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  1. #1
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    Unhappy Do your toddler twins sometimes just have a crazy can't sleep night?

    (This turned out to be long...I know we don't get much traffic on this board, I'm just kind of venting, and would love to hear "me too" stories or advice!)

    I am seriously dragging today. I don't even know what happened last night. Our girls are usually really good sleepers (thank goodness). But there have been a couple of time where they've both seem to just lose it. Last night was one of them. They went down normally enough. But I could hear one kind of 1/2 crying. DH went in, and she wasn't really awake, didn't even sit up when he went to her crib. Then a couple of hours later, the same sort of 1/2 crying. I decided to go to bed, and check on her. By the time I got the lights turned out, the OTHER one (S) was making a desperate crying sound.

    I go in, and S is freaking out and claws at me to climb up. But calms down almost immediately. D is asleep. I put S down, I go to get into bed.

    And all heck breaks loose. D immediately wakes up crying her head off. I go in to comfort her. She's losing it. S seems to be asleep. I rock D. Try to put her back, she really loses it. I try to tiptoe out with her to co-sleep. S wakes up. I think she'll go right back to sleep. No go. I wake DH tell him D is in bed. S is standing in her crib. I comfort her. Back to our room, D is awake, S is crying, DH tells D she has to go back to her bed (they will not both fit into our bed, and it would just be a playgroup if they are both in there). Back they go. S sleeps. D cries. I try to leave. D cries more. I go back in. I change D's diaper put her in crib. S is shrieking. I try to change her diaper and she's having a crazy fit....which riles D up. They are both shrieking, thrashing, hitting their heads against the crib rail. DH sneaks in behind me and scares the holy c**p out of me so bad that I scream. That freaks everyone out. He says he "thought I needed help" and stays in for 30 seconds and then back to bed for DH (yeah, thanks for the help). This lasted FOREVER. Somewhere in there I tried re-doing the bedtime routine with stories and lights out. That worked for one, not the other. Eventually I told them that EVERYONE is asleep. Grandma is sleeping, their gym teacher is sleeping, the teen who works at the gym, our Boxer, our poodle, EVERYONE is sleeping, they have to sleep too. Somehow that worked!

    This lasted hours! This was the worst night we've had since bringing them home from the hospital and D was still on oxygen and her heart apnea monitor would go off regularly. WTF happened? We're supposed to have our first date night in FOREVER tomorrow, and now I'm worried the girls will freak out. ARGH!
    Last edited by TwinFoxes; 07-30-2010 at 08:14 AM.
    Mommy to my wonderful, HEALTHY twin girls
    6/08 - Preemies no more!

  2. #2
    Melaine is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
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    Awww man. I'm so sorry! I've definitely had a couple nights like that. For us, they have all directly related to changes in the schedule or not sleeping at home. The first night we are out of town will often be like that, with them waking often and just never sleeping well. It's MISERABLE! Especially since you are constantly jumping up because you don't want them to wake each other.
    Or maybe they are coming down with something or ate something that didn't agree with them? I think with twins things get blown so out of proportion and the waking and feeding off each other's anxiety spirals down into utter madness so easily. If it is any comfort, sometimes my kids will sleep really well the next night after that kind of exhausting evening. I hope that's the case and that your date night goes well. I know how rare those can be!

  3. #3
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    I totally feel for you. Yes, we too have had nights where one stays up and works hard I think at keeping the other up or nights where they are just both awake and could care less about sleeping. Right now our baby (since he is the last one) doesn't feel good. I don't know why but he doesn't want to eat, take naps play or anything. He wants to be held but on his terms and we were in the peds office yesterday for our middle child and they checked him out. Not sure why he is so fussy. It makes for long nights and days regardless. Makes me appreciate the days when I had one! #4 woke #3 up several times yesterday until finally #3 was just so tired he slept through the fussing and crying. I thought I would never get anything done yesterday and finally resolved to not try. That way I did not set myself up for disappointment for having a productive day. It will end and that I know so hold on to that.

