Author Topic: Short activity time  (Read 1059 times)

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Offline Bestbees

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Short activity time
« on: January 15, 2014, 11:21:19 am »
Hi all

I am new to the and have 5.5 month old boy twins.

They are not good night sleepers so we are working on that. Timings in the day depend on wake up time and I follow their cues. Tends to be a bit more EAEAS as they need a little extra, bf two means they don't always get bit feeds.

They seem to be tired after only 1-1.5hrs before their first and second naps of the day. These are usually two hours then one hour. They sleep in the buggy in the day which I prefer. If they struggle I rock them, weaning off the feed to sleep. In the afternoon however it is really hard to get a cat nap out of them, and they end up being awake sometimes for more like three hours. Is it ok if I'm following their cues? Might this be causing NW?

Offline *Ali*

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Re: Short activity time
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2014, 21:49:01 pm »
Were they premature or full term? That might determine their typical A time if they were more than a few weeks early.
I would try to gradually increase their A times in the morning. It sounds like they are almost using that first nap as an extension to their night sleep and then by the second nap they are Undertired and so don't take a full nap. They probably can't get tired enough again to take the cat nap before BT but then end up really overtired and have lots of NWs. Then the disturbed night means they can't manage a full A time in the morning and the cycle begins again.
They are approaching the age when they will not need a third nap soon so you may just need to redistribute their two naps more evenly throughout the day. All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months
You can increase A times by 10-15 mins every few days to give them a chance to adjust. Sometimes at this age they can show tired signs when they are used to sleeping or when they really just need a change of scene.
Typical A time for a 5.5-6mo is 2.5-3hrs. Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

How many times are they waking at night? Do you feed every time? It can be usual to have 1-3 NFs at this age (especially for twins sharing the milk I imagine :) ). What time is BT and what time do you start the day?
How do they fall asleep at bedtime? Can they settle themselves to sleep in their crib or do you think maybe they are waking at night and looking for you because they don't know how to self-settle?

And well done on breast feeding twins so successfully  :) I'm a twin and it is great  ;D
« Last Edit: January 15, 2014, 21:53:57 pm by *Ali* »
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline Bestbees

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Re: Short activity time
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2014, 08:02:04 am »
Hi!
They were 37 weeks so not really early.
I will try and stretch morning a time

One twin wakes every 3 times then tries to get up at 5 when we normally bring in with us. The other wakes every two hours. I try shush pat or dh settling but normally feed as is quickest but appreciate it might be vicious circle. I would say me or two time is for comfort the rest hunger, but hard to know what it will be. Plus isn't comfort a real need?

They go down wide awake and we pat n sing to sleep. I know they can settle as one has done 6 hrs the other 4 at night.

Bed time is 6.30 as in they are asleep then. After a 5.20 attempted am rise we all bundled in together til 6.30.


Offline *Ali*

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Re: Short activity time
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2014, 08:09:11 am »
Yes of course comfort is a real need :) so is sleep though and if a LO isn't getting more than two hours in a row at night then that doesn't sound very restorative.

If you are happy to continue as you are then that is fine. Whatever works for your family.  If you want help changing anything then we would be happy to help you come up with a plan :)
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline Bestbees

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Re: Short activity time
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2014, 08:32:17 am »
Thanks Ali,

I am thinking of tackling one thing at a time. So, as of tomorrow I will start extending a time in the morning. Think it will be hard! Worried about over tiredness but I guess I can apop by pushing them in buggy to get it started.

I've thing I struggle with is if one twin wakes before the other from a nap, do I wake the other? Difficult as they are two separate people!

Also will try weaning off the patting n singing at night,stopping earlier and earlier.

Does that sound sensible? I am hoping that with a bit of rejigging and very gentle changes there won't be too much stress for anyone?

Offline *Ali*

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Re: Short activity time for TWINS
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2014, 12:54:47 pm »
I think your plan sounds like a good one  :)

A twin mama on this forum posted this on another thread some times ago
"Mostly, you make it what it is.  It doesn't have to be overwhelming.  Just do for one what you do for the other, right down to bathing and diaper changes, it is just easier that way." This is the best twin motto ever 

I don't have twins of course but I have seen many say it is easier to keep them on the same routine if you can so that you get a break when they are both sleeping too. I think there is a routine in one of the books where Tracy has twins on a 15 min staggered schedule so one wakes earlier and it gives you time to feed and maybe even change their nappy before doing the same for the other. Not sure how that works while the second twin is being fed if twin one isn't happy to lay somewhere though. I guess ultimately it is up to you whether you try to keep the same routine or not. I don't think it will make a huge difference to the LOs either way it it might to you so...?

Btw I have changed the title of this post to include the word twins. That is a good tip for your future post as the other twin mamas in here will be more likely to see your posts and chip in. They are good like that  :)
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011