I sent a request last week about napping schedules for twins, and there were so many moms who responded with such great advice! I have been having a lot of success with getting my twins down for a nap (within days they were going down willingly without a peep), but now I have another dilemma...They only stay down for 20 to 45 minutes! I've tried catching them when they're just waking up (like the No Cry Sleep Solution book suggests), but there is no in-between. One minute they seem to be in a deep sleep and the next, their eyes pop open. I actually have them in the same room for naps so that I can stay in the room and watch them in the hopes of being able to get them back to sleep, but so far this has not worked at all. This morning I worked at it for 20 minutes (using a variation of the Shst-Pat and Pick-Up/Put-Down Method suggested by the Baby Whisperer book) after they woke up from sleeping for about 40 minutes, then they only went back to sleep for only about 5 to 10 minutes - then I had to give up! Anyway, any advice on how to help these babies sleep longer would be appreciated...I know they're tired and they need more sleep during the day than they're getting. By the way, they're only waking up once to feed during the night, and sleeping from about 8:00 pm to 6:30 am, so I feel like the nighttime sleep is going well. Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance to anyone who has advice!
I totally agree with Stefanie, I have 2 kids of my own and have an in home daycare so these are issues I deal with all the time. The designated sleep time is the key, no up and down or messing around and they do eventually fall asleep! Good luck!
Are all of their naps that short, or just one? They might take a short nap in the morning, but should take a longer one in the afternoon. My first response to short sleep cycles was to treat it as a hunger problem -- don't 4 months olds have a big growth spurt? Anyway, offer a bottle, then stick to the routine of "sleep, eat, play," only shorten the cycle. Maybe let them play for half an hour after taking their bottles, then put them back to bed. You don't want to keep them up too long and get them over-stimulated. Remember to do the same thing with both babies.
If they're not hungry, just stay out of the room! Put them in their beds (YAY for you for working that out!) and leave them there a full hour, maybe even an hour and a half (unless their REALLY crying!). Babies don't sleep as soundly as we think they should, and tend to have lighter phases of sleep during each sleep cycle. If you're sitting in there when their bodies naturally start to stir, they will think "Hey! Mommy's here! Let's get up!" if they're all alone they may go back to sleep without any intervention.
If you do feel like you need to just get them up, stick to the "sleep, eat, play, sleep, eat, play" thing.
I've had the same problem with both sets of twins. May be that they have reflux or that they need to burp; causes them to wake. Be sure you burp them well before they go to sleep. Be sure you are having them sleep after they are full, so they are not waking hungry. I use the bouncer & later the larger FisherPrice rocking chair and often leave them in it for 30 minutes or more to get them in a deep sleep. If they have digestion problems, the angle helps them. If they start to wake, you may be able to rock them back to sleep before they get really awake. At 9 months, I have only just now gotten my boy twins to sleep from 45 minutes to 2 hrs, usually closer to 45 minutes. At least yours sleeps through the night; mine are still both waking as much as every 3 hours to eat, and they are ravenously hungry. It may be that your babies sleep so much at night, they just don't need as much nap. Try having as many as 3 naps and experiment with the times of day that they might naturally sleep longer. Good luck.
I have always been a firm believer in "rest time". This means that I put my kids down for a "nap", and they HAVE TO STAY IN THEIR BEDS TILL THE TIME IS UP!!! If they fall asleep, YAHOO!!! If they do not fall asleep, they have to stay in their beds till the designated rest time is over. I have used this method for children ages infant thru 5 years old, so age is not neccesarily a factor. For exaple, my twins go down for rest at 1:30, so even if they never fall asleep, they don't get to leave their bed until 3:00 at the earliest. It took some time for them to understand this, at first, but they now understand what is expected. My daughter sleeps great somedays and then, other days, she just lays on her bed and reads or talks to herself. In my book, resting is essential, whether they actually sleep or not. I can almost guarantee that they will fall asleep almost %80 of the time, but if they don't, it is OKAY!!! If I learned anything as a childcare worker for ten years, it is that you CANNOT FORCE a child go to sleep, they have to do it on their own. Of course, you can rock a baby to sleep, but that is one hard habit to break, so I reccomend letting them handle it themselves. Don't give up!! Good Luck!!!