    Last night #3 was fast asleep. #4 woke up and decided no more sleeping. so when I went in to comfort #4, #3 woke up and was all happy and smiling like "it's time to play?" Ugh. It was after midnight and I was so tired. I just kissed them both, gave them a bottle, changed diapers and closed the door and went to bed. They eventually fell asleep/ I was so tired that guilt did not play into me staying up with them.

    I wish you good luck and some more sleep!

    B

    DS 03, 06 and twins 09!

  4. #4
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    Thanks for your sympathy. It's so true that they were fueling each others' fire! It's like they were tag teaming us, or one would rest up until the other wore herself out, then it would be the next twin's turn!!!

    Luckily, they were back to normal and date night went off without a hitch!

    Here's to more sleep for us all!!
    Mommy to my wonderful, HEALTHY twin girls
    6/08 - Preemies no more!

  5. #5
    dowlinal is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    I'm glad to hear that last night things were back to normal. My boys seem to tag team me like this every few weeks and I swear it always happens when I am on my own with them at night. (My DH works midnights every third week plus in the summer I take the kids to my parents' shorehouse a lot)

    This past week has been a nightmare. The boys are getting over colds and I think the congestion was the trigger. It seems like this tends to happen when they are either sick or teething.
    A

    DD1 02/04
    DD2 01/06
    and twin boys 05/09

  6. #6
    fivi2 is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    I know some people don't like to do this - but when one starts to cry in the middle of the night, we usually bring her to sleep in our bed with us. Usually we then all make it through the night okay. Sometimes the other will wake up and want in our bed too. Since all four of us is too crowded, either dh or I will then go to the girls room (they share a queen). I know some don't like to bring in the bed, but it works for us!

    Glad they were better for date night

  7. #7
    twowhat? is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by fivi2 View Post
    I know some people don't like to do this - but when one starts to cry in the middle of the night, we usually bring her to sleep in our bed with us. Usually we then all make it through the night okay. Sometimes the other will wake up and want in our bed too. Since all four of us is too crowded, either dh or I will then go to the girls room (they share a queen). I know some don't like to bring in the bed, but it works for us!

    Glad they were better for date night
    We've done this on occassion. We keep a P&P in our room, and if the girls ever go through a spell of night waking for more than 2 nights in a row, we move the crying one into our room into the P&P so the other can sleep undisturbed. And if it's especially bad, we put her in our bed (though we've only really had to do this when one is really sick).

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by fivi2 View Post
    I know some people don't like to do this - but when one starts to cry in the middle of the night, we usually bring her to sleep in our bed with us. Usually we then all make it through the night okay. Sometimes the other will wake up and want in our bed too. Since all four of us is too crowded, either dh or I will then go to the girls room (they share a queen). I know some don't like to bring in the bed, but it works for us!

    Glad they were better for date night
    Oh, I am not opposed to having one sleep in our bed...I would do a lot "worse" than that! I tried it during our disaster night last week...and twin #1 called out "bye bye, bye bye" to twin #2, who then woke up and got in on the act!

    It's actually funny look back on it, but at the time I thought I might cry!
    Mommy to my wonderful, HEALTHY twin girls
    6/08 - Preemies no more!

  9. #9
    dowlinal is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by fivi2 View Post
    I know some people don't like to do this - but when one starts to cry in the middle of the night, we usually bring her to sleep in our bed with us. Usually we then all make it through the night okay. Sometimes the other will wake up and want in our bed too. Since all four of us is too crowded, either dh or I will then go to the girls room (they share a queen). I know some don't like to bring in the bed, but it works for us!

    Glad they were better for date night
    I wish this was an option, but my younger daughter rarely makes it through the night in her bed and when I bring one of the boys in, they inevitably start playing with each other. It's just an even bigger disaster.
    A

    DD1 02/04
    DD2 01/06
    and twin boys 05/09

  10. #10
    Kindra178 is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Uhhh, yes. Illness, fake teething, no illness. My oldest never really had this. I don't really understand it, and because they share a room, it totally holds us hostage. Little busters!

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