How We Got Our Twins Sleeping Through the Night by 6 Months (What Actually Helped)
Photo by Brooke Balentine on Unsplash
TLDR: a consistent routine, supported by the Snoo, made the biggest difference for us.
When we found out we were having twins, I was excited and, at times, overwhelmingly anxious. I may write about this more one day, because I think it’s important to normalise that two opposing feelings can exist at once. Joy and excitement are not the only things one feels when expecting twins, even when they are wanted and longed for.
My fear of having twins was not unfounded given our circumstances. My husband works very long hours and had no paternity leave; we had very limited family/community support; and we were reluctant to hire help, in part due to cost but also because it was COVID and we wanted to protect our preemies from getting sick. My main concerns were: how would I cope, and would they ever sleep?
I am a researcher, and to quell my anxiety I read and learned all about different approaches to baby sleep. Attachment theory, routine vs following the baby's whims etc. Quite quickly I settled on the decision that having a sleep and feeding routine for my twins may well be the thing that saved my sanity, and it did.
The twins were born at 32 weeks and spent over three weeks in NICU and special care. When they were discharged from hospital they were on a four hour feeding schedule, and we were advised to maintain this, waking them if necessary to ensure they had a bottle every four hours. We did this for the first four months, and they steadily gained weight and started to sleep for longer stretches. I took them out in the buggy every morning for a walk, dutifully did tummy time and let them sleep when they needed without being rigid.
the four month shift
At four months I read and started implementing the strategy set out in the book the '7pm to 7am Sleeping Baby Routine: The no-cry plan to help your baby sleep through the night.' Within a few weeks they were sleeping through with one night time feed, and by 5.5 months (3.5 months corrected) they were sleeping 7pm to 7am with no wake ups.
I know the topic of a routine is divisive, but for me it worked incredibly well and enabled my twins to gain weight, sleep consistently, and it gave me the energy I needed to enjoy them and run the household. Most importantly, it helped them to be happy, well rested babies.
The book goes into all sorts of detail about the timing of naps and feeds, breast feeding and bottle feeding foundations and techniques, winding and settling, and importantly, a whole chapter on a routine for twins. I highly recommend it.
My twins' sleeping through was a result of a consistent routine together with the SNOOS
While I will never know the extent to which having a solid routine or sleeping in SNOOs helped my twins be excellent sleepers, it was certainly a combination of the two. If you’re considering the Snoo, you can read my full, honest review HERE.
If you’re considering a routine, here’s what I learned
Like most things in life, routines work best when you commit to them and persevere through the setbacks. The routine worked for me because I committed to it consistently - and over time their sleep and feeding became settled enough that we could be more flexible with the routine.
I was able to commit to it fully because I have no other children and I was on paid maternity leave. These are enormous privileges and I don't underestimate for a second the role they played.
Having a calm and consistent sleep environment is key. We used stick up black out blinds and white noise to keep their nursery dark and quiet. Much as it will break your heart, you will on occasion have to wake your sleeping baby! Keeping to nap times means their evening sleep won't be disrupted.
As with adults, how babies sleep at night is linked to many things, including feeding and day time activity. Ensuring they're drinking enough and winding well makes a big difference to sleep.
Lastly, it's not just about the early months…helping my twins learn to sleep and self-settle as babies (without ever letting them 'cry it out') meant they have been pretty solid sleepers throughout toddlerhood and early childhood.
As noted earlier, routines are divisive. My twins slept a lot better than the singletons of mum acquaintances. When I was asked about the twins’ sleep and explained they were sleeping through the night people responded with both longing and loathing
Looking back, sleep wasn’t just about getting through the night — it was about feeling more steady, more capable, and a little less overwhelmed. For us, a combination of routine and a few key tools (a calm and predictable sleep environment and SNOOs) were what worked. Every baby and family is different, but finding a rhythm that works is possible and can make the first year with twins feel far more manageable than I’d feared at the beginning.