When you bring your baby twins home, can you let them sleep in the same crib?
Absolutely.
In fact, at the hospital, the nurses had our twins together in the same bassinet. When we got home, we just continued this pattern. From their time in utero, each twin has constantly been with their sibling. Why not continue?
We found that our babies would actually turn towards each other when they were sleeping side by side in the same crib.
As newborns, your babies aren’t going to move around much so where you put them is where they will stay. In the crib, this means that you can have both babies sleep together.
We’d swaddle each baby individually and then have another blanket swaddle them together.
What about wiggly babies?
Eventually your babies will start to wiggle and hit each other. Don’t freak out. They were doing this in the womb for months (just ask your wife). If it doesn’t bother them, it shouldn’t bother you.
When to Separate
We kept our girls in the same crib for several months until they started getting bigger and rotating around. We knew it was time to separate when were jarred from sleep because Twin A had put her foot in Twin B’s head and Twin B was crying.
When that time arrived, we had two cribs in the same room, with one baby in each. The girls seemed to miss each other at first but would call out to each other via squawks or gurgles in a form of echolocation (think bats) to make sure their sister was near.
Hard to Sleep?
So you may ask: Don’t they wake each other up if they sleep in the same room or crib? No, not necessarily. Typically one twin can sleep through the cries of the other. You’ll even find one of your babies with arms or legs sprawled over the other with both twins sleeping contently.
Some Extra Advantages
Feel safe and confident starting with one crib. This may give you time to move an older child out of his crib like we had to do, or can give you time to defer that expense a few months.
Like this Article? Expecting Twins?
Sign up for the free Dad's Guide to Twins Newsletter and get more practical twin tips and advice each week.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you because my neice is having quads and she can’t afford four cribs. She is having two girls and two boys and I thought it should be just fine two start with two cribs. Thank you sooooooooo muc for your article
@Harriet: You’re welcome. While your niece will be able to use two cribs to start with, the time will come when she’ll need one for each baby. Nevertheless, while they are newborns, they should be OK sharing.
awww that is sooo cute, you have adorable babys god bless them!!
@Chantel: Thanks! We think they are cute too!
I heard from a nurse with some extra tips on twin sleeping arrangements. She said: “The use of all of the blankets to swaddle, and then double swaddle the infants adds a risk of SIDS. Blankets can be a hazard and their use should be limited. Also, if one twin can wiggle enough to get a foot in the mouth of the other, they can also wiggle a blanket over the head – causing suffociation. The coroner’s reports are loaded with incidences of blankets and quilts being the cause of infant deaths. I know that many twins sleep together with no problem, but the safest way is to give each twin an end of the crib – feet to the boards and tuck that blanket in around the foot and sides – and only go as high as the chest with the blanket. Sleep sacs are good if they fit too.”
I have 10 month old twin boys and they still enjoy sleeping together. One moves and the other doesn’t but i have never had a problem with them “beating each other up” during the night!
@Rhonda – Wow! 10 months is a good stretch. Our girls didn’t last that long in the same crib. Even though our girls are separated now, they still typically sleep through each other’s snoring and noises during the night.
Hi I just wonder what is the size of the crib that can take both of them????
@Mona – Just a regular size baby crib will easily hold two newborn twins. The challenge comes when they start to roll around and disturb each other.