Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins: A Step-by-Step Program for Sleep-Training Your Multiples [Paperback]

Marc Weissbluth M.D. (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 9, 2009

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!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"paediatrician and sleep expert" USA Today "paediatric sleep specialist" Times Educational Supplement --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

MARC WEISSBLUTH, M.D., a pediatrician with thirty-five years of experience, founded the original Sleep Disorders Center at Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital and is a professor of clinical pediatrics at Northwestern University School of Medicine. He has lectured extensively to parent groups and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Weissbluth lives in Chicago, Illinois.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (June 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345497791
• ISBN-13: 978-0345497796
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Siblings
  • #11 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > Sleep Disorders

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 120 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Healthy Sleep Habits made my kids Happy April 29, 2010

By D. Loney

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The follow-up Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins is a good resource to a parent of twins, offering practical advice for handling your multiples with a nice balance of confidence and humility.

I had a singleton first, and we used the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book to sleep train her. (Sleep train is a harsh description as it invokes images of a screaming baby and stressed parents but this is NOT how I'd describe this method) Because I had previous experience with the Weissbluth method we had an advantage in sleep training our twins. I found while the twins' book offered some practical detail about twinfants, and dealing with common concerns related to prematurity, it lacked the detail of its predecessor, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

The Weissbluth method focuses almost entirely on the premise that rested babies sleep better. You need to toss out the age old notion that if you keep your baby up, they will sleep longer and better at night. This simply is an old wives tale not unlike putting cereal in your infant's bottle. Weissbluth focuses on preventing bad habits from starting and getting your baby down in their crib sleepy but awake and allowing them to drift off to sleep by themselves. I was skeptical at first, particularly because he says that babies can't comfortably stay awake for more than 90 minutes. BUT ITS TRUE, after 90 minutes all of my children reach a state of irritability, where they seem to want to nurse and be cuddled. With my first child I mistook this cue to mean that she was hungry. I was nursing her every 90 minutes when I should have been napping her.

All in all I HIGHLY recommend the Healthy Sleep Habits method, but I suggest the parent of multiples buy the original book, Happy Child, and skip Happy Twins. It just didn't have the detail and step by step instructions like Happy Child had and I still use my Happy Child book as quick reference when one of the kids hits a funny sleeping stage.

FAQ's about being a mom of multiples.
- Yes, my twins shared a crib until they started moving around. They tended to snuggle close together so I had to put a barrier between them in the crib to reduce the risk of SIDS and them accidentally smothering each other.
- I put them in separate cribs in the same room at 5 months.
- They really do ignore each other. One does not wake the other when they cry in the middle of the night
- When one wakes for a night feeding we always woke up the other one and fed them too to keep them on the same schedule.
- We keep their room at about 65 degrees
- We give them a bath every night before bed but instead of trying to wrangle the baby tub we bought the 2 of the spongy things and put them in the regular bath tub. It is faster and they like the water.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good content... but longer than it needs to be. July 6, 2009

By Amanda Hamm VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

There is definitely some good information in this book. But it's really drawn out. The first thirty pages or so describe the importance of sleep and healthy sleep habits. If you're reading this book (and especially if you have newborn twins in the house), I suspect you already know how important sleep is. Chapter 3 is probably the best resourse. It lists sleepy signs from your baby and how to make sure you get him or her to bed before he or she is overtired. And it makes suggestions about the amount of sleep a baby needs and good times for naps. If, however, you don't think you can bear to let your baby cry, this book may not be for you.

There is also a chapter on breastfeeding twins and one on prematurity. Again, this is good information, but if you are reading this book just for help with sleeping habits it feels like filler. And the chapter on creating a sleep team can be summerized like this: make sure you, your spouse and anyone else who cares for your twins are on the same page with sleep-training so you don't screw up each others' efforts. He takes about 20 pages to say that.

Double Take: My First Year as a Mother of Twins

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but same July 14, 2009

By gmamama

Format:Paperback

I have already read Dr. Weissbluth's previous book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby. This book for twins seemed to repeat much of the earlier book. I found that there were a few unique points for twins, but it's not as different as I had hoped. But it's good and helpful information, just no need to read both books.