I am desperate for help sorting out naps for my six-month old boy-girl twins. They are great nighttime sleepers and in the last month have been settling into a better daytime routine. On days they nap longer in the AM, they may only have two naps, but if the morning nap doesn't go well, they'll need three. My problem is that now that they're this age, they are so aware of each other that they are beginning to wake each other up when they fuss (this was never an issue before, and they have always shared a room). My son is having a particularly hard time settling himself to sleep although he does fine at night. I am not adverse to letting them cry a bit, but this is extreme, and he is unable to settle. By that point, he's woken up my daughter and she's unable to settle. Although they are different sizes and of course different little people, they do seem to have fairly similar sleep needs and schedules. I just don't know why it's been so hard recently and how to handle it. When one wakes up, should I get them so that they don't wake the other? How can I keep my son from getting so worked up that he's hysterical and can't sleep? And why would they be such great nighttime sleepers but so awful during the day? It is hard to see them so exhausted, to know that they CAN sleep well and that they feel so much better when they do, and to feel powerless to help them.
Hello all, thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my question. Things are a little better now but it's still hit or miss on naps. My son in particular, who sleeps great at night (12+ hours), is still having a terrible time most days going down for naps, especially in the afternoon. He's up there screaming his head off right now and is clearly exhausted. Somehow my daughter seems to tune him out. Has anyone had this issue with babies who otherwise sleep great (going down at night without a peep) not sleeping during the day, even though they need it?
Hi A.,
Well maybe you can do do like I do with my grandsons who sleep in the same room at home but when they come to my house for naps I put them in different rooms that way if one of they wakes up before the other he doesn't disturb the sleeping one. Good luck
Separate them when you are putting them down for naps. So, if one wakes he/she will not wake the other during the day. Or better yet - put your son down first (15 mins earlier than your daughter) so he can get himself settled and then by that time you daughter will be so conked out she will probably already be out before you put her down for her nap. I too have boy/girl twins and didn't really per-se have an issue with them waking /setteling but I have had issues somewhat like you are explaining so you just have to try anything and everything to get things to work for your little guys! Good luck and would love to see how things work for you.
L.
one of my twin boys used to need to cry and fuss for 10-15 minutes before falling asleep and we just always put him down first, let him fuss to sleep then put the other down.
With my twins, if one woke up, I always woke up the other one. I kept them in the same room and they did bother each other. One of my twins was a morning person and the other was a night person. I still kept them on the same schedule. I wonder if the boy who is screaming is more hungry than the girl. That would be my first guess as to why he is waking up and screaming. I would wake up the girl if I were you and give her milk but less than the boy, maybe add some rice cereal to his milk and see if that settles him down some more. The boys have faster metabolisms than girls and need more food.
At nap time, try having a pack and play in another room so they don't wake each other up. Ours shared a room, so when one of our twins would wake up, we would get him so he didn't disturb his brother. It's better to have one baby awake and crabby than two. Sometimes their schedules get off a bit, and they may need adjusting. Rest assured, they will find their way back to a common schedule again.
