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MetsGirl07
LIF O2 Vendor
Member since 12/07 16202 total posts
Name: Deanna
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help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
i am having such a hard time with them at night... i feel so guilty even saying this.. but its hard
at first i was feeding them together , waking the other up .. but then recently we switched our routine and left them sleeping till they wake up.
but it always seems that they never sleep together.. and if i am lucky it will be an hour tops. i get NO sleep at all.. i am a mess, i can't even function.
my DH is a huge help , but he wakes up for work 4:30 am ever morning.. and with his profession he cannot be a walking zombie.. he needs to sleep.
so i am asking for help!! or advice!! anything!!
thank you always!
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Posted 6/3/10 4:58 PM |
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shelby34
Love being a twin mommy!
Member since 5/07 2934 total posts
Name: Michele
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
I haven't had my twins yet, so I can't help. But, I would love to hear how other people are dealing with this because it is my biggest fear!
A friend of mine (whose twins are 4y/o now) said that she would feed both before bedtime, then if one woke up to feed, she would also "top off the other one". She said this helped get them both on the same schedule. BUT, I have heard from other people that they had a much more difficult time getting both babies on the same schedule...
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Posted 6/3/10 5:40 PM |
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sunnygirl
loving life
Member since 1/07 5413 total posts
Name: D
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
i'm with you, one girl wakes up every 3 hours like clock work the other i hate to wake because once shes up it takes at least another hour for her to fall asleep so i don't even wake her anymore at night, when she wakes up she eats,
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Posted 6/3/10 5:44 PM |
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jmf423
:)
Member since 5/05 6372 total posts
Name:
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
for me, letting them sleep never worked at night.....i had to do a schedule. i actually kept them on a schedule all the time. i fed them every 3 hours all day back-to-back. then after the last bottle (11ish) i would let them sleep til 1 woke up. after i fed and burped that baby i would put them in the boppy (they had reflux so had to sit up after eating) and wake the other one. usually by then he/she was starting to stir.
for me....and i know everyone is different, i had to wake them so i would get some sleep.
and don't feel bad!!! having twins is hard work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted 6/3/10 5:59 PM |
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ladyofficer
LIF Adolescent
Member since 4/09 735 total posts
Name:
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
I feel so bad It sounds like you are doing the best you can, give me another 3 weeks and I m right with you! Just keep plugging along
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Posted 6/3/10 7:23 PM |
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TripletMom
My crazy Trio
Member since 3/09 2246 total posts
Name: Paula
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
I never woke the kids up to feed them they actually got up every 3-4 hrs on their own to eat. Yes it can and will be crazy at feeding time but you will get thru it just dont stress. If one isnt screaming bloody murder leave that one in the crib and feed the other one..... if they both are screaming feed one and bottle prop the other if you are home alone....FM if you need anything
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Posted 6/3/10 9:31 PM |
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Arodisi
"My 3 Sons!"
Member since 3/06 3515 total posts
Name: KT
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
i dont have any advice yet, just wanted to send you some
DS was a terrible sleeper at night for the first 4 months...i was lucky if i got 2 hours of sleep before each feeding. i am soooo scared to go through this again...and now with 2 please dont feel guilty...we've all been there and as hard as it is at first, it will all be a blur one day!!
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Posted 6/3/10 11:49 PM |
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mom2mgn
Love my family
Member since 2/08 2267 total posts
Name: Christine
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
It IS so hard. Don't feel bad saying it but I can tell you....there is light at the end of the tunnel! It does get easier as they get older and once my twins sttn, it was like I was a person again and not a zombie.
I would always wake the other up if one woke up to eat. I had to or I got no sleep. I tried letting the other one sleep but every single time, I'd get back into bed after feeding one and the other would wake up.
You need to try to get them on a schedule. With my first son, I never had him on a schedule and that was fine because it was just hime but, with 2!!!!! You need it or you'll go crazy.
One thing I started doing with DH was, he'd give me one night when he was off and I would go to bed early at like 8 or 9 o'clock and I'd skip the 11pm and 2am feedings. That way I got a good night's sleep at least once a week. DH would sleep until 10am and he still got a good night too.
You're doing a great job!!!! Just remember that!
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Posted 6/4/10 10:42 AM |
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DNR
LIF Adult
Member since 2/08 909 total posts
Name: Donna
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
Deanna- First off I want to give you some !
