Transcript: Where Should My Twins Sleep?

View Episode

Twin Talks
Where Should My Twins Sleep?

[00:00:00]

Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Cribs, co-sleepers, bassinets, and bunkbeds. With twins, there’s a lot of equipment and transitions ahead. Should you put newborns together? Keep them in your room or put in the nursery? And when they’re older, when should you separate them? Do they need their own rooms? Our twin parents are here to talk about sleeping arrangements for twins. This is Twin Talks.

[Theme Music/Intro]

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Welcome to Twin Talks, broadcasting from The Birth Education Center of San Diego. Twin Talks is your weekly online on the go support group for expecting new parents and twins. I'm your host, Christine Stewart Fitzgerald. Have you heard about the Twin Talks Club? Our members get bonus content after each new show plus special giveaways and discounts.

Subscribe to our monthly Twin Talks newsletter and learn about the latest episode available. Another way for you so stay connected is by downloading our free Twin Talks app. It’s available in the Android, iTunes, and the Windows marketplace.

Before we get started, we’re going to introduce ourselves. We got a full house today. So let’s hear. On the phone with us, we’ve got three guests on the phone and I don’t know if we’re going to start geographically or whatever.

SUNNY GAULT: So many options.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yes. So we have Shannon in the East Coast. You want to tell us a little bit about your family?

SHANNON: Yes. We have two sets of twins. We have three year old boys and 17 months old girls. We were living in San Diego for about 10 years, so we move over here to Massachusetts and we drove with our whole family to get over here to Massachusetts. That was interesting.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Oh my gosh. I'm sure the drive, you could write a book about the drive.

SUNNY GAULT: Sure, absolutely.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: And how about Carrie? Tell us about your family.

CARRIE: Hi, I live in Ocean City Maryland. I also have two set of twins, seven year old fraternal girls and two year old identical girls.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: All right, two set, what is this…

SUNNY GAULT: I know.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Whit the multiple sets today.

SUNNY GAULT: It’s cool though. I'm excited to hear what you guys have to say about sleeping.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: You know, twice as many opportunities to you know, perfected.

SUNNY GAULT: To get it right?

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, exactly.

CARRIE: Yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: And Jules, tell us … And you’ve unique situation too.

JULES: Yeah, my husband and I and our girls are in Seattle. We have triplet girls, one identical, no, two identical, one fraternal, turned my head spinning. Usually, I'm not out numbers.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: It’s okay.

JULES: I'm usually on top of the totem pole but yeah, so we’ve been here in Seattle for 10 years but over family, our extended families are in Utah and New Mexico and Nevada, so pretty far away.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Busy, busy. Okay, and in our studio, Angela.

ANGELA: Hi, my name is Angela. I'm a Montessori guide, teach ages three to six, and I have just one set of twins, Reed and Avenair about two and a half.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Two and a half, that’s great. That’s a good age.

ANGELA: It is super fun.

SUNNY GAULT: Same age almost just my twins. I'm Sunny. I'm producing today’s show and I have four kids total, two singleton boys, ages five and three and then my twins, I don’t think they’re quite two and a half there, between two and two and a half. Yes, and then the girls, identical girls.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: So you’re not doing the 26 month kind of thing?

SUNNY GAULT: I was up until like 26 months and then I was like, okay guys. Yeah, I just can count pass in 26 barely.

ANGELA: The month goes too fast.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: I hear you. I'm your host, Christine and I’ve got identical girls who are six and a half and then I also have a singleton girl, and she’s three and a half. And she likes to be like her sisters, right now, my older girls are asking for finger nail polish, and now, the three year old is asking for finger nail polish, and I'm like, oh. You think you’re twin? Now, it’s not happening.

SUNNY GAULT: It’s cute though.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: It is cute.

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: All right. So before we get started today, we have a headline and I love talking about positive stories especially when it comes to breastfeeding online and in this particular breastfeeding story involves a mom of triplets in breastfeeding. Yes, I said that right. She is providing breast milk for babies and she has three. Okay, so this is what happened and this was involving Delta Airlines which I don’t know if you guys been paying attention but Delta is really been stepping it up when it comes to, I mean, they’re getting some, I hesitate to say publicity because it’s going through these very organic channels and it seems to be very natural.

