Risks and Benefits of Twins Sleeping Together Studies show several possible benefits of letting twins sleep together in the NICU. 1 Multiples who are co-bedded seem to sleep better, gain weight better, have fewer episodes of apnea and bradycardia, and (as long as they're about the same size), keep each other warm.
This is called co-bedding and is perfectly safe. In fact, putting twins in the same cot can help them regulate their body temperatures and sleep cycles, and can soothe them and their twin. If you put your twins in the same cot, follow the same safe sleeping advice as for a single baby.
Safe sleep guidelines would suggest that twins be moved into separate beds once they are more mobile; moving into each other's space, causing a risk to one another. The other reason you might consider moving twins into separate beds would be if one consistently wakes the other one up.
The results suggest that twin fetuses are aware of their counterparts in the womb, that they prefer to interact with them, and that they respond to them in special ways. Contact between them appeared to be planned—not an accidental outcome of spatial proximity, says study co-author Cristina Becchio of Turin.
Unless you have many extra bedrooms in your house with no one using them, it makes more sense to keep twins or multiples in the same room. If you are worried that their noises will wake each other up, keeping them together will help them get used to each other's sounds, rarely disturbing their sleep.
You shouldn't share the same bed with your twins because it increases the risk of SIDS. But the AAP does recommend that you room-share — having your twins sleep in your room, each in their own bassinet or crib — ideally for the first six months.
The reality is that although a good night's sleep is coming, it is safe to assume that your twins will be waking each other up during the night. And it's not just twins. Often two children of different ages who share a room will wake each other as they get used to sharing a room.
It is likely that twins' awareness of one another starts sooner than seven or eight months of age. An article by the late doctor, T. Berry Brazelton, observed that at age three to four months, an infant identical female twin seemed disoriented when her sister was removed from the room.
Fraternal twins, however, are particularly competitive and sometimes given to intense jealousy. Their rivalry is intensified because each twin has entirely different poten tials and abilities. The I.Q. span of fraternal twins is similar to that of any two children in the same family.
A lot of people want to think that the separation between twins is like a wall. It is actually more like a bedsheet hanging on a clothesline. The babies can nudge each other and kick each other. But they cannot directly touch each other because of the flimsy membrane.
1 It's not that they can't ever be apart—but when they're in their younger years, they may simply be better off together. While limited research has shown there's no real benefit to keeping twins together in a classroom versus separating them, ultimately it should be up to the parents to make that call.
In 5% of the MZT cases, the splitting occurs 8-13 days after fertilization, resulting in monochorionic-monoamniotic twins (one placenta and one amniotic sac). Rarely, the splitting occurs after 13 days, resulting in conjoined twins.
Though all identical twins are formed very early in pregnancy, there is some variation in exactly how early the fertilised egg splits into two. This can happen at the two cell stage on Day 2, the early blastocyst stage on Day 4, or in the late blastocyst stage on Day 6.
One crib is fine in the beginning.
Many parents may make the switch to two cribs when the twins begin to roll, bump into one another, and wake each other up, she says. While one crib is fine, two car seats and a double-stroller are absolute musts for newborn twins.
Being pregnant with multiples doesn't necessarily mean that your pregnancy will be problematic. However, women carrying multiples do have a higher chance of developing complications such as high blood pressure and preterm labor. For this reason, all multiple pregnancies are considered high-risk.
Can twins have different fathers? In rare cases, fraternal twins can be born from two different fathers in a phenomenon called heteropaternal superfecundation. Although uncommon, rare cases have been documented where a woman is pregnant by two different men at the same time.
Twinship can easily become toxic when clear boundaries between twins are seriously confused and the unique individuality of each member of the pair is not respected. Twins can feel betrayed by one another, ignored (even invisible), or deeply disappointed in their sister or brother.
It's equally unsurprising that a Danish study found that twins are less likely to get married than non-twins. As twins have a partner from birth, the study suggests that they may not have the same desire for marriage as singletons.
In childhood, fighting between twins on the deepest level is about the development of individuality. Contentiousness or power struggles provide the mini-steps that eventually create a unique sense of self for each member of the twin pair. Sometimes twins want the same exact “things” and they compete to win.
Some say that twins are always hard (yet amazing), while others say they truly didn't find them to be difficult. A few said that the first two months with twins are easy (being in the rose-colored glasses phase), then reality hits from months 3-6 (when the sleep deprivation catches up), then it can get easier again.
There is no right or wrong answer, it's a personal preference. Some chose to be completely open or tell their twins to give a “smaller” twin leverage if he/she is older. Other choose not to tell so that they don't bicker about the subject or the dominate “older” twin doesn't have more leverage.
Age. People over 30, and particularly those over age 35, are more likely to conceive twins. 4 This is because the level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) rises as birthing parents get older. FSH is responsible for the development of eggs in the ovaries before they are released.
Twins can occur either when two separate eggs become fertilized in the womb or when a single fertilized egg splits into two embryos. Having twins is more common now than it was in the past. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , twin births have nearly doubled over the last 40 years.
If your twins have been sharing a room from the beginning, they likely won't be bothered by the sound of the other twin crying. According to Healthy Children, babies become accustomed to their sleeping environment and "accept the presence of their twin as part of the environment of the room."