Having twins or multiples is very hard. People who do not have multiples do not understand and never will!! With that said. . .I was a walking zombie for 9 months. I felt guilty all the time b/c I was miserable and so sleep deprived that I couldn't fully enjoy my boys. My husband works nights on a rotating schedule. I would be sick to my stomach on the days he had to work b/c I knew it was all me. We had the boys on a schedule during the day and then we would try to feed them a little more at their last feeding and let them sleep as long as possible. Once one woke up we woke the other. If it was just me home then I would feed one and then the other. My boys had bad reflux and ended up sleeping best in their carseats. It was a rough 9 months b/c they would not sleep at the same time during the night. Once one fell asleep the other would wake up and so on.
It does get BETTER. . .I had no choice but to do CIO with them at 9 months and I am so happy I did. They now sleep 12-13 hrs a night and nap really well. If I knew then what I know now I would have def. did CIO much sooner.
My biggest advice for multiples is SCHEDULE SCHEDULE SCHEDULE! I have friends with one child that do not understand why I do things around my boy's nap schedule. If they don't nap then they are miserable which makes me cranky. Which comes back to people with one child will NEVER understand what it's like to have multiples. Take a deep breath and know we are all here to help you.
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Posted 6/4/10 1:29 PM |
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SweetTooth
I'm a tired mommy!
Member since 12/05 20105 total posts
Name: Lauren
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
I agree with everyone else -get them on a schedule as best you can. If one woke up, I'd always wake the other. It was the only way I was able to get 2-3 hours of sleep at a time. In the first few weeks I didn't get out of bed until 12-1pm. For some reason they would sleep a long stretch in the morning, so I would always sleep then too. I won't lie, I was so sleep deprived for the first few months, it was very difficult! If you can, feed them together - that will save you some time.
Another thing we would do - I would go to sleep early at night - around 8ish, and DH would do the 11pm feeding. That way I'd get a solid block of sleep.
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Posted 6/4/10 2:29 PM |
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TTCbaby
Twin mommies are twice as nice
Member since 4/08 1861 total posts
Name: J
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
In the very beginning we would wake them together every 3-4 hours to eat...now they are 11 weeks and they eat about an hour apart from each other and we each take one of them for the night and that has been working out great for us.
For example, last night I fed my DD at 10 (I went into bed after this feeding) and she went to sleep and woke up at 3:30 so I fed her again, my DH fed DS at 11 and fed him again at 3 and again around 6:30. We usually switch kids every night since my DD is starting to sleep longer between feedings at night. This seems to work for us so far and I have been back at work for 3 weeks and am not overly overly tired.
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Posted 6/4/10 3:00 PM |
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Metsmomma
Happy Winter!
Member since 1/09 5351 total posts
Name: Renee
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
aww... Deanna i'm sorry you are having a rough time. what i do with the girls is when one gets up, i change her diaper( do it before the feeding because if you do it after then they start to wake up), oh another thing keep all the lights dim. you don't want them to thing it's daytime. then feed. put down. then wake the other and repeat. the girls have been going about 4-5 hours with this routine. i hope i helped a little!! good luck and let me know how it's going!!!!
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Posted 6/6/10 10:06 PM |
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Carolyn
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Member since 5/07 5351 total posts
Name: Twin mommy
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
You got some great advice, I also woke to feed if one got up, pretty soon they got on a schedule that was roughly the same so that was a huge help. I went to bed at 7pm so DH could do the 9 pm feeding and I could get a solid 4-5 hour stretch of sleep. It was a terrible first few months, I won't lie, but it DOES get better. Please let us know how it is going
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Posted 6/7/10 6:28 AM |
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MetsGirl07
LIF O2 Vendor
Member since 12/07 16202 total posts
Name: Deanna
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
thank you all so much for the tips and advice..this really helps alot!!
i feel like my twins are the only ones who wake up less than 3 hours .. sometimes they will only sleep 1 hour before they wake up. i know i am feeding them enough because they dont always finish their bottle.
i need to try again with feeding them at the same time during the night .. and wake the other if i have to.
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Posted 6/7/10 10:28 AM |
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skinny
3 boys and a princess!
Member since 11/08 8178 total posts
Name: Momma
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
Hey De!
Here's what we're doing so far:
Feed them every 3 hours. If they wake up beforehand, we use a pacifier to hold them off until the next time (a recommendation by the dr----it seems to work!). We've had better luck keeping them on a schedule that way. When it's time to feed them, we start off by changing their diaper to wake them up. I can usually get both boys changed and fed in under an hour. For now, it's working but who knows...maybe I'll be posting something similar in another few weeks!
