Sleeping FAQ: 4-6 Months – Daytime Sleep

My 17 week old twins need two morning naps and then sleep less at lunchtime

I have 17 week old twins (11 weeks adjusted). I use the routines with their adjusted date of 11 weeks. The biggest problem is the morning nap is too early and also taken twice. This makes the lunch time nap at completely the wrong time.

The only part of the routine that I seem to have got right is the bedtime side of things. I cannot keep the babies awake in the morning past 8:30am latest – I have tried everything. They are so tired that I can be in the middle of playing with them and they will just nod off regardless. If they don’t have a quick nap before the 11:00am feed, then they have the 11:00am feed and are ready for the “big” lunch time nap. This means they sleep from 11:30am – 12:30pm.

Maybe this is a lost cause and I am beside myself as my son especially seems so miserable all day and never plays for more than 1-20 minutes on his own before crying again.

As there is a difference in their weights, their feeding reflects this:
Twin 1 16lbs
7.30am 6ozs with 3tsp rice cereal
11.00am 5.5-6ozs with 3tsp rice
3.00pm 5.5ozs with 3 tsp rice
6.45pm 6-7ozs with 3.5tsp rice
10.45pm 3-4ozs with 3tsp rice

Twin 2 13lbs
7.30am 5ozs with 4.4tsp rice
11.00am 4.5-5ozs with 4tsp rice
3.00pm 4.5ozs with 4 tsp rice
6.45pm 5ozs with 4.5tsp rice
10.45pm 4.5ozs with 4tsp rice
Rice cereal is added to their bottles due to reflux problems

They nap at 8.30-9.10am, 10.30-11am, 12.50-1.50pm, 3.45-4.00pm and settle by 7pm.

As your twins get older they will be able to stay awake for longer periods of time. It is not unusual for babies of this age to be ready to sleep for an hour or an hour and a half after waking. This is especially true with your babies who were born early. The routines state that a baby of this age can be awake for up to two hours before needing a nap, but many are ready long before this. Keep working at prolonging the time they can be awake. One good way is to top and tail them at 8.20am if they are getting tired. This should help them stay awake until 8.45am

Whilst they are still tired at 8.30am, let them have a sleep until 9.10/15am.

By feeding the twins earlier than 11am and offering them the second part of their feed before going down, it may be possible to get them to sleep for a longer stretch at lunch time. Offer them half their feed at 10.30am rather than letting them fall asleep. If they are unable to stay awake, let them have a 15 minute catnap before 11.15am. Offer them the second part of their feed around 11.30/11.45am. Then encourage them to stay awake until 12/12.15pm. Hunger is often the cause of waking during this nap. By giving them a split feed you may find this nap begins to lengthen. P136 of The Contented Baby Book explains this fully.

Until this happens the twins will need to have a nap in the afternoon. Providing this does not become too long, nor stretch beyond 5pm they should be ready to settle at 7pm. If the lunchtime sleep becomes longer you may find they only need a really short nap in the afternoon but will be tired earlier in the evening. If this happens, move their bedtime to earlier. Fitting the routines in with your babies’ needs can mean some juggling and tweaking to allow for what has happened earlier in the day.

A lot of mothers find it easier to cope in the evenings if they continue to split feed at 5/6pm. Although in the routines this is used in the early weeks, many babies seem to benefit from having part of their feed at 5pm and the second half after the bath. It usually means that bath-time is less stressful as the baby is not so hungry.

At this age it is reasonable to expect a baby to play for about 15- 20 minutes before needing some attention. Some babies find this easier than others. With twins this can be very apparent. Keep encouraging your son to play alone by sitting with him for short periods and engaging his attention in a toy. Then move away but remain within sight and talk to him from time to time. Use an encouraging voice to help him know that, although you are not right beside him or holding him, you are still aware of what he is doing. Don’t have too many toys out at once. Two for each baby is plenty. Then you can take these away and replace them with something different after 10-15 minutes or so, to help him play for longer periods without needing your attention all the time.