Twin Toddlers Case Studies

These 14m old twin boys were waking up way too early... this meant that their morning nap was happening too early in the day, and the afternoon nap was not very successful. All this contributed to a rough evening, and night wakes...

While they were settling at daycare, we had less control on the boys’ sleep during the day, working on their bedtime and night sleep meant they will have better naps at home, and at daycare.

We chose to work with a less hands-on approach for the morning wake-ups, and optimise their sleep environment. The parents chose an out-of-the-room settling approach to help the boys learn to self-settle. Within a few days the boys were getting up later, and they made it to their morning nap less tired, and were easier to settle.

Mum observed the boys’ bedtime, and implemented the settling method during night wakes too.

All this helped the boys consolidate their night sleep and start the day at a decent time, fresh and well-rested.

Within 1 week, Mum and the entire family were getting a good night’s sleep, and the boys’ naps fell into place.

These twin toddlers were 2.5yo when beginning the sleep training programme. They were sharing a room, with one twin in a big bed (since they were climbing out of the cot) while the other still in a cot (yet starting to climb out too).

They struggled settling to sleep at bedtime, and came into their parents' bed every night. The parents wanted to work on bedtime routine, and help their children stay in bed all night.

We moved the climbing twin into a big bed and established better bedtime practices to help with smoother and faster bedtime settling. Given their age and sleep needs, we also addressed the duration of the nap to help with a better night’s sleep.

Mum and Dad opted for a gentle settling approach, and after a short trial and error, they chose to use an in-the-room method.
While trips out of the room at bedtime took a bit longer to eliminate completely, within 2 weeks the twins were sleeping in their beds all night, and bedtime was much smoother and pleasant.

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.

Mum was frustrated. Her twin toddlers took a loooong time to settle to sleep. Naps were really hard to achieve and bedtime could take over 2 hours, with each parent trying to settle one twin.

The boys relied on rocking, walking, holding, and drinking bottles to settle to sleep, and night's sleep was very fragmented.

Seeing these parents needed a quick yet gentle solution, we chose an in-the-room plan, which can take as long as the parents, and the boys, needed to adjust to the changes.

Mum was adamant to be consistent, realising this would ensure results, even if slowly, and allow her boys to finally get the sleep they needed.

One twin responded really well, while the other was anxious about the changes, and responded quite strongly to the process. This is very common for toddlers when they start a sleep plan at this age, as we needed to address months of sleep habits.

Mum was gentle yet consistent, and with changes to their diet during the day, we slowly dropped their night bottles, and their night’s sleep started to take shape.

With a good night's sleep came later morning starts (instead of 5am), and the boys had more energy and a better mood during the day. Nap was starting to take shape as the boys began to trust the process more and more, and they were less overtired. This meant settling was faster, and bedtime was taking only 20-30min.

Within 2 weeks of gentle sleep training, the boys learned to self-settle in their cots and sleep through the night!

Mum was feeling a lot more confident and competent during bedtime on her own, and successful nap during the day meant she got a much-needed break too!