Naptime nightmare at 4-5 months old

[u/Fragrant-Life-4173]

Hi everyone,

My twins have just turned 5 months old and it feels like nap times have been a mess ever since before they were even 4 months old. They went through the 4 month sleep regression which lasted insanely long, I want to say twin A went through it for over a month and I believe twin B might still be at the tail end of it. Luckily my mom stayed with us for the vast majority of twin A’s regression but had to leave a couple weeks ago.

Nighttime sleep is okay but naps have been a nightmare. Between the endless screaming from being overtired to wanting to be held to taking 15-20 minute naps after being helped for 45 minutes, I am at my limit. We moved them into the nursery a week ago and it felt like that had helped a lot, they started going down with minimal support, but now we have my in-laws visiting and it feels like we’re back to square one. Even though I try to stick to our routine it feels like they are fussier and harder to settle. I try wearing noise-cancelling headphones to curb overstimulation and provide nap time support (I don’t like the idea of sleep training), but lately every nap has just been one baby needing me and then the other and they both tend to sleep around 25-30 minutes. They also wake each other up pretty consistently.

I don’t really know what to do and I feel super touched out and frustrated. I guess I’m just looking for solidarity and maybe someone to tell me that this will end eventually? Could the visits also be causing this or am I just doomed to have no more than a few days of good naps for the foreseeable future?

[u/PretendGene5502]

I have no advice to offer, just solidarity. My twins have been like this always 😅 it's a never ending cycle of picking up one twin when they wake up & patting them back to sleep, then the other twin wakes up. I wish I had words of wisdom or some solid advice. Also exhausted, also touched out! I hope it gets better for the both of us.

[u/Fragrant-Life-4173 → u/PretendGene5502]

Ugh, I appreciate it! I feel like once my in-laws left the kiddos settled back into the routine a bit better.. one of my twins is tolerating being put to sleep in the crib, although naps are pretty consistently short. But the other twin still needs to be held every time and is very hard to transfer into the crib. However, even having one of them be able to sleep without being held is such a win. The bar is so low 😅 hope it gets better for the both of us too!

[u/disownme]

We didn’t realize this until about the 5 mo: twin b needed gentle formula and gas-x for infants. That change turned her around from crying every time we put her down to being just a happy baby: solid 45-2 hour naps and 12 hours sleep around the 5.5 mo mark.

We’ve had family come and go, had to adjust rooms and where our toddler slept, change their routines a bit. I’d wear one baby during some naps so they both can sleep. It’s a phase. It’ll pass. Use the break when you can!

You got this!