm still not able to tandem feed them without help) and help with diapers, burping, etc.  It really didn't work well because he'd be totally asleep and I'd get frustrated with him and he'd get mad that I was frustrated... bad cycle.

Now that we're doing bottles in the middle of the night we each take one baby and give them the bottle change and back to bed, so it's faster for both of us.  Then he goes back to bed and I have to be up an extra 30 minutes to an hour to pump (which sucks big time) because I'm trying to keep/build up my supply.  I will be very glad when they can exclusively nurse so we can cut out that step!!