It doesn’t seem like something they’re really soliciting. I really hope it’s like an internal thing where they’re just training their employees and the good staff is coming out. But anyways, there was a mom of triplet. She had to pump on the plane for her babies and apparently, the whole staff really just kind of went out of their way for her and so that she was comfortable and people won’t really bothering that she was able to pump. And then the mom, when she was in, she was so happy that she got all this support for it. I think she post this something to Facebook or whatever. This is kind of how it became a story.

Again, I just want to recognize not just Delta. But people that go out of their way to help mom because it wouldn’t be really easy to just kind of roll your eyes, you know what I mean or just I don’t know, just not go out of your way to help someone that really need a help because I think this was a longer flight and when you got to pump, you got to pump especially when you’re feeding three babies.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Oh, my gosh.

SUNNY GAULT: You know how much you would have to pump like it’s just kind of crazy. So what do you think?

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: I think a lot of the airlines I mean, they’re at least starting to put together policies on breastfeeding and starting the process but yeah, you’re right. I think Delta is ahead of the game. And then, yeah, I had heard that they upgraded her to first class.

SUNNY GAULT: I was just going to say that.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: They did upgrade to her the first class, so she would have some extra space and they gave her some extra snacks which you need when you’re breastfeeding anyway.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yes. So I mean talk about like going above and beyond. I'm like kudos.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah…

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, now, Jules, I mean, I don’t know what your situation is but I mean, having triplets and just the feeling process.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, complicated.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: That’s a really big job in of itself. Did you ever have to fly with them?

JULES: Oh, good God, yes, we only get it once before because it was just such new because you can’t sit three infants in one row. You have to split them up and you have two parents and you’re totally out numbered. We flew with them at 18 months and I wasn’t able to breastfeed any longer than three months due to sleeping arrangements in my own production.

ANGELA: Right, I'm still traveling with 18 month old, all right, triplets, oh my gosh.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Was the airline accommodating for you?

JULES: Yeah, they let us forward early and I mean everything is really nice. I think it was more stressful simply because we don’t know what to expect flying with babies in the first place but it went really smoothly. They were really great. I actually don’t remember, I think it was Delta. No, I actually I do, it was Delta.

SUNNY GAULT: Right, and I think sometimes, our own worst enemy in this and we think about okay, what is it going to be like? And everyone is going to hate it, the moment that my baby’s cry and we’re like totally stress ourselves out and sometimes we doesn’t I think need to take a step back and be like well, it was just see what happens. Maybe they’ll hate us, maybe they won’t, maybe they’ll be a nice flight attendant that helps me pump, you know. You never know.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: Anyway perhaps to Delta, go ahead and post the link to this on our Facebook page so you guys can check it out.

[Theme Music]

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Well, we’re here today with our expert parents talking about what to consider for setting up rooms and beds for twins of all ages. And I think it’s great. We’ve got a really great mix here of ages. We’ve all been to the newborn stage and some of us have been for the older because it seems like at every point, there’s a lot of different thoughts to put in the place. Starting out, talking about newborn twins. What are some of the difference rooming options? I mean staying in the room with the parents or being in their own room and sometimes, I know like in the monastery style, you put the parents like on the bedding in the kids room at different times like…

ANGELA: I did not do that.

SUNNY GAULT: You’re like, I had my own room, thank you very much.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, so what did you guys do? How about with Carrie, what did you do for your newborn twins? Where did they go?

CARRIE: The first set went in a packing place next to our bed and so we felt comfortable moving them to their room. I think we move them like four months into their own bed room and I just say easy for nursing and everything. And then the second set, they were in bed with us and pretty much stellar.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Wow.

CARRIE: They were very different sleeper, the second set babies are not like, they are like sleepers with the first set but the first set were very heavy sleepers. So keeping the new ones with us just also just much easier all around.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: That’s great and I think that’s a great point that I mean, there is no silver bullet formula for you know where they should sleep and I mean, in your family, you took a different approach because they had different needs, different style, yeah.

