A friend of mine sent me a desperate plea for help. She has 2 year old twins and a young infant.
I am becoming incredibly desperate! My son stopped sleeping when the baby was born ( will go to bed in his sometimes but wakes up before midnight inconsolable and ends up in our bed where he continues to wake frequently) now last week the other twin started waking frequently and now to get them to bed takes at least 2 hours and they both continue to wake. They are only getting like 6 to 7 very interrupted hours at night but will still sleep fairly well ( fight going down but not as bad as bedtime) during the day for 2 hours.
I am really at my wits end. When they wake up the shriek for me and if I am nursing it is hard for me to get to them. They will only sleep touching me. I really am at my wits end. If left to cry they just keep coming out of bed and often he strips naked and/ or vomits...
HELP!
This was my reply to her:
I would start with the pediatrician- make sure they don't have ear infection or somethig. Have you spent any time with them alone since she was born? Are you working right now? Sounds like they are really insecure.. I know you're nursing but is there any way you can take them separately out somewhere?
It's very common for toddlers to have sleep issues, especially with the addition of a new sibling. Sometimes these issues stem from insecurity about the new sibling. Spending time alone with mom can be helpful.
Another technique that works for some people is the SuperNanny technique of staying in the room until the child goes to sleep but without looking at the child. If the child gets out of bed then you put him back in his bed and don't say anything to him. This can be very stressful- I've tried it!
Unfortunately sometimes the only thing that works is time..
Feel free to share any suggestions you may have for this mom!
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I am becoming incredibly desperate! My son stopped sleeping when the baby was born ( will go to bed in his sometimes but wakes up before midnight inconsolable and ends up in our bed where he continues to wake frequently) now last week the other twin started waking frequently and now to get them to bed takes at least 2 hours and they both continue to wake. They are only getting like 6 to 7 very interrupted hours at night but will still sleep fairly well ( fight going down but not as bad as bedtime) during the day for 2 hours.
I am really at my wits end. When they wake up the shriek for me and if I am nursing it is hard for me to get to them. They will only sleep touching me. I really am at my wits end. If left to cry they just keep coming out of bed and often he strips naked and/ or vomits...
HELP!
This was my reply to her:
I would start with the pediatrician- make sure they don't have ear infection or somethig. Have you spent any time with them alone since she was born? Are you working right now? Sounds like they are really insecure.. I know you're nursing but is there any way you can take them separately out somewhere?
It's very common for toddlers to have sleep issues, especially with the addition of a new sibling. Sometimes these issues stem from insecurity about the new sibling. Spending time alone with mom can be helpful.
Another technique that works for some people is the SuperNanny technique of staying in the room until the child goes to sleep but without looking at the child. If the child gets out of bed then you put him back in his bed and don't say anything to him. This can be very stressful- I've tried it!
Unfortunately sometimes the only thing that works is time..
Feel free to share any suggestions you may have for this mom!
Share |
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Twins are fascinating. Non identical Paul and David- the latter when through a terrible time not sleeping, luckily Paul appeared to be able to sleep through anything! We got very exasperated and various medications/homeopathic/diet tips ,which do work in a lucky proportion of cases, had no effect... I think now-a-days people talk about "sleep hygeine" -regular habits, wind-down time and routines (and time to let them vocalise their day, when older) will help. I would commend all Laura's advice as given. Good luck!
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