6 month twins wont sleep longer than 4 hrs at night

[Erin M]

Oh goodness, speedy recovery vibes for you all! 

[BareFootMomma]

Ok, sick or not, I need some advice about our night last night. It was really really bad. They both went to bed at 7:30 and then baby B woke at 8 and wouldn't go back to sleep until after 2am. That's right, 2 AM!!! We would think she was finally back to sleep, put her down, and before we even turned our backs to walk out of the room she would be moaning again. We tried ignoring the moaning and it always turned into crying after a minute or two. She had gas drops, tylenol and ibuprophan, teething gel, and a humidifier in the room to help with any congestion she had. We didn't know if we should just keep trying to keep her asleep or if we should let her be up and try again in an hour or two or if she was even really awake. It seemed like every time we picked her up she would relax and be limp and asleep within seconds, but as soon as she was in her bed she would start to wake up. We tried 3 or 4 times to feed her making sure she wasn't hungry, but she never ate more than an ounce. When she finally stayed asleep she only slept for 2 hours before waking up again. This time though, she ate and went right back to sleep, but was up for the morning 2 hours later.....at 6:30.

Baby A was also waking up every 30-45 minutes but usually only needed a paci re-plug or to be picked up for a minute or two.

I am so scared for tonight. I don't think I can survive another night like last night.

[Erin M]

Yikes, that is a crazy NWing!!  Did she have a relatively normal day?  Honestly, the *only* thing I can think of that would cause something like that would be discomfort -- was she sick?  Could she possibly be getting sick?  How has your day been?  Has she been herself during the day too or cranky?  Anything developmental going on? 

[BareFootMomma]

She is sick, but it is mostly just a head cold (if she has what everyone else has). Her day was pretty normal with about 3.5 hrs of total daytime sleep. Today she has been ok, gets tired really quickly (hasn't made it to 2 hrs of A time all day) and isn't napping well. She went to bed an hour ago and has already been up twice.

Not much developmental going on, and I think they are just finishing a wonder week.

[Erin M]

Ear Infection?  Always worse when laying down..?

[BareFootMomma]

I hadn't thought of that. I guess if she is still fussy tomorrow we will head to the Dr. She finally stayed asleep after the 4th wake up around 8:15. Fingers and toes crossed that tonight goes ok. Poor baby A keeps coughing every few minutes

[my3girlsjde]

Just a thought, but has she been checked for reflux at all? Does she seem uncomfortable? Take a peek here just in case you want to rule it out or if anything seems familiar Reflux 101 - General reflux information

Hugs hun, you're doing great and I know the struggle with sleep all too well.

[Erin M]

Oh goodness, hope you're getting some sleep!

[BareFootMomma]

Thankfully that horrific night seems to have been a fluke. They have slept pretty well the past two nights, even though "good" right now is them only being up 3-4 times.....each. They seem to still be pretty sick, but neither seems to be in a lot of pain so I am giving them a few more days before we go to the Dr.

[Erin M]

Oh good, that sounds much better!  Hope they continue to sleep better as they feel better!

[BareFootMomma]

I don't know if it is them still being sick or what but their sleep habits are quickly turning into wanting to sleep all day and be up all night. I am fighting to keep them on a schedule, but they literally cry all day because they want to sleep and are tired. I had to wake them at 90 minutes from both naps today and they were miserable from about 20 minutes after I woke them until I let them go back to sleep 2.5 hrs later. Now, it is 10:30 pm and they wont stay asleep, and Baby B is refusing to go to sleep at all. She slept for 20 minutes after we put them down for bed at 8:00 and has been awake ever since. NOTHING is working to get her to go to sleep. She will relax and close her eyes while being held and patted, but if we even slow the patting her eyes open and she is awake. We finally gave up, un-swaddled her and she is currently happy as can be playing on the floor. She happier now than she has been in several days! Baby A cries about every 15 minutes and needs to be picked up and/or patted back to sleep.

***edited to add - Baby B finally went to sleep at 12:45am, woke up to eat at 4, and then slept until 8.***

I don't know what else to do about their sleeping problems! The last two nights I have gotten no sleep after their first wake up to eat (between 12:30 and 1:30). They just will not stay asleep after that. They take turns crying roughly every 15-20 minutes for the rest of the night. Last night they ended up sleeping from 5:30-7:30 which was the longest stretch after they woke to eat at midnight.

I realized I didn't answer this earlier. Baby B does have reflux and is on medication for it.

[Erin M]

Oh dear.  That's fairly awful. 
I think as much as they're fighting it, you have to keep with those A times and push them as much as you can.  Do they do better outside the house maybe during A time -- will it keep them more alert?  Not sure where you are (hopefully somewhere where the weather is decent) -- can you take them outside during their A time so they're in the sunshine and maybe more awake? 

I don't think the reflux is the answer, but have you had doseages, etc checked lately? 

[BareFootMomma]

Reflux dose just checked and upped at their 6 month.

Baby B flat out is refusing to go to bed at all tonight. BT was at 7 today and it is now 9 and she hasn't gone to sleep at all.....so she has been up since 4:30! DH and I are sick of it. I don't know what to do and I refuse to let her get in the habit of being able to just stay up super late. Her day was good actually! Two 1.5 hr naps and 2.5 hr A times.

We are in UT and the weather has been super nice up until the past 3-4 days. I was taking them out every day for some sun and they loved it, but it didn't help them stay up any longer.

I think tomorrow, especially with Baby B I am going to just force her to be up for 3 hrs of A time.

[Erin M]

I think tomorrow, especially with Baby B I am going to just force her to be up for 3 hrs of A time.

That's what I would try too...

[becj86]

Is it hot in the day - maybe causing lethargy? Sorry, no idea what weather is like there

Could they be waking/disturbing each other and therefore not resting as well as they ought?

Congestion causing an issue when lying down for a long period of time? Is the head of the bed raised a little - I presume so given the reflux.