CARRIE: Yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: How about for Angela, what was your sleeping arrangement? Where did you have your twins?

ANGELA: For the first two months, we used a co-sleeper but the packing play, we’re also looking at that really closely because you can have the two, I mean, it was really important for me to keep them together in the beginning, so I didn’t have them in my room for those first, well, four months. For the first two months, we have them in the co-sleeper right next to us and next was move them to the floor beds in our room, and then, in their own room when they’re five or four months, so about four months seems like the good time. They’re sleeping a little bit heavier that are longer so they can make it through the night.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: And Shannon, for you, did you have them in room?

SHANNON: So boys, my first set of twins, they slept in a co-sleeper in our room but really not, they mainly stock with us. One of the boys slept better in the co-sleeper, so I just did kind of transition him into that after nursing for toddler where mostly either of us and so about, I would say about 17 months, we tried to move them into their own bed like toddler beds in their room which they always end up back in our bed. And then, the girls, they sleep, and so, it’s kind of the same situation to girls. We have one girl who sleep longer than the other.

She’s in her own crib which is now in a transition into a toddler bed. On one side of our bed, and then the other twin, her crib is pull back against our bed like a co-sleeper, so she’s more to arm fun because she ends up in our bed a lot more often. So they’re in our room still, and the boys are now in their toddler bed in their own room, or all of them are in our bed.

ANGELA: Oh my goodness.

SUNNY GAULT: Need a big bed.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Right, but it’s a common thing. We’re hearing close proximity to the parent’s bed. And was that in Jules, for you too, I mean, in now, you got three.

JULES: Yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Three takes more room or space. Where they also in your room?

JULES: No, we were limited by our house structure in it. Our room just wasn’t big enough for three bassinets, so three pack and play or cribs of any sort, so we’re pretty strict about keeping them in their cribs in their rooms we had. We started in stages. When we brought them home, we have them all in one crib, and then when they got to bond if you will, to do that, we move one baby into another crib and kept two together and then we move the third into their crib. That was the night time. During the day we are all about house.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, it’s like kind of the night time, you think of beds but then you know, they take too many naps then I guess that’s kind of the other question. They spend a lot of time sleeping in other areas besides a crib, so what did you put them in? Did you put them in either bassinet during the day time or?

JULES: Oh my gosh, our house was just … We have a two story house. The bed rooms are all on the top floor, and then on the bottom floor, in our main living room, we had two pack and place and then, we had two swings and three bouncers…

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Oh my gosh.

JULES: Sometimes, we would end up having them in their bouncers if we’re having trouble getting them to sleep, and we would carry those upstairs.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: And then they’d primarily sleep upstairs I guess that’s what I'm hearing then.

JULES: For night time, yes.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: For night time, okay.

JULE: During the day, we rotated, if everybody got turns into swings and bouncer and pack and place.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: How about anyone else here on the phone, what kind of sleep area, either for night time or day time, did you I mean, use like any either bassinets or rocking place or creative co … I mean, I think we mentioned co-sleepers. Co-sleepers at night time but anything else like during the day time?

ANGELA: Yeah, I did. I use something called the top in Chino and that’s a Montessori, and you can look it up and see there’s a tons on there for sale, but in a sort of like a bassinet mattress sort of and those are lifesaver so much because I would just hold them, rock them a little bit and then just put them down and they are already on like a little pad or a little mattress. So really wherever I was, honestly, we were just on the floor everywhere.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Wow.

ANGELA: We are just on the floor everywhere and that was like they’re a little cozy spot just sleep but then I also did have a crib mattress in my living room that turn into a nap spot often too. So if I was just, and you know, if they were just kind of sleeping or starting to go to sleep, they could always just go over on to the mattress and which they did but yeah, it was just kind of sleeping everywhere type of situation, so yes.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: I like the simplicity of that. I mean, that you can just put a mattress, so small in the corner, you know, when you needed, you know, lot of furniture just you know, and the type that they could learn that hey, that’s their little sleeping spot.

