Dr. Mark Weissbluth, professor of clinical pediatrics at Northwestern University School of Medicine, says that nothing is more important for a person, regardless of age, than a good night's sleep. And this goes double for twins and mothers of twins.

"Mothers of twins are at risk for extreme sleep deprivation because it takes longer at night to feed two babies," says Dr. Weissbluth. "In addition, twins are often born early, so it takes even longer to feed them, and his research shows that, with a few exceptions, fathers of multiples are not as involved as they should be. All of this makes it harder for these moms to think of sleep solutions because they're in such brain fog they don't know where to start."

Fortunately, Dr. Weissbluth has a new book out that can help. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins: A Step-by-Step Program for Sleep-Training Your Multiples (Ballantine Books, 2009) is a follow up to his iconic Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (Ballantine Books, 1999). Just the research into the variables of multiple pregnancy is a fascinating read, but even better are the tips, tricks and tools for getting your babies, and you, to sleep.

According to Dr. Weissbluth, sleep training your twins needs to begin before you actually give birth to them. This means getting other people involved before the babies are born to be sure to have at least one other pair of hands besides Mom and Dad, especially in those first weeks.

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