Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins

Book excerpt: From one of the nation’s most trusted experts on children’s bedtime and nap time comes a new guide for sleep-training twins so that everybody (including Mom and Dad) will be rested and happy! As parents of twins and multiples know, double the fun can be double the sleep deprivation. Now, in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins, beloved pediatrician and renowned sleep authority Dr. Marc Weissbluth combines specialized advice for parents of twins with his tried-and-true sleep-training methods to show exhausted moms and dads how to get their babies to sleep on their own, stay asleep, and sleep regularly. This essential step-by-step guide to establishing good sleep patterns reveals how to build healthy habits in twins’ natural slumber cycles, including • how healthy sleep differs from “junk” sleep, plus a helpful tutorial on the techniques of sleep training for new parents • the five ingredients of healthy sleep, and why daytime sleep is different from nighttime sleep but equally important to good health • why it’s crucial for babies to master the ability to fall asleep unassisted, without protest or crying, and how to help them do so • essential tips for synchronizing your twins’ sleep schedules, plus information about how twins sleep best–when to keep them together, and when it’s time to separate them • how to recognize early drowsy cues in your babies so you can catch the sleep wave before it turns into nervous energy that will keep them awake Sleep-training twins presents a unique set of challenges. This invaluable guide will not only get your babies to sleep through the night but help you stay healthy and rested so you can enjoy the many blessings of having more than one!