Twins are two separate individuals, and they won't always do everything together. But if they decide to take turns being awake, parents won’t get any sleep at all. So let's try to synchronize their routines.
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If the babies have been sleeping in the same bed, try putting them in separate ones. Now that your twins can roll over, they can disturb each other's sleep. Worse yet, they can create health risks for each other. Pediatricians believe there are more risks than benefits to co-sleeping [1].
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Synchronize all daytime routines as much as possible. Feed them at the same time, put them down on their stomachs at the same time, bathe, and change them at the same time. This will make it more likely for them to fall asleep at the same time too. Of course, it's easier to do this when both parents are equally involved in caring for the babies or when the mom has an extra pair of hands to help out.
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Feed both babies simultaneously (from both breasts), not one after the other. This increases the chance of them falling asleep after eating and at the same time. Not all mothers can do this but try to find a way to minimize the gap between feeding both babies.
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Change their diapers before feeding, not after. Nursing, or bottle feeding, has a calming effect on babies. Changing them after a feeding (especially one after the other) can wake them up, and each baby will end up settling down according to their schedule.
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Wake up the second baby if the first one wakes up. It sounds terrible, but twin moms have found that there is simply no other way to synchronize sleep and wake cycles. And moms need to sleep too [2].
Right now, it may seem like you will never get enough sleep. But if you follow these rules day after day, soon everyone - babies and adults - will sleep more soundly.
