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.
There's no specific age when you should separate your children into their bedrooms. Many people don't have the house space to do that, especially if the children are of the same sex. Plenty of same-sex siblings share the same room until they leave home, and for twins, it's no different.
If you choose to bedshare with twins or multiples we would advise not to bedshare with more than one baby at a time due to risk of accidents associated with bedsharing with more than one baby or child.
Key points on co-bedding:
It is not advisable to place your twins in the same Moses basket, even when they are very small. This is to minimise the chance of them overheating, which is known to increase the chance of SIDS. Even with small babies a Moses basket is too small for two babies to sleep safely.
Experts say it's important to separate twins at naptime for the same reasons that it's important to have them sleep in separate cribs. That said, it's absolutely worth trying to put both of your twins down for a nap — on their backs — at the same time.
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.
You have the choice of feeding twins together or separately. It makes sense to feed twins at the same time if you can, although you might choose to feed them one at a time in the early days when you are first learning how to breastfeed. Feeding at the same time: When one baby wakes up for a feed, wake the other baby.
Give them Some Space. Once your twins are sleeping in separate cribs and the problem still persists, try moving the cribs as far apart as possible, for example, on opposite walls of the nursery. And again, put white noise machines near each baby's crib.
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.
Background Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a major contributor to infant mortality. Previous studies have suggested that infants born of twin pregnancies are at greater risk for SIDS and that a twin who survives after a co-twin dies is at increased risk for SIDS.
Multiple birth babies have about twice the risk of congenital (present at birth) abnormalities including neural tube defects (such as spina bifida), gastrointestinal, and heart abnormalities.
If using sleeping bags make sure babies' heads are far apart to ensure they don't get covered by one another's sleep bag. Both co-bedded and separate sleeping twins should be put down to sleep on their backs, as this reduces the risk of SIDS compared to side or tummy sleeping.
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.
The longest interval between the birth of twins is 90 days, in the case of Molly and Benjamin West, dizygotic (fraternal) twins born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA to parents Lesa and David West (all USA) on 1 January and 30 March 1996.
About one-third of identical twins split soon after fertilisation and form completely separate twins. Like fraternal twins, these twins have separate placentas.
It is perfectly natural for your twins to cry because that is the only way they have to communicate with you. They cry to express their needs, their wants, and even their dislikes. The most common reasons for crying include hunger, a dirty diaper, sleepiness, boredom, overstimulation, or sleep regression.
Separation anxiety deeply affects all twins. The parental role is to help twins manage emotional issues when they separate from one another. When separation anxiety between twin and twin, or between parent and twin, is not handled adequately there are serious side effects, including fear of being on their own.
Consistent bedtime routines are important for all babies, but especially so for twins. Start off with bathtime and then dim the lights, play some lullabies, read books and offer a cozy before-bed feeding. Repeat the same routine every night so your babies will know bedtime is coming soon.
The breastfeeding initiation rate for twins ranges from 38 to 80%, and the rate of any breastfeeding at 6 months from 10 to 50%, with 8–22% of twins breastfeeding exclusively [8, 9, 12,13,14,15,16,17].
According to Enbom, the incidence of twin pregnancies with single fetal demise ranges from 0.5% to 6.8% [6,7]. Intrauterine single fetal death can occur at any gestational age. If this event happens in the first trimester of the pregnancy, the surviving twin will most likely develop without further consequences.
Identical twins share a particularly intense bond. They are the result of one fertilized egg splitting into two, giving them identical DNA. (Fraternal twins are the result of two separate, genetically different fertilized eggs.) As a result, identical twins are as close as two people can be.
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.
Identical twins may say that they are not attracted to the same people. However, researcher Nancy Segal surmises that twins actually feel the same attractions, but as soon as one twin makes her interest known, the second twin will not pursue the other's object of interest.