ANGELA: Yes. And especially, probably about eight months, they started to just go and crawl into the mattress, so they would you know, recognize that they were tired and say, okay, well, I'm just going to go over there, or they would just go and take a break, especially my daughter. She would just go over there, rest for then well, get back up and go play. Yes, the simplicity was so, you know, as all of you know, sometimes less are so much more. Your arms are already completely full. You can’t have four diapers bags and you know, I have no idea how you manage three swings and two bouncer. Oh my gosh, that’s a lot of equipment.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah.

ANGELA: Yeah, yeah, a lot of times. You know, and if I was nursing one, I would kind of just even just kind of with my foot. You roll the other one over if they were upset or something. On the floor was definitely where I lived in the first year.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: How about on the phone. What did you guys use? I know those co-sleepers and anything else kind of during the day time?

CARRIE: I know for us, they slept in their swings a lot, unfortunately one of my older daughters had such sever acid reflux and would cry for about 12 hours a day and we would rock her and find together to sleep, we would just put her right into that rocker that kept on moving. It was like our way to get any peace and quiet.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, was that like a rock and play? Because I think I have seen on a lot of different twin boards that people just like wowing the rock and play for twins who have acid reflux and need to be more vertical.

CARRIE: This is just a traditional swing that rock front to back or side to side, she would rock side to side. It was only to suit her and we even had a little blanket underneath to keep really upright because she just oh, for little thing because that acid reflux so it’s just miserable for them.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Oh men, yeah, so definitely, I’ve heard about different also that rock and play and then also sometimes getting special like cushion, like elevate on one end so they can be having elevated head and just putting that within the mattress whether they’re on a crib or any other regular flat surface.

CARRIE: We had a little I guess like a wedge like that in their mattress underneath and she would just roll like eventually she would move a little bit and roll all the way down to the bottom, so that never really helped us that much.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: You know, and I have to say, I think the twin parents are probably the most innovative. They’re resourceful.

CARRIE: Yeah.

ANGELA: They’re shoving towels and stuff underneath them. Yeah, my son had a little reflux too and I remember using the “top end Chino” like I said and then I would kind of wrap a blanket around him, and he was like a little burrito, sort of like a more elaborate swale like us and then it would … But because I had them all rolled up in there, I could prop more things underneath him, so it kept him a little elevated, so yeah, I did that.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: So when their first, you know, they’re young and it sounds like I think everybody put them together, what did the first transition look like? I think I heard four months from few folks that that’s kind of when you decided. Okay, they’re ready to go into maybe their own bed. I know in my case, it was kind of the same thing. We had our girls in a co-sleeper next to our bed because I think you know, again, I think having them in room near the bed makes it so much easier for night feeding and especially for breastfeeding. I could not imagine getting up in the middle of the night and walking down the hallway to go nurse babies, when that happen.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: We had a system where my husband you know, if you heard the baby storing, he would get up, he would diaper them and then he bring one to me because I wasn’t really doing tandem nursing at night but he’d bring one to me and then I’d kind of do the sideline thing, nursing her in bed and then, after that, she was done then we just switch and he’d you know, put that one down, get the other one. It was like a little factory line.

ANGELA: Exactly what we did.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, so I mean, having them right there and we’d even put like you know, the diaper equipment, like everything right there so we didn’t have to take them anywhere. It was just all right like literally two feet away.

ANGELA: Yes.

SUNNY GAULT: But you don’t want to wake them up any more than they already they are, right?

ANGELA: Yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: So if they are waking up just because they want to nurse, you know, they want to keep them in that grog-e stuff. So the more you move him around, the more you’re asking to have twins that are wide-awake.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, just go back to sleep, yeah, but I think we did find here was like, round to four months, that’s kind of when I think the eating patterns, you know, we’re starting and I want to say it was probably about four and a half months when we didn’t have to do the night feedings.

SUNNY GAULT: Yes.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: So it was like, well, we all remember that. It’s like what, six hours of sleep or maybe yeah.

