Twins sleep Case Studies

Dad was not convinced sleep training works. But with 1yo twins who weren't sleeping well, and 2 older children under 5, he agreed to give it a go.

The twins were starting the day at 4am, taking a while to settle during the day and night, and naps were largely a hit and miss.

At night, he and his wife will divide and conquer as each will try and settle one twin, which took close to an hour... They often ended up splitting, with one parent sleeping with each twin in separate rooms.

It also meant the older children did not have mum and dad with them at bedtime…

During a 3-week period, we worked with a gentle settling technique to help the twins settle in their cots rather than in the arms, and addressed age-appropriate wake windows.

We optimised the times and duration of their naps to their age, and slowly, a wonderful routine emerged.

The twins now sleep amazingly through the night in their own room (6:30pm-6:30am), bedtime is much faster and easier, naps are a breeze and mum and dad can attend to their older children for quality time before bed too.

These twin boys were ready to learn how to self-settle, but Dad was apprehensive about the process.

The boys were struggling to settle well for naps, and consolidating sleep cycles was a hit-and-miss.

With bedtime taking longer and longer, naps being a hot mess and too early morning wake-ups, he wanted to try, but was scared of letting his boys cry.

The parents wanted a fail-proof plan that can help them understand their babies’ sleep needs and feel confident supporting their self-settling process with ease and peace of mind.

They were used to hands-on settling, but this was taking longer and longer. Very common for babies at this age as hands-on settling becomes too stimulating.

We talked about effective settling and re-settling methods, and parents wanted to work with an out-of-the-room strategy.

It took less than two weeks, and the boys were settling faster and easier each day. The morning wake-ups were our last hiccup to tackle, and we achieved that by the end of two weeks, once the 3rd nap was adjusted.

With a quick bedtime, solid naps and appropriate wake-up time, the parents, and their boys, were getting the sleep they needed, and deserve.

These boys were 8 months old when we started working together.
They took a long time to settle to sleep (apx 1h every time), which included rocking, walking, patting, and at times doing all this in a dark bathroom to try and block all other stimulation.

This was becoming physically challenging, as the boys were getting bigger and heavier.

The process was tedious, and Mum was dreading settling, as she never knew how long it's going to take, and how much crying would be involved.

Dad was due to go on a 2-week work trip, and mum was getting worried ans anxious, thinking how can she possibly do this on her own?

We worked on adjusting the boys' naps' duration and timing, looked into how much milk and solids to offer and when, and how to introduce a gentle self-settling method that will allow both parents to settle the boys on their own, in their own pace.

We worked with a gentle, in-the-room settling method, so both parents can feel confident and comfortable phasing out physical, hands-on support, and replacing it with emotional support.

After our 2-week sleep porgramme, the boys were sleeping through the night, settling on their own pretty quickly, and both parents felt incredibly confident settling them on their own.

The anxiety around bedtime was gone, and the whole family can now rest well during the day, and the night!

This can be your reality too!

All it took was consistency, encouragement, and a sleep plan that suited the parents and the babies.

Mum told me she loved co-sleeping with her babies. This has been working for a while, yet when she reached out to me, sleep was hard to come by, for herself, her husband, and the twins.

Settling was taking longer and wasn’t as effective, and night wakes were becoming more frequent. This was especially hard as she also had a little toddler to take care of.

While hesitant about the process, she wanted to find a gentle way to support the transition of the babies to their own cots, so everyone can sleep more.

Having breastfed both to sleep for so long, Mum was also looking forward to having other people helping with settling, so it isn’t all on her.

We agreed on a slow, gradual and very sensitive strategy. The moment Stephanie felt comfortable making the changes, she was pleasantly surprised at how quickly and positively both babies responded. It was almost as if they were waiting for a change so they can start sleeping better.

We introduced a more structured nap routine, kept an eye on age-appropriate wake windows and milk consumption during the day and night. With a gentle settling method and a contingency plan for naps, settling was becoming easier, faster and more effective.

Even though mum got sick in the middle of the sleep programme, results were sure to come. Once the changes took place, settling wasn’t her sole responsibility, and good sleeping habits soon became to form.

After 3 weeks, the babies were sleeping much better in their own cots, without a feed. The nights were taking shape, and everyone’s mood was improving.

Change can be slow. Faster isn’t always better. Yet consistency, patience and determination can help you and your family sleep better.

These 9 month-old-twins were actually 12m old, but 3 months premature. Which meant we had to approach the process according to their developmental stages, and match the sleep programme to their particular needs.

The girls were not super bad sleepers, but sleep habits were less than ideal… They took their morning nap in the bouncers, and afternoon nap was usually happening on-the-go or only for a short time in their beds.

Night wakes were unpredictable, and one of the girls was habitually waking up before 6am, to snuggle with mum in bed…

Mum wanted to work on self-settling, and establish a predictable routine to help her and the girls get more sleep during the day, and the night. Re-settling was just not happening, which meant that once the girls were done with one sleep cycle, that was it.

We only worked together for a week, but superstar Mum took the plan seriously, and within only a few days the girls were self-settling in their own beds, beginning to consolidate sleep cycles, frequent night wakes reduced and nearly gone, and no one woke before the crack of dawn.

With a nap routine, effective and gentle settling method, and a tweak to their diet, these girls are now enjoying the rest they need, and so does Mum!