Choosing a Bedside Cot for Twins
It is best to keep your twins who are just born close to each other, but you should also follow safety sleeping guidelines. The proper crib arrangement will help your twins establish a consistent sleeping routine.
A double bassinet that has an divider is a great option for twins. These portable beds allow parents to keep their children close during mid-night feedings and diaper changes. These beds are also great for babies who are likely to outgrow their bassinets by the time they reach toddlerhood.
Space-Saving
If you adhere to safe sleeping guidelines, twins are able to sleep in a bedside crib side-by-side. They should be positioned on their backs, with their heads touching and their feet on the opposite ends. They can also co-sleep in a Moses basket or a crib when they're old enough.
We love this Delta double bassinet. It features a mesh partition so that babies can stay separate, yet close to each other. It also has a storage pocket for wipes and snacks. Plus, it folds flat and makes it easy to manoeuvre around the house or go on trips.
Another alternative is the EZ Fold Twin Bassinet from Walmart It can swivel to bring your twins' fluttery little ones closer to you for feeding and calming. The sides can be lowered and raised to make it easier to access them and they are secured for security. It's a little larger and heavier than other alternatives, but it's a great choice for second floors or grandparents homes, and it comes with its own travel bag. It's also much cheaper than the Halo Bassinest Twin.
Convenience
It is not recommended that parents of twins sleep their babies in the same bassinet or crib. Instead the Rednose group Rednose suggests that twins be given their own secure sleeping space (crib or bassinet or portable crib) in the room of the parent or caregiver until they reach 12 months old to help reduce the risk of SIDS. This arrangement is also known as co-bedding. It has been found that twins who are accustomed to this type of sleeping environment generally have a more coordinated sleep pattern than those who sleep in separate rooms.
A twin bedside cot like the Teknum FELLOW 2 is a great option to accomplish this. It comes with two separate sets of bedding to ensure that each baby gets their own personal space. This bedside cot is also easily moved from one room to another as needed. It is an easy and convenient method to monitor your baby without disrupting their sleep or awakening them.
Other options include double bassinets, which have been designed specifically for infants that allow them to stay side-by-side and are ideal for nighttime feeds or diaper changes. The Halo Bassinest Twin has a mesh panel that is breathable and adjustable in height to allow each baby to be seen and reachable at all times. The sides of the sleeper also lower and raise for easy access. If you're looking for a more affordable alternative, the Walmart exclusive Twin EZ Fold Double Bassinet is similar, featuring two sleeping zones separated by mesh panels that allow babies to view each other, and the entire sleeper is able to rotate 360 degrees, giving ease of access for each infant.
For temporary situations like an emergency family visit or hospital stay Parents have reported success in co-bedding twins in a large moses basket or small bassinette with divider. However it is recommended to do this only under the supervision of a healthcare provider to ensure that the babies are properly positioned, with their feet to the floor of the cot and all bedding securely tucked in, to prevent them from suffocating.
Safety
When twins are sleeping together, the most important security feature is that each baby has his or her own space to sleep in. This ensures that each baby is not smothered or otherwise infected by the other. It also helps to prevent cot deaths, which are more frequent with single infants than multiples.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that triplets, twins and higher-order multiples have their own sleep space. This can be done by using an individual bassinet or twin bedside crib that you can bring up to your bed to feed or sooth one of the babies during the night.
While the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently issued recommendations to decrease the risk of SIDS by encouraging room sharing and disabling cobedding, many families of twins and multiples have found it difficult to adhere to these guidelines (1). A previous study documented that a large majority of families with twins that were cobedded during the first three months at home used unsafe sleeping practices (room sharing without cobedding).
Parents of twins may not adhere to current SIDS risk reduction recommendations due to a desire prolong their own sleep and the inability to accommodate multiple cribs in the home. Additionally the socioeconomic status of a family can influence their decisions about the arrangement of their sleep.
If twins are put in a small Moses basket or crib, their bedding could easily get caught in their midst and they could choke on each other. If you decide to put your twins in the same cot ensure they are placed in the position where their feet are next to their heads and their bedding is tucked into each cot securely. This will lessen the possibility of them colliding on each one.
bedside crib to cot of the safest and more convenient alternatives for twins to sleep independently is a bedside bassinet like the Halo Bassinest Twin. This double bassinet comes with a mesh wall that separates twins to give them each their own safe flat bed. It rotates 360 degrees to bring your baby closer to you for feedings or calming without leaving the comfort of your bed, and its sides lower and auto-return with each movement. It is also easy to clean, and fits in a standard twin-sized bed frame. If you're looking for a less expensive alternative, look into the Delta Children Twin EZ Fold Double Bassinet, which is available at Walmart and offers similar features as the Halo Bassinest.
Comfort
It's a huge change to welcome twins or multiples into the world. Not only that, they require a great deal of planning and thinking regarding their sleeping arrangements and how they can get a good night's sleep. While decisions about their future room can be made later in life parents often ask how they can help their children to settle in the early stages.
It is possible for twins to share a cot if they are small. Co-bedding is a method for soothing newborns by reminding them of their womb. It is important to ensure that the beds are large enough for the babies to feel comfortable without touching or bouncing around. It is important to be aware that the baby who awakes first must be fed. It can be helpful to coordinate nighttime feeds to ensure that you wake one up earlier than the other.
It is important to be aware that twins have different sleep patterns. It is possible that one child sleeps better than the other or prefers to be near you. In this situation, it might be best for the twins to share their own bassinet or crib in their room.
Choose a cot with twin beds that have breathable mesh dividers for sleeping areas that are separate. This is especially important for babies that are susceptible to overheating, or for families with c-section moms. Other useful features include an adjustable base, built-in storage for toys and blankets, and easy-to-use wheels. The Arm's Reach cot is an excellent choice for these purposes since it provides a large sleeping area and is designed with mothers who have c-sections in mind. Other options are the Graco Pack 'n Play and the Fisher-Price Easy Swivel but they offer a smaller sleeping area than the Arm's Reach cot.
It is not recommended to sleep with twins in the same bed with an adult even if they're close. This could increase the risk of SIDS and result in suffocation or strangulation. Instead it is recommended that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that twins sleep in their own safe sleeping areas, like bassinets or cribs in their parents' rooms for the first six months.