We have been VERY lucky as far as sleep is concerned at the old Casa de Barr. The babies started sleeping through the night (term used loosely) at around 7 months. That is not to say we didn’t have to get up with them at that point. To say that would just be silly. I would say around one year sleep got really good where we didn’t have to listen for every sound and worry whether the babies would need us. It also works to my advantage that Jeff is a night owl and stays up until 2am so any early night wakings fell on his “shift”. At two years old the babies never (and I really mean never) wake up and need us. I can count maybe one time in the last 6 months I’ve had to get up in the middle of the night and that was only because Shenzie threw up and Jeff needed help changing her sheets. Shenzie slept in her own vomit and didn’t even cry out. Jeff found her lying in bed fast asleep covered in ick. When they are sick with colds they sleep through the night. When they are overtired, undertired, crazy, growing, not growing, sick, healthy, they sleep through the night. I LOVE sleep so this is a true miracle.

From the age of four months we have had the same nap and nighttime routine which has helped more than I can ever express. Even if the babies are running around like lunatics at 7:59 and we pick them up at 8:00 for bed most times they lie their heads down and settle right in. Some nights I can hear one or the other in their rooms singing softly or talking to themselves for up to an hour, but they never need us.

Naps are also a breeze. After the dreaded FROM HELL nap transition from two naps to one (which seriously took like 2-3 months to fully happen) life has been good. At 12:50 I let the babies know that they have 10 minutes to nap. Most days Heaten will sit on my lap and drink milk while watching Elmo while Shenzie runs around like a crazy person. At 1pm I take Heaten to his room, close the door, sing him his three songs, give him a drink (that he isn’t allowed to take in his crib), kiss him night night, and walk out. I don’t usually hear from him again until 3:30, sometimes even 4 when I have to wake him up. Same thing with Shenzie although she tends to wake earlier than Heaten.

The other thing which helped their sleep TREMENDOUSLY was giving them their own rooms. As much as I didn’t want to separate them and as much as I hate my “office” in our bedroom it was really for the best. They both sleep so much better apart from one another. And when they are older I think it will be nice that they have their own space (especially since they are boy/girl). They are together all day long so I don’t feel bad about them getting a little break at night and naps.

So there you have it, sleep is wonderful. Why then you ask would I even question mixing things up?!? Recently I have read on several other twin mommies blogs how their kids go to bed covered with blankets, sippies, many toys or books, pillows, etc. My babies get their one lovey and one cuddle blanket. We don’t cover them with a “real” blanket, they don’t get drinks in bed, no pillows, nada. So maybe I am the mean Mommy who keeps things from her kids and then I worry. And then I slap myself in the face for worrying. If they are sleeping good with none of those things they (my babies, not yours) obviously don’t need them so why rock the boat. It’s not like we live in cold snow territory where they might be cold so they really don’t need a blanket for warmth. And then of course I think that maybe a pillow would make them more comfy or a blanket would keep them warmer or what if they wake up thirsty or or or. And then I read the moms who have to go in their babies rooms 3-4-5-6 times a night to replace the drink, recover the feet, put the animals UNDER the blanket, and then put the animals OVER the blanket, and and and. And then I stop worrying again, because really, the last thing (and I mean LAST THING) I want to do is miss out on sleep. Spoiled rotten is what I am and loving every minute!!