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Twins will only sleep while being held!!

Kb103109Kb103109
in Multiples

Hi everyone,

  My girls are just over 3 weeks old.  They were born at 36 weeks 4 days.  When we first brought them home they would sleep in their cribs pretty much all day.  That lasted maybe a week.  Now they will only fall asleep while being held and we have to hold them for a good hour before they are actually asleep after each feeding.  Even after holding them for an hour or more and then putting them into their cribs they start to cry after about 10 minutes and they do not stop.  We have to hold them and then end up falling asleep ourselves while laying on the couch with them.  Sometimes they will sleep in their swing and vibrating chair, but that is usually short lived as well.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get them to sleep in their cribs??  

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Re: Twins will only sleep while being held!!

  • MrsLntMrsLnt member

    Are you swaddling them? Usually babies are perfect angels until they reach their EDD and then they wake up more and that's when you start getting the more colicky, difficult newborn behavior.  At first, mine would sleep anytime, anywhere,swaddled or not. As we got closer to, and then beyond their EDD, their sleep became worse and I needed to swaddle them for every single sleep period, and they needed to be swaddled in TIGHT.  

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  • amanda31Hamanda31H member

    I also suggest swaddling.  We swaddled my girls until they were almost 4 months old.  Look into getting the miracle blanket - it was a lifesaver for us and worth every penny.

    As hard as it is, I'd break the sleeping while held pattern now.  It will be a disaster for your nights in particular if you don't.  If they can get by in a swing or bouncy, I'd do that for now, because it's better than being held - particularly since there are two of them!

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  • ougrad1ougrad1 member

    It may not be a popular opinion but, I'm with Amanda...you can't start this habit of holding until they are asleep-especially with twins.  It'll be a disaster sooner than later for you.

    Swaddle for sure, swing, buy rock and plays if you have to.  Try anything until you find a way for them to go to sleep on their own.  It may be tough now but, later down the road all of you will be so much happier. 

    This was the toughest stage for me by far. All of mine exlusively slept in swings....Emerson until four months and the babies until six months and all of them transitioned to the crib with no issues.

     

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  • 090106090106 member

    My boys were both colicky which didn't make for a happy first few months. After trying EVERYTHING from new formula, to swaddling, to sleeping in their swings, we switched to hypoallergenic formula. They were new kids in 24-48 hours. One was sleeping through the night at 3 months and the other followed at about 5 or 6 months. They are AWESOME sleepers now at 2. They sleep 11-12 hours a night and take one 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.

     

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  • kafunderkafunder member
    imageMrsLnt:

    Are you swaddling them? Usually babies are perfect angels until they reach their EDD and then they wake up more and that's when you start getting the more colicky, difficult newborn behavior.  At first, mine would sleep anytime, anywhere,swaddled or not. As we got closer to, and then beyond their EDD, their sleep became worse and I needed to swaddle them for every single sleep period, and they needed to be swaddled in TIGHT.  

    Ditto all of this. The miracle blanket is what saved us.  

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  • Mom2A&EMom2A&E
    imageougrad1:

    It may not be a popular opinion but, I'm with Amanda...you can't start this habit of holding until they are asleep-especially with twins.  It'll be a disaster sooner than later for you.

    Swaddle for sure, swing, buy rock and plays if you have to.  Try anything until you find a way for them to go to sleep on their own.  It may be tough now but, later down the road all of you will be so much happier. 

     

    All of this. I didn't and I have paid for it. We are getting ready to start sleeping training after a short trip this weekend. Not looking forward to it.

    Also, I wanted to mention that at 3 weeks is when my son started with acid reflux. Being laid flat in a crib can make reflux worse.   

     

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  • Temp123197812503460Temp123197812503460
    Swaddle, and bouncy chair for sure! Also I held the babies for naps a lot the first three months (i spent a lot of time sitting on the couch since i didnt have any other kids) and both had no problem transitioning to the crib between 2 and 4 months, we just kept trying until one day they were ready. A carrier was great for being able to hold one (or both) and still tend to the other.
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  • Temp123197812503460Temp123197812503460
    Oh, bu for nighttime if you find yourself falling asleep while holding them on the couch I would consider bedsharing. There are ways to do it safetly, whereas sleeping on the couch with the babies is really not safe.
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  • LucyRicardo3LucyRicardo3 member
    In addition to the PP's suggestions, I'd also recommend a white noise machine if you don't have one.. a God send for us!

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  • tvass1981tvass1981
    No advice. Just wanted to let you know I sympathize. Mine slept well their cribs with very little effort from us until we got past their EDD. Now they take soooo much work to get to sleep, and for the most part, we do have to hold them until they fall asleep, and sometimes we can't put them down at all. We have tried swaddling in every kind of blanket they have, tried swings, bouncy chairs, white noise, rock n plays, blackout curtains. Nothing works. I'm hating life right now.

    TTC since 5/10
    Dx: PCOS 12/10
    IUI #1 (2/11/11): Metformin + Clomid + Ovidrel = BFN
    IUI #2 (3/13/11): Metformin + Gonal-F + Ovidrel = BFP
    Beta #1 (15dpo) 460, Beta #2 (17dpo) 829, Beta #3 (19dpo) 1550 u/s #1 (4/12/11): Twins!

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  • Kb103109Kb103109
    Thank you everyone!  We do swaddle them as soon as they are done eating because they usually go to sleep after each feeding.  But it seems to make no difference anymore.  We also can't really put them down right after they eat either.  Their pedi told us to hold them upright for 30 - 60 minutes because of reflux problems.  As far as thing swing and bouncy seat, they do like them, but will only sleep for a little while in them then they realize they are not being held and start screaming bloody murder.  Should I just let them cry??  It's so hard to do that!  At this age can they begin to soothe themselves at all?  I am going to start putting them in their cribs during the day during some of their naps and then I will leave them in their swing and seat the rest of the time to see if that helps.  Thanks for the advise everyone.
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