and we have counseled many parents of multiples to do the same. It has
become clear that the true key to eating and weight gain is sleep. If you
want your children to eat and to grow, then teach them to sleep. A rested
baby will eat. An exhausted, agitated, sleep-deprived baby will howl,
fuss, suck ineffectively, and spit up repeatedly.
You may be afraid your babies will wake up hungry an hour after you
put them down if they have not taken a full feeding. The surprise is that
they won’t wake up hungry before the next feeding but will probably
wake up just in time for the next scheduled feeding, better rested and
ready to eat a full bottle. Overall, the newborn baby whose parents focus
on sleep rather than on calories consumed will get more nutrition because
he or she will be better rested, have better digestion, and be ready to suck
strongly.
As your multiples mature, they will develop definite waketimes and
sleep times. When they are newborn or premature, they will always fall
asleep while you are feeding them, or maybe they won’t even wake up for
the feeding. As they get older, they will still get drowsy with feedings but
with a little stimulation you can have them fully awake and ready to play
after a meal. Waketime activities with multiples should always include
some independent playtime. When the appointed time for the nap arrives,
the babies may indicate readiness by being fussy and inconsolable or they
may be wide awake and cheery. Put them down awake! It will be clear
that logistically you can’t rock two, three, or more babies to sleep at each
naptime. Your babies need to learn to comfort themselves. Multiple
babies, even more than singletons, need to learn patience and how to calm
themselves. The fact that mommy and daddy each have only one lap and
one set of arms sets up some unavoidable limits. Self-comforting is
particularly important when they are sick or under stress. If babies have
learned the skill of sleep early on in life they will seek sleep when they
feel tired instead of further stressing themselves with crying and fussing.
If your multiple babies have been sharing a room since birth, they
won’t wake each other up. They will learn to shut out each other’s crying,
so don’t separate them when one is fussing. When little ones are having a
particularly hard cry, you can go in every ten minutes and pat them,
nora
(Nora)
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