Many parents of twins or more will aim to get their babies synchronised into similar routines. If your babies have spent a considerable length of time in the neonatal intensive care nursery, then it may be just a matter of maintaining the 'status quo' when you get home.
Unfortunately though, most babies in the early days (whether they are a singleton or one of a multiple) will not have any particular feeding and sleeping pattern that is predictable. Adding to this is the fact that their biorhythms have yet to sort out the difference between night and day, with many babies being more active during the night, than during the day. You can read more on this in Class 11 on
possible feeding and sleeping patterns.
If you want to encourage your babies to feed and sleep together then you can try the following:
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During the day when one baby is hungry, feed the other(s) at the same time. If one baby wakes at night, feed them and then wake the other baby to have their feed. |
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In the beginning, keep a daily written schedule of what your babies are doing. You may see similar patterns emerging that can help you ease them into similar schedules. For example, if one baby is sleeping from 10 till 12 am and the other is sleeping from 11 till 1pm, you may keep one up for half an hour longer and put the other to bed half an hour earlier, so they go to bed together. |
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When one baby is ready to sleep, try settling all the babies together. In the evenings get all the babies ready for bed at the same time. Develop a 'winding down' routine of possibly bathing, feeding and bedtime. |
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Make sure all the babies are changed and burped (if they need it). An unsettled baby may wake the other or prevent the other from going to sleep. Consider separating them when sleeping if this is happening frequently. |
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Around 3 to 4 months of age, one of the babies may be ready to sleep though the night. You may wish to try experimenting with leaving the second baby to sleep every now and then to see if this is happening. |