My newborn twins just don't sleep!!!!! I am losing it!

[JanineRivera]

I did post about this a week or so ago and got some nice responses but I am feeling really crazy right now ... I might lose my mind.  Why won't they sleep for more than 45mins at a time around the clock?  I am getting NO sleep!  The only sleep I get is maybe an hour to 2 hours for the first stretch at night.   One always seems to wake up after about 2.5 hours and the other will sometimes sleep for 4.  What can I do?  I am out of ideas.  We have tried them sleeping in the living room with my husband, in bed with me, in a co-sleeper next to the bed and still have the same results ... wake up, change diapers, feed for 30-40 mins back down to sleep for maybe another 45 mins but often still restless so back on the boob ... and so on throughout the night.  And to make things worse when they are sleeping they grunt and groan so loudly that it is difficult for me to sleep.  They have been having some gas issues and may be going thru the 3 week growth spurt as they are 3 weeks old today but they have not slept well since the beginning.  I do swaddle them and not sure if that is helping or not.  We don't really a bedtime routine ... not sure that is something that needs to be established so early.  We don't bathe daily ... just nurse and to sleep. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated:)

[goldenwillow]

My first thought went to.... do they wear footed PJ's or socks?  When I got rid of those, he slept better.  Then my second thought was... my Son slept in the same pattern you are describing.  My Son did not like to have his arms swaddled around that time, legs were fine.  It does get easier and I am sure once the gas issue (your diet possibly?) is resolved.. that will help.  When my Son was that age... I just nursed and nursed and nursed, he always slept on me because he never wanted to sleep on his own until roughly 10 months.  Be sure to sleep when they do! 

I hope others have more suggestions!

[BabySmurf]

i can't really give you any advice - i have one and he still sleeps like that a lot, and he's ten months old! it's so hard! DS has food sensitivities, and he always sleeps worse when he or i eat something that doesn't settle well, so maybe think about that....

[poppiesinjuly]

Some babies like to sleep in motion.  Do you have a Moby Wrap?  I only have one baby, but I know there are some twin carries out there on the internet.  My friend with twin boys swears by waking one up whenever the other wakes to help them get on the same schedule.  She said until she did that things were super crazy.  (So, like, if one wakes after 2 hours but the other is still sleeping, wake the other and feed them both...)

Also, a swing might help.  Some babies like sleeping kind of propped up, and the motion helps too.

[Baby_Cakes]

Did you post this in the multiples forum?  You might get more advice there!  But I couldn't read and not respond.  Do you have 2 swings?  What if you just swaddle, nurse them, and let them sleep in the swings?

[goldenwillow]

I danced with DS while in the moby.  I know that the moby has a wrap that can accomodate two little ones....  maybe that will help.  We danced to Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Fur Coat and The Flaming Lips album... Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.   What ever your favorite tunes are may help with the motion

[MPsSweetie]

DS2 slept in a swing for the first few months, it was a lifesaver!

[NightSkies]

Ah, the grunts and groans! I swear, mine grunts so loud you can hear him on the other side of the house! When I first brought him home he decided he was on a one hour schedule. He's my second, and I have really good supply, so I felt strong enough to say "not doing that!" and put him on a two hour schedule. (Now he's on a 2-3 hour schedule. He still gained over a pound in the first two weeks, so I don't think he was starving!) About a week ago (at 7 weeks old) he finally started sleeping 4-5hours straight (and quietly!) at night, so there is hope, just hang on!

A couple thoughts: It sounds like you might be feeding them more often than you need to. 1hr 15 mins between feedings? (IF they are gaining well, if not, feed them as often as possible a disregard this advice). I know mine has tummy issues and sometimes his fussing (especially about one hour after a feeding) was due to his tummy and not hunger. The tummy has settled down some on it's own now. They can have immature guts at this point and only time will help that.

Also, do you have enough supply to try pumping? One thing that saved my sanity with both my kids was pumping a bit from the start and having my DH take a feeding at night. 4 hours solid sleep? Heaven! (my first was in the NICU for a week, so I HAD to pump and give him bottles from the start. He still latched on a nurse well from the start too.) I was lucky in that my kids don't care if it's a bottle or a boob in front of them, as long as there's milk! You may not be that lucky.

PP advice on the swinging chairs is good too. If they don't like sleeping on their backs, sometimes it's enough to get them in a reclining position and they will settle down. I know a reclining position helped DS1 settle down and sleep better.

With DS1 we moved him out of our room and into the bedroom next door after a month of his grunting keeping us up. This was far enough away that we couldn't hear his grunting or fussing, but close enough that we could hear his crying. At which point we knew he needed to be fed for sure. Sound travels so well in our new house that DS2 might as well be next to us when we put him in the next room.

Hope some of this helps. Good luck! And hang in there, the sleeping does settle down (usually) after 2-3 months.