Feel like we've gone backwards...

[VickyB20]

Hi!

My twin boys are 16 weeks old on Thursday (they were born at 36+4 weeks).  Two weeks ago, they were on a 4-hour EASY and taking two good 2-hour naps and a catnap in the evening.  I often needed to pop in to re-settle them (usually using a paci) but that would be relatively easy and they'd go back to sleep.  (I didn't consciously put them on a 4-hour routine but thing went that way on their own accord!)

This last week has been a nightmare.  I wasn't very well and to top it all, I think they must have been having a growth spurt; they have wanted to breastfeed up to every 2 1/2 hours, at least every 3.  So we've pretty much been doing a 3-hour EASY this week.  Today though, they both woke up after 40 minutes and screamed.  I just couldn't settle either of them back to sleep and, unusually, they really disturbed each other.  It was much too early (I thought) for them to be hungry, but they both had a full feed before being calm again.

I am hoping this is just a growth spurt but I'm worrying about the 45-minute nap monster creeping in.  It's very odd to go from 2-hour naps to 45 minute ones!  Aaahh!

Any thoughts and suggestions?

We've also had some recent problems with early wakings (5am!!) and have wondered if they are actually getting too much daytime sleep?  What's normal for 16 week olds?

Thanks!

Vicky
 

[malialeanne]

Hi there. 16 weeks is a tricky time, we experienced something similar to what you're describing when we went to 4-hour EASY. I pushed for 2 2-hour naps and ended up with too much daytime sleep. Some babies need more, some less. Can you post your routine and I'll see if I can help.

[VickyB20]

I can try!  Two weeks ago we were on a very good 4-hour EASY starting, usually at 7am.  The only variation would be that they'd often want to eat at about 6pm after their catnap (used to eating after waking up, I guess!) so I'd feed them then and then top-up before bedtime an hour or so later.  I often had to re-settle them half way through their naps using the paci, but they'd go straight back to sleep and, although slightly inconvenient, it was no problem!  (They don't need the paci to get to sleep but I often use them to help them chill out and try to remove them just before they drop off.  If I miss it, I take them out once they're asleep.  I never use them though at bedtime.)

The last few days, I've been lucky to get a 3-hour EASY cycle out of them!  This morning, they woke at 6:45, went down for a nap at 8:20 and Brynley woke up screaming at 9am.  It took a long time to settle him and, thankfully, my husband was still at home to place a steady hand on Kayden when he started to stir from all the noise!  Brynley fell back asleep, finally, at about 9:20 and I woke him (!!) at 10:40 for a feed after Kayden woke at 10:20.  (I have to have them no more than half an hour apart or my day goes to pieces!)  So this morning was a bit better.  They're now chilling out preparing for their next nap; I'm anticipating putting them down at about 12:00 but quite possibly before, depending on how they're doing.  

What is it about 16 weeks that gets difficult?

I'll reiterate that we've been battling early wake-ups (between 5 and 6am) for the last couple of weeks as well.  But it's only ever one of them!!  We do our best to keep them in bed till 7am (often they drop off again for half an hour or so) and I think they're sleeping slightly later each day now.  I guess this is probably relevant to the daytime sleep.

Thanks so much for any help.

Vicky
x

[malialeanne]

Hi again. 4 months is tricky for many I think because many babies are ready to be awake for longer, but also entering a growth spurt so they are grumpy and want to eat all the time, often right in the middle of what should be their naptime. Thankfully it settles down after a bit. For us the key was getting A times to 2 hours, once we did that things seemed to fall into place.

Most babies on 4-hour EASY are doing 2-hour A times, but it looks like yours are closer to 1.5. Does that mean that they were then napping for 2.5 hours to make up the difference? If so, that could possibly be too much daytime sleep. Another issue we dealt with at 4 months was that we pushed for 2 2-hour naps to make it to 4-hour EASY, and ended up with too much daytime sleep, making it difficult for her to get into a deep sleep at night. Many BW moms limit naps to 2 hours each so as not to cut into night sleep. In fact, we cut naps down to 1.5 hours each and that seemed to help--not suggesting that for you, but something to consider if night sleep is unsettled and you have lots of napping during the day.

Here's a post on early morning wakings that might be helpful: https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=87109.0

HTH!

[VickyB20]

Thanks for the early wakings link.  Lots of food for thought there!

I've been totally confused by their switch from 4 to 3 hours!  They were happily doing 2 hours of awake time (much to my surprise) followed by 2 hour naps (sometimes 2 1/2, but I never let them sleep longer than that).  Then they got a cold, started waking early, couldn't last 2 hours awake after the early wake-up then seemed to have a growth spurt and just wanted to eat all the time!  Today, we mostly did 3 1/2 hour cycles (in bed after 1 1/2 for wind-down and asleep before 2 hours of activity, KWIM?), so I'm hoping that we're beginning to get back on track.

I never had any of these problems with Ella although at this age I think I just accepted that she was a 45-minute napper!!  It wasn't so important then to be on a good routine but with two babes and a toddler, I need to know what's going to happen in a day!!

Today, for every nap at least one of them woke up after the first sleep cycle.  I wonder though that perhaps it was over-tiredness that would wake them.  I tried sitting in the room after 30 minutes so I could re-settle straightaway but it only worked once!  If I get them past the first sleep cycle they normally sleep well for another hour or so.  Does that sound like I'm putting them down too late?

With 4-hour EASY, do most babies still have a catnap late afternoon?  Or do they go from half 3ish till bedtime?  I don't think my boys could do a long stretch like that yet.

Night sleep is really good actually.  They go to sleep very happily on their own and we don't hear a peek until 3 or 4am when they want to eat (I dreamfeed too at 10 or 11).  I had thought they were ready to cut out that feed but this growth spurt has messed with all my plans!!

Thanks for your help.

Vicky

[malialeanne]

After about 4 months if dd woke at 45 minutes it generally meant that A times needed to extend. However, if your twins were born at all early they may not be quite at 4-months sleep-wise, kwim? 2 hours is a strech for some at 4 months...but if it was working for you before the growth spurt I'd be inclined to think that it will work again after things settle down.

Most babies can't drop the catnap until A times approach 3 hours and the catnap ends close to 4 (between 6-8 months for many)--at that point you'll find it hard to squeeze in the catnap w/o pushing bedtime too late.