ANGELA: Four and a half five.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Four and a half five, yeah. And then that’s when we put our girls in a crib in their own room and then, we had ones little crib dividers, a little kind of foam caution that goes in the middle because we just feel like you know, they were in the co-sleeper and we’d hear one of them crying and you know, we’re like, oh, okay, are they crying, is there hungry or what. And my husband actually cut them. So one, you know, when they were really little and they’re all you know, swaddled up and they kind of inch their way out of the swaddle and get their elbows out and they start like smack moves just like you know . . . we heard the other one crying and I was like, what? Just like okay, yeah, she hit me, you know?

ANGELA: Right.

SUNNY GAULT: That’s interesting because we’ve been talking about the co-sleepers kind of thing that where it’s right next to the bed. Now, we had, I guess I would consider I'm co-sleepers too but I had two separate ones for them. They were kind of like little bassinet co-sleeper type. They want the wheeled.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Where they the mini, the mini size?

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, just like on minis, yeah. In fact after six months, they kind of got too big for them, right?

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: They were on wheels, so I would just kind of wheel them over, you know. Yeah, I never actually thought of putting them together like I said, my girls are over two now so they actually do sleep together now but before, I was scared of exactly what you’re talking about. I'm like, I need these kids to sleep and not hit each other. So yeah, so we did that, I think they were minis.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: They were minis.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, we had this one big one, yeah. And then, we thought okay, they’re big enough, let’s put them in their crib and they’re sleeping through the night but then we had the divider in that. I think that work for a while and then, you know, transition and probably you know, maybe a month later into a separate cribs. That point, you know, six months, you know, you think you can stand up. How about you guys, when did you make that first transition?

CARRIE: With the first set, it was just actually we decided to get an out of her room and out of the bed when I had to go back to work from maternity leave, and that was kind of a force decision and they went from be in our room together in their crib separately, and they did really well. It was a pretty easy transition, I mean, you know, of course we had to be in there a little bit and kind to do some modified laying them cry it out for like a minute or two of the time but you know, I always hated that. The second two are like very different. We were in the car lot, so they never really got in the three schedules. They stayed in bed with us, probably they’re just two on December and probably about four months ago, we start to put them in their bed at night.

We have to sit in there and so they fall asleep they’re not going to stop crying if we leave. So we’re just waiting for them to alter that and up when they’re five or six.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Five or six, yeah, once you have a lot of space.

CARRIE: It might be different if they were in the same crib again. They might feel that comfort just stay sleep with us for so long. So I think I might try that.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: All right. We’re going to take a break and when we come back, we’re going to talk about the next stage, transitioning to a toddler bed.

[Theme Music]

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Well, welcome back. Today, we’re talking with our expert parents about the different options for sleeping arrangement for twins. We’ve been talking a lot about newborns and then sort of the into the baby stage and then how about when they’re toddler? I mean, what age did you guys decide, okay, it’s time to convert to a toddler style crib bed. I don’t know, how about for Jules?
JULES: We converted our girl’s cribs to toddler beds when they were two. It was actually the week of their birthday. It wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be but it wasn’t exceptionally easy. But we decided to do that at two because Ashley was climbing out of her crib and we couldn’t lower the mattress anymore, so just decided to suck it up and go for it.
CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: It’s the climbing thing … Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: Scary.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Let’s see, how about for Shannon? I mean, was that kind of a similar thing for you either set?

SHANNON: Yeah, yeah, it was kind of similar for the girls because one of them was thinking time to climb out and would end up like slipping out. She’s huge like for she’s 17 months. She’s like a really big girl. So it’s kind about a safe situation to have her on the crib anymore. So we converted it to the toddler bed, and that was just about I would say two, three weeks ago, and that’s when we did girls bed to the converted bed, to the toddler bed, and then we fold one of them as almost to make it like a co-sleeper, and then the other ones on the other side of the bed, and so she’s … That’s the bigger one. She just climbs up and like climbs right on to my bed to nurse and then pretty much goes right back into her bed to go back to sleep which is pretty much just amazing.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, awesome.

