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Getting All Four Eyes to Sleep

Tips to Help Babies and Parents of Multiples Get a Good Night's Sleep

By Shannon McKelden

Layton and her husband may sing or tell the babies a story, but the time is kept very quiet. The babies are allowed to start to fall asleep before putting them in their cribs. "When they woke up at night [in the beginning], the lights stayed off and we didn't talk to them at all," Layton says. "They simply got picked up, fed and put right back down."

Drawing a clear line between night and day, Layton says in the morning the blinds were opened and the day begun with bottles and play and dressing them in "real clothes." "This is still basically what we do today, although as they reach one year, we're considering how to change this so we can have dinner together and they're not dependent on a bottle in the dark to go to sleep," she says.

Andrea Burnett, of Richmond, Calif., used this method, too. For naptime, the twins' room was light with a sound machine running, as well as general household noise. At nighttime, the room was dark and quiet with the door shut. "The babies know the difference between naps and sleep and have adjusted beautifully," Burnett says. The biggest benefit is that her girls can sleep in noisy or quiet atmospheres, unlike the children of a lot of Burnett's friends.

"When twins are first born, it's optimal to keep them in the same room, as they have shared the womb together for nine months and will be comforted by continuing a similar sleep arrangement," Spivak and Waldburger say. "It's helpful to allow them to become accustomed to the noises of their sibling early on so they can learn to sleep regardless." If one or both children are extremely noise sensitive, it may be necessary to use some white noise in the room where they sleep to drown out some of the distraction, they add.

On the suggestion of their pediatrician, also a father of twins, Burnett separated her twins. At about 3 months, they each got their own room, which helped them grow more secure and eliminated distractions. "My babies actually love to go to sleep and look forward to sleeping in their own room each night," Burnett says.

Want to see more?

• In Search of Slumber: Sleep Solutions for Moms-to-be
  of Multiples
• Rock-A-Bye Babies: Getting Your Multiples to Sleep
• Co-sleeping Considerations: Does Sharing a Bed with Baby Increase the Risk of SIDS?
• Check out our Article Library.
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