When my twins were born, the nurses wheeled them into my room in two separate clear, hospital bassinets. This surprised me a little as I imagined they would probably have them in one bed; I had seen this done in other hospitals. After all, they did just share one bed for the last nine months. So I asked one of the nurses why they weren't in the same bassinet. She told me they didn't do that anymore because they were worried about the babies breathing in too much carbon dioxide from each other. "Oh, yeah, that doesn't sound good," I thought. So, they stayed in two beds--with the exception of the lights. They both had to go under the lights for a little bit, and they did that together in one bed.
Now, I personally wanted my twins in separate beds at home. One, I was super afraid of them rolling over on each other and in turn, suffocating each other, and two, I had a breathing monitor for each one. My monitors work by sensing movement in the bed. If the baby stops breathing, it sounds an alarm. However, for that to work, the movement must stop. If they were sleeping in a crib together, BOTH babies would have to stop breathing in order for the alarm to sound. Therefore, this finalized my decision to have two separate cribs.
Upon arriving at home from the hospital, because of my crash c-section, my husband took both crib mattresses and placed them on top of each other in one crib. This way, I didn't have to bend over the crib rails and pick them up; it was way too hard to bend down after surgery. I was a little nervous about this since my breathing monitors wouldn't work, but my video monitor kept me mostly sane.
Once I could bend over their cribs again (aka I healed a bit from my crash C-section), I separated them into their own cribs with their own breathing monitors. Ah, full sanity returned.
But, what if you choose to let your twins sleep together in the same bed? Can you do that? The short answer is YES. My friend, Kate, lives in NYC where space is limited in her home. Because of this, she didn't really have the best choices for having her twins sleep separately. There just wasn't enough space! Her twins are now three years old and still sleep together at night.
The long answer is also yes, it's done, BUT please, please, please keep those babies safe! If you google "can twins sleep in the same bed?", you'll find tons of info on how twins sleep better together (since they were together in the womb, and they share a special connection), or help each other regulate their temperatures, etc. But you'll also find articles about SIDS, and how twins who sleep in the same bed together have a higher risk of SIDS.
If your twins HAVE to share a bed because you just don't have the space for two cribs, think about getting something smaller like a Nuna Sena Mini Aire. Would two of these fit side by side? Or, could you use two DockATots until they are too big to use them? If these are not good options for you, then I suggest investing in something like the Owlet. This little sock monitors your baby's vitals. It will alert you when your baby’s oxygen level and/or heart rate drops below normal ranges, allowing you enough time to get the help you need. Because the sock goes ON the baby, they can be sleeping in the same bed, and it will still alert you if there is a problem. However, please be aware that no monitor is an actual substitution for checking on your babies. Use safe practices to prevent SIDS.
If your issue isn't about space, but just that you've always wanted your twins to sleep together, and so that's what you're going to do, be smart about it. Make sure they can't roll on top of each other, that they aren't getting each other tangled up in a blanket, that they aren't in too small of a space, that they aren't facing such a way they can kick each other in the face, etc. When they start moving more, make sure you're assessing their bed situation, and continuing to make it a safe place to sleep.
It is possible for your twins to continue to share the same bed, just remember to be safe about it, and do what works for you. If having your twins share a bed would drive you crazy, then don't do it. There isn't a rule that says they have to sleep together. Just do what works for you!!
AND, if your twins have always slept together, and you're wondering if you need to separate them at some point, read this post. My twins have separate cribs, but now that they can choose where they will sleep...it's quite hard to keep them out of the same bed.
Keep those babies safe mamas, and enjoy them!
Featured Header Image PC: Jackie Hall*The “Two to Kiss, Two to Love” series is a helpful series for all you twin mamas out there! If you have a twin related question, comment below, and I’ll answer it for you!*
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[…] had my twins share the same bed since they were born. If you’re wondering why I chose that, read this post. So I asked a bunch of twin moms and came up with some great answers for […]