SHANNON: Yeah, it was like that for the boys. So the boys, we tried to get them in their own beds about around 16 months, and that could’ve really worked so well because I kind of have that weird situation where when the girls are born, I'm still nursing the boys. So we were in the process of trying to wean them and then like putting them in their own bed and it was just really hectic. I would say now at about three is when they’re finally sleeping in their own bed and for the most part through the night in their own bed. We do have to go in there as you were saying in just kind of sit with them and so they fall asleep. For the girls, we can put them down for the most part and they’ll go to sleep which is amazing.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: That is amazing at that age, wow.

SHANNON: And so, having my boys, I was like a kid don’t go to sleep if they don’t sleep, right?

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah. Now, then we’re kind of talking about the whole climbing I mean, because that I mean, I see a lot of questions about like oh my gosh, you know, my twins are starting to climb out of the crib and you know, they can stand up and they’re trying to walk and sometimes that sort of that transition about like okay, I need to do something but I'm not sure what to do.

SUNNY GAULT: I have a solution. I will tell you what worked in my house but with all disclaimers that if this doesn’t work for your family, I'm so sorry and maybe when you get hurt, I'm sorry about that too. My girls one, and I'm sure you guys can relate to this too, one is a lot more adventurous than the other but my one twin would just throw her leg up there. I didn’t think she was going to hurt … I don’t know. Like there were no furniture and anything else on the way, right? But you don’t know how they’re going to land, and then, it was tough because one twin would be out and the other one would be in and they would cry because they weren’t both in their beds and thing.

One just kept escaping and after and I felt, okay, we’re going to turn this in to the day bed kind of situation. I thought that they would love it and I put them so they faced each other but there was a gap in between, right? So they’re really close and I thought this is going to be perfect because they can pretty much reach out and hold each other’s hands if they want but then they can’t get up and they won’t try to hurt themselves. And would you know that they refused to sleep on those beds. They would just kind of cry and cry and cry and wouldn’t go to bed right away, and the whole situation was not working.

I had a brilliant idea to actually just take those two day beds and push them together to make what I'm calling a Tweeb which is a crib.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yup.

SUNNY GAULT: It’s not perfect because there are some little gaps and weird stuff like that that’s why I put the disclaimer before I said this like enter at your own risk but for my twins, it worked like magic. I don’t know why just putting it together was like the magic formula here as supposed to just being a little bit farther apart. But yeah, so they now have their own tweeb and I kind of like moved it out from you know, the side of the wall, so it’s in the center of the room. They don’t try to escape. They’re happy and that’s what worked in my house like that tweeb.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: So now, you put them in the bed, tweeb at night. Okay, so you put them in and they don’t kind of…

SUNNY GAULT: And for naps too. This is their sleeping arrangement.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Okay.

SUNNY GAULT: I mean, they cry just a little bit but that like last like three second after I close the door, and then they just lay down. And so, no more trying to escape like I said, I wish I could put my finger on why that was like the magic thing that worked for us. I actually gone so far to you know, say like I actually contacted the crib manufacturer and say, you may want to consider doing some sort of modification of our twin parents where they could push these together and it’s safer where the cribs actually stay together so there’s some sort of latch.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Instead of like zip ties.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, pretty much. But yeah, so that’s what worked to our house.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Wow. I'm always interested to so many different approaches and I’ve heard about you know, in that crawling you know, climbing stage, you know, crib tents but I think there was a recall on crib tents.

SUNNY GAULT: I did those with my boys. I'm all over the map. I'm really doing everything wrong. I need to check the recall list. But that worked for my singletons and kept them in.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: How about Angela?

ANGELA: No, so they’ve been in their floor bed since they’re four months and then there’s no transition needed.

SUNNY GAULT: Oh, that’s right.

ANGELA: Yeah, so we just now are kind of thinking about getting a frame or a little platform for them because they really are just on the mattress on the floor. It’s not kind of an unconventional nursery look but actually there’s a ton of ideas on Pinterest, I was looking last night before I came but yeah, we’re just kind of looking for a way to make their bedroom look a little nicer I guest. I mean there’s no transition really needed.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: But she don’t have to worry about the climbing and falling out.

