Four-Month Milestones: Baby Belly Laughs & Stress-Free Sleep

I don’t know about you but my heart melts when I hear baby giggles; pure, pint-sized joy that you just can’t get anywhere else. It’s been a long time coming to finally hear our twins laugh out loud over the past few weeks. Especially being born at 37 weeks, we knew it may take them a little longer to hit certain milestones but FINALLY! Here we are, Gigglefest 2020; a silver lining to all the garbage that’s already happened (or I guess not happened) in the world so far this year. We found some solid tips in this Parents.com article on how to encourage babbling and speech in the early months. After raising two babies before the twins you’d think we had this sorta thing down pat but let me be clear, no matter how many kids, it’s SO hard to keep up with all the things! We’ll take any and all the help we can get over here. 

Beyond what we read online, we also stocked up on some new baby gear to keep them playing. Especially with four kiddos running around it’s so hard to get that one-on-one interaction with a single baby, let alone two. So, here are a few playtime favorites that the twins have been loving so far:

1. Infantino Textured Multi Ball Set / This set comes with great mix of sizes, textures and colors. Just enough options to keep your little one engaged and curious. Even my big boys will roll these around with the babies because anything vaguely related to sports will pique their interest.  
2. Peek-a-Boo Forest / This soft book is a favorite among my mom friends and a staple in most diaper bags.  It has a cute rhyming story but more importantly, includes a crinkle-texture flap on each page for babies to grab.  I especially like the illustrations and bright colors that my babies don’t seem to get bored with. 
3. Skip Hop Explore and More Roll Around Baby Toy / I love all of the woodland creatures that Skip Hop includes in their product lines and this hedgehog has been a huge hit with all of my kids. This time around, Grace especially likes that she can pull it toward her mouth for teething and Owen shakes it more for the rattle sound; it’s so nice when a single toy can keep everyone happy.
4. Bright Starts Oball Rattle Easy Grasp Toy / Oball’s easy-grasp products are smooth and flexible which is perfect for little fingers to grab and hold. Bonus points for being sold in a variety of trendy colors, too. 
5. Tiny Love Take Along Mobile / Full disclosure, I’ve never really purchased mobiles for my babies. This time around, in trying to keep the twins happy, we opted for as many self-amusing options we could find; cue the Tiny Love Take Along Mobile. It’s small, has a modern design, can be affixed to a crib, bassinet, etc. AND also clamps onto strollers or car seats.; highly recommend if you’re in the market for a quality mobile that won’t break the bank.

The four-month mark was also when we decided we wanted to get the babies to sleep in their own cribs. Sleeping arrangements are always tricky though; where should they sleep? What should they wear? When should they go to their own room? Lots of questions can make you really second-guess yourself. While I’m by no means an expert, I rounded up some advice from those who are, so you can decide for yourself. In the end, it’s really about what will keep baby comfortable and your mind at ease. Go with your gut and have no regrets!

IS IT SAFE FOR TWINS TO CO-SLEEP?

Since we brought them home from the hospital, they’ve been in our bedroom sleeping in the Joovy Room2 Twin Nursery Center which has worked well for us.  This specific model even came with a twin divider so that you could really give each baby their own space…BONUS! Keep in mind you’ll also need to purchase the Joovy Room2 Playard, separately but both are super affordable IMO.

From the day they came home, we knew we were going to try to have our twins sleep in our bedroom and share a bassinet. It seemed easier to manage two and we were in the camp of “it’s fine until they can roll or wake each other up.” Like any good, research-obsessed Mom, I saw so many pictures of twin babies snuggled up sleeping together and while sure, it looked adorable, I knew it probably didn’t work for everyone and wasn’t sure it could work for us.

After spending some late nights googling all things related to twin sleep, I realized there were different arrangements to consider when having twins share a crib…

For me, I wanted to have their heads closest to my bedside so if someone lost a pacifier or needed some quick comforting, I could reach in most easily. Head to head sleeping also seemed like an okay choice since there was a lesser chance for babies to get tangled in any way. In our case, it worked out nicely and as of four months old, they are just now starting to wiggle into each other, so we feel like it will soon be a good time to separate them into two cribs in their own room.

“Cobedding promotes self-regulation and sleep and decreases crying without apparent increased risk.”

(Effect of Cobedding Twins on Coregulation, Infant State, and Twin Safety – JOGNN)

TO SWADDLE, OR NOT TO SWADDLE?

If you haven’t fallen victim to the startle reflex, I’d like to shake your hand. There’s nothing worse than having your baby drift off to sleep, knowing that there’s nothing but silence and the sweet freedom of some time to yourself ahead…only to be ruined by their startle reflex.  BRUTAL. ANNOYING. THE WORST. So – enter the swaddle.  From what I can tell, most babies (okay, at least all four of mine) like to be swaddled while they get used to life outside of the womb. Being swaddled can help signal sleep, mimic the security they’ve been used to before being born and also control that damn startle reflex.

This time around we went with the Ollie Swaddle and it was a real game-changer…I repeat – GAME. CHANGER. It has a large, adjustable fit, strong hold (and my kids are night ninjas, I swear), super-soft fabric, beautiful design and most importantly, it worked!  Four stars. Totally recommend. Go buy one now…or two.