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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

Spivak and Waldburger admit this works. "When helping one or both children to sleep better, it's often necessary to separate them (i.e. different rooms) during naps and nighttime so each child has the opportunity to learn to self soothe without disrupting the other child's sleep," they say. They recommend moving the child who is the "better sleeper" to another room as this child may be more adaptable.

It's not always easy to get the sleep schedule right. But it is worth the effort.

Dave Quast, the father of 5-month-old triplets from Los Angeles, believes it's worth a couple difficult nights of transition to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, multiples share not only a sleep schedule, but sleep rituals as well.

"We recommend a little bit of 'tough love' to try to get their routines in synch," Quast says. "For example, if a baby knows she can cry and immediately get picked up and brought into the other room with Mom and Dad in order not to wake the other baby, she will never learn to soothe herself and fall asleep on her own."

Quast's best advice would be to seek support from other parents of multiples, support groups, message boards, etc. "Take advice from everyone, but find out what works best for you," he 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.
• Talk about it!