ANGELA: Absolutely, so I mean from day one, their room was already prepared and safe. We have a few floating shelves with like a chord cover going down. So we have our humidifier, our lamp, our sound machine and our camera. It’s kind of behind like a little library shelf that’s screwed on to the wall. It’s a little letter ask about my son who stopped that little thing. And then a few really simple shelves that are kind of hiding that chord area. Other than that, there’s nothing else in there that we have to worry about.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: That’s great.

ANGELA: It’s really been so seamless. I was so excited to come here because it’s been such a positive experience for my family.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Oh yeah, now, as you mentioned, we actually recorded an episode about setting up a room or home in a Montessori style. For everyone who hasn’t listen to it, I mean, excellent way, totally different approach. I know I learned a lot but I mean, it simplifies things, it really does.

ANGELA: Especially with the two of them, it was been such a lifesaver. I mean, just go you know, I put them in there for nap and when they’re starting to get tired, I put them in a room. They start to play with something and then they just kind of fall asleep and they I go and sleep them in their bed and about eight months, they started to go in their own bed by themselves. My daughter is kind … She’s mover. So she does I mean, if she get off the bed a little bit still today but she always wakes up and get back on it but my son, he doesn’t move, when we rock on his bed. Yes, so we’ve had the same sleeping arrangement the entire time.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: That’s great.

ANGELA: Yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Now, speaking of naps, okay, that’s another thing for toddlers. So now, you got you know, less sleeping time but you still got the naps going on during the day time and we’ve been talking about getting in and out but I mean, sometimes I hear about the toddlers who are just disturbing each other their sleep schedule. It’s kind of just off. I'm thinking for Carrie, how about for you? How does that work?

CARRIE: As far as whether they disturb each other or not or just in general?

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, what did you do for nap time when your twins or toddlers?

CARRIE: Yeah, the naps time have always been my sitting [inaudible] once I started working from home because I needed that time. Harper and Lyla, the first set, I lost their cribs at like 18 months. I lost nap time with Lyla. That was torture so I had to take her and put her in my bed for like a movie time, and Harper would take a nap on her own. The younger babies, I listen cry, they cry from lean for like five minutes every day but they do fall asleep and they sleep for like a good hour and a half to two hours. But yeah, I have to get that nap time and like I said early, I had mentioned that Harper who’s studying now, she still comes home and I don’t keep her busy. She’ll fall asleep after school like for work.

They’re very different and there’s no one … They would disturb each other during nap time but at night, they do which we are but in Harper and Lyla, I had to separate them because they didn’t have their crib anymore and Lyla would go to Harper and pinch and kick her away and that just made thing absolutely miserable by the evening time, so it’s tough but yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: And so you separated them for nap time, they were still on the same room together?

CARRIE: Harper and Lyla where … Until they were about four and then we gave them separate bedrooms which is amazing because we were lucky we have the extra room and then when the new babies came, we put them back together again and that’s still been like an issue like every night just like, Lyla leave her alone catching books you know, because she still doesn’t require that sleep like Harper does. It’s getting better now that you know, there’s work and started it up and stuff. But yeah, during that time, we did separate them and then they would back together for bedtime.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Wow, and then so how about for, okay, for the older twins, let’s just say it’s the school aged kid, so we’ve got okay, obviously they’re … At some point, they’re outgrowing their toddler beds. I know, we did it really late. I mean, my girls just turned six and that was their sixth birthday, we got them bunk beds. I know it was a little bit late.

CARRIE: Yeah, but if you can use it, use it, right?

SUNNY GAULT: Right, well, we spend all that money on it, right?

CARRIE: Yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah.

ANGELA: And if it’s working, let it go, you know.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: So how about you? How old where your twins when you said okay, no more toddler beds. They get like the real deal?

CARRIE: For me, we went to bunk beds when they were about four or five.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Four five, okay.

ANGELA: Good to know.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: How about in Shannon?

SHANNON: My boys are only threes now, so they’re still in the toddler bed right now. And for that, we did separate them as well for nap because they were disturbing each other but they stop napping pretty young at like two and a half unfortunately.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, it’s a bigger bed and going to twin beds and I think you know, we thought okay, it’s going to be a longer term investment to so, which I'm like, well, we want something they’ll make it through other school age you know, years, that sort of thing. But now, in addition to the beds, how about I mean, you know, get to school age, did you have any other considerations as far as separating into rooms, I mean, Carrie, you’re saying that you know, you’re kind of broke them apart then brought them back together. I don’t know. Anyone else like sleep schedules or, how about Angela?

