A young mum has revealed her routine for getting her twins to always sleep through the night. Katie Hillier, 30, was struggling to function before she discovered the perfect bedtime routine for her sons Oscar and Brooks, then aged six months.
She said their crying got so bad there was one point where she and her husband Harry Bunton, 38, wouldn't get more than 20 minutes sleep at a time. The parents decided then to take action and looked up how they could make their tots sleep better, for longer.
And they discovered a routine which they say had worked perfectly - with the twins now aged 18 months. Katie, who works in the fitness industry, said: "The question I get asked more than anything else, for good reason, is how we get them to sleep so well.
"Sleep deprivation is shocking, it's absolutely horrible. It's way worse than people even admit, and you don't realise how difficult it is until you're going through it. When the boys were around four months old they went through sleep regression and cluster feeding, so for a six-week period we weren't sleeping for more than 20 minute intervals.
"It was one of the hardest things I've ever been through in my life. But we were adamant that it wasn't an option for us to let this be our life, we wouldn't survive. So we did our research and we implemented good sleep habits."
Katie and Harry began by enforcing a strict bedtime routine that starts hours before the kids go to sleep. They would enjoy a dinner of solid food at 6pm before going for a bath at 6:25pm - with all the lighting in their room kept low.
From there, the lucky duo receive bedtime massages from their parents, got into their pyjamas and were soothed ready for bed. Katie said that certain sounds or lighting can also help a child associate cues with sleep.
The twins had their last feed at 6:45pm - which usually consists of breast or bottled milk - and were read a bedtime story until 7pm. Then, the parents bid them goodnight, and leave them in their cribs until 6am.
They never remove them from their beds, and instead comfort them by tapping or rocking them within the cribs. Katie said: "Of course, there are days here and there when we're travelling that we can't do this exact routine, but consistency is so important.
"They understand cues, and we have to recreate those cues to remind them that it's time to sleep - we're super regimented about routine."
Katie and Harry began doing their routine when their babies were just six weeks old, and it took time for it to take hold. They also started by moving away from 'contact napping', making sure their twins were associating their cribs with sleep.
Katie said: "We didn't do anything quickly and we didn't rush it just because we were desperate. Some of it was really hard to do, like moving away from contact napping, because in the moment it can feel so much harder.
"As a new parent all you'll want is for your baby to sleep, you'll do whatever it takes for that to happen. But although it's hard in the moment, in the long run it's gold, and I think that rings true for so much of parenting in general."
Her two sons Oscar and Brooks are non-identical twins, and also have completely different personalities. Katie said: "They're truly night and day, having twin boys is like watching a social experiment unfold in your house.
"Oscar, who's older, is just the sweetest soul I've ever met in my life. He's so loving and lets everything go. Brooks on the other hand has a very strong personality, is very dominant and has such a cheeky sense of humour, he makes us laugh all day.
"He also has more tantrums, and I hope other mums can take some comfort in knowing that both my boys have been nurtured exactly the same, but their development has been so different. I think mums get bogged down in the speed of development, but in terms of nurturing, we're all doing our best, and your babies are going to develop as they see fit.
"Brooks started walking ages before Oscar, but they've been raised the exact same, so much of it is driven by personality - you're kid didn't not roll over today because you didn't feed them organic carrots."
Whilst the twins certainly keep Katie's 'hands full', but she is still an advocate of helping mothers find time for themselves. She said: "I struggle to do this sometimes, but when I make an effort for it, it truly makes a massive difference in my life.
"When mum's are stressed, overwhelmed and overstimulated, they won't take it out on their kids. But they have to take it out on someone - which will unfortunately probably be their partner. The gym for me is my outlet. One hour a day a few times a week I can completely escape, and be that version of me I used to be and connect with her,
"I urge mums to find what that is for them, and connect you to your old selfish life you used to have just for a little bit."
You can see more of Katie's parenting experiences on her TikTok @whenkatiemetharry
