walk in/walk out?

[HJL]

Hello
I have twin girls that just turned 12 months. I have some sleep issues with one of them the last few weeks. Both have been taught independent sleep at around 7 months using PU/PD to break the prop of being walked to sleep. Since that time they have been able to fall asleep on their own without a prop. My problem is recent night wakings. In the past i could settle them fairly quickly if they did wake at night by comforting them (rubbing their back and laying them back to sleep or going back to PD), but for the 3 weeks or so, one of them (Siena) wouldn't settle at night regardless of what i did. To make a long story short, in order to get some sleep, I began to sleep on their nursery floor (they share a room, cribs are side to side) in front of Siena's crib and with my hand stuck through the crib rails i would gently pat her head or hold her hand. She would them settle and fall asleep and so would i (on their floor).

I can get both babies down to sleep pretty easily at night on their own (they sleep at 8pm). Iris will sleep right through the night until 8am the next morning (even when her sister is screaming/crying in the crib next to her). Siena has now gotten into the habit of waking anywhere between 3am or 4am in the morning. I'm not sure if she is going through SA? She's very good during the day and I wouldn't say that she shows signs of SA during daytime hours...but during the nightwaking she won't let me leave the room (i can settle her and she'll stop crying in the crib, but the minute i try to leave the room she'll cry). I'm not sure what's causing the nightwakings (thought it might be teething, but no sign of new teeth). Now i think she is just grown used to me sleeping beside her and won't let me leave the room. PD doesn't seem to work as well anymore, so today i tried Walk In/Walk Out. She woke at 4am and i wasn't able to get her back to sleep until 5:30am....i tried comforting her first but patting her which made her stop crying...but when i attempted to walk away from her crib, she began to cry again. Then i moved onto PD, and eventually walk in/walk out. Is this what i should be doing?? Could she have SA only at night? IF it is SA should i not be doing walk/in walk out?

I'm very confused about why she is waking because she was a good sleeper before. Perhaps my sleeping on their floor has caused this to become a prop for her?

Thanks for your advice.
PS> They have both been walking since 9-1/2 months, so i don't think her waking has to do with that.

[Florencia]

Hi!

It seems to me, given the hour she wakes and how you describe the waking, that is teething related. Even though you can't see signs of it, she's in the exact age for teething her first year molars.

What you were doing (laying on the floor and then leaving) is called Gradual withdrawal and it's suposed to work like this: you stay there when the crying episodes are worst, reassure and every other day (based on results) you move your mattress/sleeping bag further and further away until you're eventually out of the room. If you're stucked next to the crib and are not seeing any improvement with this method then wi/wo might be the way to go.

What you do is exactly what you're doing: wi, briefly comfort , pd and wo. You walk out no matter if she's crying or she's standing again. You count to 5/10/15 (seconds) to see if she calms down or strats lowening her cries while you're out and based on that you wi again. Be careful to not be INSIDE too long, cause that might wind her up and cause the method to fail. The ins and outs should be brief and taking in consideration not rushing in if the cries are getting lower or she's just talking to herself.

In addition i'd suggest you to try some pain meds (approved by ped) before bed and see if that does the trick. Rubbing teething gel on your first wi would be also a good idea.

HTH and keep us posted.

P.S. when you post back, be sure to post twin's schedule just to make sure they're napping fine and the wakings are not caused by overtiredness.

[HJL]

Thanks Florencia
Your advice really helped. The next day, after doing WI/WO the night before, was a breeze and Siena woke up only briefly and I was able to get her back to bed in seconds..no problem. It's been fine with her and her twin sister for over a week, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will continue.

Here is their schedule:

8am: wake up, dress, milk bottle
8:30am: breakfast
9:00: playtime
10:30 naptime 1-1-1/2 hr
12noon: lunch
12:30: playtime
2:30: naptime 1 hr (they have been resisting this second nap lately....thinking it might soon be time to transition to 1 nap??)
3:30:playtime and snack
4:30: dinner
5:30 getting ready for bath/pajamas
7pm: last milk bottle
7:30 bedtime

[Florencia]

HI!

I'm glad seems things are looking up so far. About the 1 nap transition I think you're up for it. Generally when they start resisting it it's time to do it!!

Observe them for a couple of days and what you have to do is try and increment their awake time in 15 mins stretches every third day until you have them napping around 12-1 pm. If you manage to get them down for a nap without overtiring them, then it's likely the nap will start lasting longer. If the nap is still short, offer a super earlybedtime or a catnap in the stroller or car in the late afternoon (no longer than 30 mins) to compensate lost sleep. TO help them lenghten their awake time in the morning you can try and offer a snack at their previous naptime (i.e. around 10 am) or early lunch around 11 am to boost their energy for a little while. You can also try keeping activity low key for the first days so they won't use as much energy.

Let me know when and if you're ready to start with the switch and I'll try to help in any way i can. Good luck and keep up the awesome work!