ANGELA: My daughter just doesn’t need as much sleep as my son it seems like. He’ll sleep for good two and a half hours. She’ll sleep in like an hour. It’s nice. She’ll just get up and come out of their room, so she doesn’t really disturb him so much, so yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: So keeping them together is still working? Yeah.

ANGELA: Yeah, it’s still working, so far, I'm not going to let… Yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Did anyone else have to separate your twins into different bedrooms earlier on? Sometimes, I have friends who have the fraternal boy girl twins and kind of the question, it’s like, oh, well, you know, eventually, they’re going to either want their own room or you know, when they get to school age, they want to have their privacy you know, that sort of thing. I don’t know, we don’t have anyone on the phone today with us with the boy girls but I mean I know this is certainly a consideration.

ANGELA: I can…

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Oh, sorry.

ANGELA: But they’re just two and a half, so that’s not really big issue right now but no, down the road, we are looking like, okay, you know, fiveish in that area will probably go into their own spaces, yeah.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Yeah, and maybe that’s something that they kind of indicate on their own or they ask for you know, because I think sometimes, parent are just, they’re concerned about privacy and maybe we’re more concerned about it than a kids.

ANGELA: Probably right.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Well, all right. Well, I will want to say thanks so much to our expert parents for joining us today. So be sure to visit our episode page on our website for more information about sleeping arrangements as well as links to additional resources. This conversation continues for members of our Twin Talks Club. After the show, we’ll talk about twin antiques in their bedrooms. And for more information about the Twin Talks Club, visit our website www.newmommymedia.com .

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: All right, so before we wrap up our show today, I did want to read to you guys a summation what we got from a twin mamma Alison. I posted some stuff on The Multiples of America Facebook page. I was looking for Twin Oops story. These are funny things that perhaps happened to you or your twins where you look back and you just kind of have a nice little laugh at it. May not be so funny on the moment which I think it’s the category of the story falls into. This is a bathroom kind of potty kind of story.

So Alison write;
“Recently, I was changing my twins in my gym’s bathroom and I didn’t have my stroller with me. While I was changing one twin, the other ran into a bathroom stall and started splashing in the toilet. So the dilemma was, leave a toddler with a poop diaper half off or let the other one splash in the gross public toilet, never changing them in there again without my stroller”. Seriously, what to do?

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Oh my gosh. I don’t know. You know, I guess you could wash the kid’s hands but I would be just like in more of the diaper kind of going everywhere.

SUNNY GAULT: You know, I have to say this but I think my decision would be based on if anyone else is in the room, as they saw there’s like, all right … If anyone was lodging, I don’t know. I probably be like, just hang on with your diaper. I got to get this other kid and then they’ve had that poop goes everywhere and I'll clean that up later. I'm sure, the other patrons would not like that, you know, need to do that. Just like I said, it depends on who’s in the room.

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Exactly.

SUNNY GAULT: All right well, listen, thanks so much for sending this in. If you guys have a funny Twin Oops story that you want to share with us, we would love to hear it. You can send us a voice mail through our website. Send us an email through the website and we’ll get it on a future show.

[Theme Music]

CHRISTINE STEWART FITZGERALD: Well, that’s wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to Twin Talks

Don’t forget to check out our sister show:
• Preggie Pals for expecting parents
• Boob Group for moms who breastfeed
• Parent Savers for parents with infants and toddlers and
• Newbies for newly postpartum moms

This is Preggie Pals, your pregnancy your way.

[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. The information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. While such information and materials are believed to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, medical advice or care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

SUNNY GAULT: New Mommy Media is expanding our line-up of shows for new and expecting parents. If you have an idea for a new series, or if you’re a business, or organization interested in joining our network of shows through a co-branded podcast, visit www.NewMommyMedia.com.

[00:40:40]
[End of Audio]

View Episode