Choosing a Bedside Cot for Twins
It is best to keep your newborn twins close together, but you should also adhere to safety sleep guidelines. Choosing the right crib arrangement can help your twins develop an established routine for sleep.
A double bassinet with a divider is a great option for twins. These beds can be used as portable beds to let parents keep their babies near for mid-night feedings and diaper changes. They also work well for infants that may outgrow their bassinets before baby 2 years old.
Space-Saving
As long as you follow safe guidelines for sleeping, twins can sleep in a bedside crib side-by-side. They should be placed on their backs with their heads in a straight line and their feet at opposite ends. large bedside crib can also share a bed in a Moses basket or regular crib when they're old enough.
This Delta double bassinet features a mesh divider that allows children to be separated but still close. It also has a pocket for storage for snacks and wipes. It's also foldable, making it easier to move around the home and take on trips.
Another option is this EZ Fold Twin Bassinet from Walmart that swivels to bring your twins' fluttery little ones closer to you for feedings and soothing. The sides are lowered and raised to make it easier for you to get in and secure themselves to ensure your child's security. It's a bit larger and heavier than other alternatives, but it's a great choice for second floors or grandparent' houses and comes with its own travel bag. It's also less expensive than the Halo Bassinest Twin.
Convenience
While many parents of twins may be tempted to sleep the babies together in a single crib or bassinet, this is generally not recommended. Rednose recommends that twins have their own secure sleeping space (crib or portable crib or bassinet) in the room of the parents or caregivers until they reach the age of 12 months to lower the risk of SIDS. This arrangement is known as co-bedding. It has been proven that twins who grew up in this environment develop a more coordinated sleeping patterns.
A twin bedside cot, such as the Teknum FELLOW 2 is a fantastic way to achieve this. It includes two sets of bedding to ensure that each baby gets their own space. The bedside cot can easily be moved from room to another as needed, and it provides a convenient way to check on the babies without having to wake them by re-entering their sleep zone or disrupting their rhythms.
Double bassinets are another option. They allow infants to be side-by-side, and are ideal for diaper changes or feedings in the middle of the night. The Halo Bassinest Twin, for instance, features a breathable mesh divider and a height that can be adjusted so that each baby is visible and reachable throughout the night, and the sides of the sleeper are raised and lower to give easy access. Walmart's Twin EZ Fold Double Bassinet which is a more affordable option, has two sleep zones that are separated by a mesh, which allows babies to see each the other. The sleeper can also rotate around 360 degrees to allow an easy access for infants.
For situations that are temporary, such as an emergency family visit or hospitalization Parents have reported success in co-bedding twins in large moses baskets or a small bassinette with divider. However, this should be done only under the supervision of a medical professional to ensure that babies are properly positioned and with their feet towards the foot of the cot and all bedding securely tucked in, to avoid them from becoming suffocating.
Safety
The most important safety feature for twins is that each baby has their own space to sleep. This helps prevent each baby from being smothered, choked or otherwise being choked by the other. This also helps to avoid the death of a cot, which is more common with single babies than multiples.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that twins, tritons and higher-ordered triplets have their own sleeping space. This can be achieved with an individual bassinet or a twin bedside crib you can place on your bed to feed or soothe one of the babies during the night.
Although recent SIDS risk reduction guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage room sharing with parents and discourage cobedding but the reality is that a lot of families of twins and higher-order multiples have difficulty complying with these guidelines (1). In a prior study, it was discovered that the majority of twin families who co-bedded their children in the first three months of life at home engaged in unsafe sleeping habits.
Parents of twins might not adhere to current SIDS risk reduction recommendations because of a desire to prolong their own sleep and a lack of space to accommodate multiple cribs in the home. Additionally, socioeconomic status can influence family decisions regarding the arrangement of their sleep.
If twins are placed side-by-side in a tiny crib or Moses basket, they may easily get caught in their bedding, and possibly choke on each other. If you choose to put your twins in the same cot together, make sure they are placed in the position that their feet are right next to their heads and that their bedding is put into the cots securely. This will decrease the chance of them choking on each other.
A bedside bassinet, such as the Halo Bassinest Twin, is one of the safer and easier options for twins who want to sleep in a separate bed. The double bassinet has a mesh wall that separates twins to give them each their own secure, flat sleep surface. It rotates 360 degrees, allowing you to bring one of your children closer to you for feedings or soothing without having to leave the comfortable bed, and its sides lower and auto-return every time you move. It is also easy to clean, and can be tucked away into the standard twin-sized bed frame. Check out the Delta Children Twin EZ Fold Double Bassinet at Walmart. It comes with the same features as the Halo Bassinest.
Comfort
Welcoming twins or multiples to the world is a major life altering. They require a lot of thought and preparation not to mention when it comes to where they will sleep and how they will get a restful night's sleep. Parents often ask themselves what they can do to help their children feel comfortable in the early years of their lives.
It is possible for twins to share a single cot when they are very small. This is referred to as co-bedding, and can provide excellent comfort for babies as it reminds them of the mother's womb. It is essential to ensure that the beds are big enough for newborns to feel at ease without touching each the other or move around. It is also important to remember that the baby who waks first must be fed. It can be helpful to coordinate nighttime feeds so that you can get one of them up earlier than the other.
However, it is important to keep in mind that twins are distinct and may have their own sleep routines. You may find that one baby is more sleepy than the other or prefers to be close to you. In this case it might be best to provide each twin with their own crib or bassinet.
When looking for a twin bedside cot ensure that it has ventilated mesh dividers that can create distinct sleeping zones. This is particularly important for babies prone to overheating, or families with c-section mothers. Reversible bases and wheels that are easy to maneuver are also beneficial features. The Arm's Reach cot is a great option for this purpose, as it offers a large sleeping area and is designed with mothers who have c-sections in mind. The Graco Pack 'n Play or Fisher-Price's Easy Swaivel are both options, but have smaller sleeping areas than the Arm's Reach cot.
Even if they're close, it is not recommended to let twins share the bed with an adult. It is an increased risk of SIDS, and can cause suffocation, strangulation or entrapment. Instead it is recommended that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that twins sleep in their own safe sleeping spaces, such as cribs or bassinets, in their parents' rooms for the first six months.