Moms know that it can be very hard to get a child to go to sleep. When they reach the toddler/preschool age, they suddenly have a million questions at bedtime. They are also incredibly dehydrated (out of nowhere) and they make a hundred promises that it will be just one more story. While this can be challenging enough with one child, the trouble multiples as the children do. Moms of multiples have a harder time getting their children to sleep at night. This can be due to various reasons, but the most glaring one is that there is more children at the same developmental age as each other.
Twins generally share a room, so by the time mom has one ready, the other one has run off. When she goes to get the one who ran off, she returns to a room to find the other one has now suddenly vanished. This may sound like a familiar tale for any mom of multiples, and she may be wondering what she can do (if anything) to get her twins to sleep at night without fighting and sprints.
Quick Baby Advice
If mom has stumbled across this when her twins are babies, there are a few tips that mom can use right from the beginning to try and avoid this problem from happening. According to Baby Center, one of the most important things about twins and sleeping is getting them on a schedule and make sure it is the same.
Get them on a routine that works for them and you. Make sure they each have the same bedtime, so that you get them on the same sleep cycle as each other, so that they will be tired and ready for bed at the same time.
If space and resources allow, it may also be wise to put them in separate rooms so that they can have their own independent sleep spaces. This tip is best done when they are infants, because if you suddenly separate them as toddlers, they may be up most of the night trying to find their twin.
Figure Out Who Your 'Trouble Sleeper' Is
While those tips for infants may work, they also may fall apart when your twins reach toddlerhood, and even though they are twins, they are separate people. They are now their own individuals and they will likely have their own sleep personality.
According to Wee Bee Dreaming, it is important to figure out who is your “trouble sleeper.” There may be one twin who puts up more of a fight, and they may encourage the other one to ‘act up’ at bedtime.
Once you have figured out who the guilty subject is, you can focus on keeping a strict routine for that one. Focus time at night on getting them ready for bed and in bed, and it may even be wise to put them to bed just a little bit earlier. Once you have the trouble sleeper settled, it will be much easier to get the better sleeper settled for the night.
Encourage Independence
When children grow, they start to want their own independence, even if they can not fully be trusted on their own, mom can create an atmosphere that makes them believe that they are calling the shots, and this may help at bedtime.
According to Very Well Family, let your twins have some independence at nighttime. Don’t fall into the routine of laying in bed with them at night until they fall asleep. Set the room with dim lights, a night light, soft music (or white noise) and then leave them to fall asleep on their own. There may be some exploring at first, but with consistency and praise, twins should be able to pick up that it is bedtime. They may even start sharing some stories with each other while they lay in bed, and just eventually drift off to sleep.
Sources: Very Well Family, Baby Center, Wee Bee Dreaming