[name]Hi[/name] everyone. I have some questions about when a baby should sleep through the night and when if they don’t should try to start sleep training them? I have twin boys who are 18weeks old. They were born a little early at 35weeks but they are both big healthy boys now 15lbs each. They are still waking up about twice in the night to eat and I am so tired. It seems to me they should by sleeping longer by now. During the day they eat about every two hours and at night I give them rice cereal in their bottle which lengthens the time between feedings to three hours. I was wondering when your babies slept through the night? Did you sleep train them? If so what method did you use? When they woke up in the night do you think they were actually hungry or did they just want attention? What did your doctors say about when they should be sleeping longer and about sleep training? I would appreciate any feedback you have especially as we don’t have a pediatrician where we live and I really don’t have a lot of faith in our family doctor so I have no one to ask! [name]TIA[/name]
If they need attention, they need attention. When you respond to their needs, including “just for attention”, they are learning mommy is there for them which will make them secure adults. Did a doctor okay the rice cereal in their bottle? That’s generally a BIG no-no. At only 18 weeks old, no, they shouldn’t be sleeping through the night. Some babies do, some babies don’t. If they are waking up they need you, even if it’s just for a cuddle. 18 week old babies cannot manipulate or “be spoiled”-the mental connections needed for those things to happen literally haven’t formed yet. Can your husband or grandma help you, or a few good friends? With twins you really need to have help. Just one newborn is hard enough! I know sleep deprivation is hard (trust me, I know!, I’m a mom myself) but eventually, when your BOYS ARE READY, they will sleep through the night. Until then get as much help as you can from others. I’m not saying developing a routine is bad, as long as it is flexible to meet your newborns needs.
As to sleep training, I co-sleep so I’ve never done any sleep training. I don’t know what I would do if I had twins since we wouldn’t be able to co-sleep.
Below is a link written by a pediatrician that describes the method I used to get my boys to sleep during the night. Basically you just let them cry it out for a few nights and they will figure out that they may as well sleep since you are not going to come and feed/cuddle them. It took my oldest 5 nights before he slept through the night and my younger one 3 nights. I waited until they were both 13 weeks old. I am expecting twins and am a little overwhelmed with trying to manage two at once and I’ve been through it before, I couldn’t imagine if they were my first babies (I’m assuming they are your first.) Best of luck!
This is my exact thought too. Thanks for saying it much more eloquently than I could [name]Jersey[/name]! I think we’ve been on the same page alot recently.
Also note that an infant’s sleep cycle is NOT the same length as an adult’s so we can not expect them to sleep through the night by a certain age. Some babies do like Jersey said, but not all do.
Only thing I can add differently is that I have twins. At 18 weeks (4.5 months?) they were nursing 2-3 times a night so I think your boys are about on track. (We coslept with them them and still do now) They were about the same weight as what you listed too then.