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Posted 6/8/10 10:58 AM |
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Ali1
Mommy
Member since 8/05 3116 total posts
Name:
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
I can honestly say I remember being there - I was miserable the first 3 months. Remember this motto - "one day at a time".....it's the only way I survived. If I thought that the next day was going to be like this day was I don't think mentally I could handle it.
At first I would do what you were doing and quicikly realized that was not working. You have to get them on a schedule, and getting them on a schedule means waking one up when the other one wakes up. I got it down to a 25 mintue routine too. At first we would feed one, burp and then put down to sleep and then take the other one. It would be an hour process. Then I got these bottle propers and they were a god send! I would wake the other one up when one got up, put them both on their boppys and prop the bottles and stand over them. Once they were done I would burp them and then put them back to sleep. I was so good at it by the 3rd month, I was timing myself each time. This allowed me 2.5 hours of sleep between each feeding.
Don't get me wrong you are still sleep deprived but it was much better then when I was doing what I was doing.
Multiple mommy's have to get their kids on schedules. I was so strict about it for the first 2 years of their lives. From feedings to naps. I swear the kids adapt to them quickly and they work.
Hang in there. The first few months are rough! Really rough! You are not alone and feel free to FM me anytime!! Image Attachment(s):
Message edited 6/17/2010 3:12:27 PM.
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Posted 6/9/10 12:54 PM |
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MetsGirl07
LIF O2 Vendor
Member since 12/07 16202 total posts
Name: Deanna
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
Posted by Ali1
I can honestly say I remember being there - I was miserable the first 3 months. Remember this motto - "one day at a time".....it's the only way I survived. If I thought that the next day was going to be like this day was I don't think mentally I could handle it.
At first I would do what you were doing and quicikly realized that was not working. You have to get them on a schedule, and getting them on a schedule means waking one up when the other one wakes up. I got it down to a 25 mintue routine too. At first we would feed one, burp and then put down to sleep and then take the other one. It would be an hour process. Then I got these bottle propers and they were a god send! I would wake the other one up when one got up, put them both on their boppys and prop the bottles and stand over them. Once they were done I would burp them and then put them back to sleep. I was so good at it by the 3rd month, I was timing myself each time. This allowed me 2.5 hours of sleep between each feeding.
Don't get me wrong you are still sleep deprived but it was much better then when I was doing what I was doing.
Multiple mommy's have to get their kids on schedules. I was so strict about it for the first 2 years of their lives. From feedings to naps. I swear the kids adapt to them quickly and they work.
Hang in there. The first few months are rough! Really rough! You are not alone and feel free to FM me anytime for some moral encouragement!!
wow, where did you find the proppers? i would love to get them.. i have been trying to do it with blankets but it falls alot because of them moving around too much. i can see it being so much easier to feed both at the same time.
thank you for the advice, it really helps! starting the other night i woke the other up.. starting that routine again
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Posted 6/9/10 2:35 PM |
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Carolyn
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Member since 5/07 5351 total posts
Name: Twin mommy
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
I got mine at BBB - and at 6.5 months old I still use them everyday! They are a lifesaver!
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Posted 6/9/10 2:53 PM |
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Metsmomma
Happy Winter!
Member since 1/09 5351 total posts
Name: Renee
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
i was looking for those bottle propers too but the woman at BRU said they didn't sell them anymore. i'm going to have to go to BBB!!!
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Posted 6/9/10 10:13 PM |
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Ali1
Mommy
Member since 8/05 3116 total posts
Name:
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
I got mine at BBB as well. I think they are also online.
Another bit of advice I meant to put into my post before is make sure on the weekends you and DH make a pact that one of you handles the kids from 9-4 and then 4-9. I swear 5 hours straight sleep does wonders for you. On Friday and Sat nights we would do it. One would stay with the kids and the other would go to sleep up in the bedroom and then at 4 we would switch. you could still sleep when you were with the kids, but you were responsible for feeding, burping, etc. them.
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Posted 6/10/10 1:20 PM |
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beautyq115
New Year!
Member since 5/05 13729 total posts
Name: Me
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Re: help !! how did you handle your newborn's at night?
One of them would always wake up. I would feed that one and then wake and feed the other one.
IF by chance they were both up I would feed whoever was screaming the loudest OR I would feed my the one I knew would be the quickest.. It was really hard. I thought I would never survive but I did and they have been sleeping through the night for a while.
It's weird but I kind of miss those days when they were so tiny
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Posted 6/13/10 5:00 PM |
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