Sharing a crib

[timothythe2nd]

@smaxiner They never shared a crib because of how unsafe it is. We got two cheap bassinets off Amazon (Dream on Me - Karly or something) and they were perfect. Then we moved to mini cribs for space saving when they shared a room.

 

[mordechai85]

@smaxiner I have 2 5 week olds sharing a cot bed. It's huge so they just have their feet towards the bottom of each end, if that makes sense (theres like 60cm of empty space between them both). Nothing else in the cot bed with them, that's important. I do have another cot bed for when they become mobile (as soon as one of them shows signs of rolling) but for now they literally just go to sleep and stay put until they wake up, no rolling etc which will be when we move them into their separate cot beds.

 

[andrewmc1992]

@smaxiner Mine shared a crib until they were about 6 months old, but we lived in a small 1 bedroom apartment with no room for 2 cribs. We used plastic laundry baskets as bassinets (with non-fluffy fleece blankets on the bottom as mattresses) for the first month.

 

[peterjames0510]

@smaxiner Ours currently share a chicco next to me. I love seeing them sharing but they sadly are getting too big now at 6 weeks so they will be separated in to two next to mes. I’ve been putting it off because it breaks my mamma heart to see them apart, they don’t care lol. We have to swaddle them so they’re not hitting each other all night so the time has definitely come. I know lots of twins do share for longer but lots of twins wake each other up and are more settled separately. Do whatever is best for your family, there’s no right way.

 

[electritarist]

@smaxiner Our 2 month olds are swaddled and share a crib right now. Once they roll over we will separate them.

 

[kristoffer1983]

@smaxiner We very briefly had one crib when they were little, but they were supervised when they slept in it. Then they started scooching around bumpinh each other very early, way before 6 months. Safe sleep guidelines says separate sleep spaces.

 

[davidgnewby]

@smaxiner I bought two cribs just in case. I’m open to my twins sharing, but I want the option just in case they need to be on their own. I would encourage you to have two cribs just because you will need somewhere for them to sleep no matter what and don’t want to be without one for too long.

 

[love101]

@smaxiner Used pack and plays (with infant inserts /bassinets) in our bedroom for the first year. Ours didn't sleep in the same crib until we took the rails off the second one's crib.

 

[isidore]

@smaxiner I allowed my babies to share a bassinet while I was awake to watch them but not while I was asleep. When they outgrew their bassinets they went into separate cribs.

Now that they are older they could probably share safely again, I just don't think it would be the best for their sleep quality.

 

[icemodeled]

@smaxiner I am in the USA for context- so safe sleep indicates a separate space for each baby. IME the peace of mind which comes from knowing your babies are not wiggling up/rolling against each other causing unsafe sleep situations is worth it. It just is one less stressor to worry about. My older singleton constantly rolled on her side even as a newborn.. my twins stayed more on their back but did tend to wiggle around the pack n play quite a bit (example.. lifting their legs and placing them back down would cause their position to change).

FWIW we got their cribs on Amazon for less than $100 each. IIRC like $80 for the crib and then $40-ish for the mattress… so $240 total for two cribs and two mattresses altogether. I used the registry discount code and waited until they were at a lower price to order them. We did not get a fancy option. Dream on me brand cribs.

Their cribs are now pretty close together. They’re set up parallel to each other. An adult can easily walk between them and if they both reached out they could probably touch each others’ hands. They are 1yo now.

 

[jesusisright7]

@smaxiner Not on the safety front, but my twins even before rolling would wiggle and wake the other one up. That’s why I got rid of my double bassinet!

 

[escuej1]

@smaxiner 2 cribs. Cribs are cheap. Have them buy car seats or something instead. You can get pairs of cribs second hand from other twin parents and just inspect them thoroughly and replace the mattresses if you need to. Ours would scoot and move together even as newborns because that’s what they were used to in the womb. This was very cute for supervised naps but unsafe for sleep.

 

[amypearson78]

@smaxiner Didn’t share a bassinet, didn’t share a crib. They share a room, are in their cribs with toddler rails now, and don’t ever try to bed share.

 

[mariskawisse95]

@smaxiner Safe sleep means separate sleep spaces. You never want to deal with ‘twin overlay’.

 

[jemba]

@smaxiner We stopped sharing after a handful of weeks because the wiggling from one would wake the other. Separate cribs ever since.

 

[madria]

@smaxiner It was hammered into us by every doctor, nurse, and our pediatrician to not let them share a crib. Even as newborns. A nurse told us a story about newborn twins sharing a normal sized crib and that one of the babies managed to wiggle over to the other baby and almost suffocated it because it latched on to the babies mouth. It smelled the milk on the babies breath and was looking for the source. Thankfully both babies were ok in that story.

 

[godsdaughter78]

@smaxiner My twins shared for only a couple of months until they didn’t fit together anymore. They definitely wouldn’t fit together now at 6 months, and they’re pretty average sized babies.

Sharing a sleep space is against safe sleep guidelines and if you plan to do it you need to know the risks and how best to mitigate them, and it will never be as safe as having their own sleep space. Once they are close to rolling, it becomes even less safe. Make the decision you believe is best for your babies and don’t be pushed into something else just because someone else is doing it and is fine.

Congratulations on your twins!

 

[wmsgil]

@smaxiner Do NOT wait to get the second crib, or anything else major like that if you can. It’s not something you want to be messing with when you have newborn twins. In fact you don’t need ANY added stress or tasks for the first 6 months. Do it all in advance and don’t listen to anything anyone who doesn’t actually have twins say for advice on something like this. I’d be so annoyed if I were you.

 

[nathandavis]

@smaxiner Mine shared while they were in my room- which was the first month and a half or so. Mostly because I owned one crib and had only room for one there. When I moved them to the nursery (adjacent to my room) we set up a second crib.

 

[scourge]

@smaxiner My girls only shared a crib in the NICU when they were hooked on monitors. Since they’ve been home tbey sleep separate and they are such good sleeper. 11 months now and going strong.
I’m pretty strict on safe sleep practice.