Care

Can Twins Share a Crib?

Should newborns come home to two cribs or one?

By Marcella Veneziale, Parenting
 
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You're already double-stocked with car seats and diapers -- do your newborns need to come home to two cribs, too? Opinions differ. "Traditionally, parents felt twins would be more comfortable sleeping together," says Shelly Vaziri Flais, M.D., author of Raising Twins. "But for safety, they really should be split up." Other experts, though, point to research showing preemies in the neonatal intensive care unit tend to do better when co-bedded. "It's more of a gradual transition if they're still together," says Stephen Turner, M.D., chief of general pediatrics at Long Island College Hospital of Brooklyn, and himself the father of a 2-year-old duo. If you want your newborn twins to co-bed, follow these tips:

Space them out
Place the twins at least two feet apart -- and always on their backs, says Dr. Turner. Putting them head-to-head in the crib will make it easier to pick one up without disturbing the other.

Keep 'em regular
Assigning each a certain spot will help you keep track of who's who -- even in the bleary night.

Know when to part
Once your infants start rolling or kicking off any swaddling blankets, the suffocation risk increases, so be sure to move them to separate cribs.



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