Like the topic says – I actually fell asleep standing up today. I’m exhausted and I really need some sleep. We’re in the midst of the crib/bed switch and I’m looking for any and all tweaks or just something to let me know that this really will end in the next little while
I’ll apologize in advance for this being a long post, but I’ll try to be as informative as possible.
Some background info:
Our spirited girls were on a fabulous bedtime routine that literally meant we dropped them in their cribs, put a blanket on them, said goodnight and shut the door at 6:30pm every night. They would sleep right through until 6:30-7:30am the next morning with little issue. About once per week, we would have a NW and we would just go in, rub their back for a second and tell them to lay down with their teddy (lovey) and help them find their pacifier. 30 seconds max. They had been on this routine from about 18 months until now 22 months.
We’ve had a developmental explosion in the last month: Language development, they have both hit the ‘twos’, climbing, separation anxiety (worse with twin2 than twin1), they are ready to potty train (which we’re not attempting until the sleeping is sorted out), and they managed to climb out of their cribs within two days of each other.
I can’t put anything on their cribs to keep them in because they panic, taking the drop side off the crib allowed them to fall out and they panicked again anyways so we decided to put mattresses right on the floor and do the ‘switch’. This was three weeks ago. They were by no means ready for it, but it was our only option. They are very active sleepers and rolled right off of the crib mattresses on to the floor so we put a single mattress down and they sleep on that – one on each end.
The first two nights they screamed even with me in the room on a mattress. They finally adjusted to that but it took a lot of cuddles and approximately 2 hours to get them to settle each night. I slept there for the full week and gradually moved my mattress away, and eventually I had two nights of WI/WO thinking we were making progress. SA is hitting pretty strongly during the day when I leave any room during the day, so I think that’s why we have a regression to me needing to be in there for them. So I now stay in until they are settled and almost asleep. Twin 1 is always asleep first and Twin 2 tends to figit for a good 20 mins longer. We’re attempting to find a better wind down routine for her. They settle the best with a back rub that lasts for 5-10 mins which I really don’t mind doing because I stop before they’re out.
The NW’s are what is killing me. I can sometimes settle whoever wakes up within a minute or two but at least once a night one of them is up for at least an hour and will not settle. I’m exhausted and I end up laying down between them and passing out. Then they take turns waking up at 5:30-6:00am. I’ve put a timer on their night light this week and I make them stay down until 6:50 when the light comes on. During this time, I get told all about Teddy’s eyes, ears, they babble my name and each others’ while I try my best to ignore them and not give them an audience.
For the record: naps are wonderful. They settle within 5 mins and sleep for approx 1 hour. They still need the nap because they ask for it and are victims of the OT Monster if they don’t have one. They wake up happy and cheerful and have great afternoons. Come 6pm they’re looking to go to bed so I know that their schedule should be working for them as it always has. We’ve gone from them getting 14ish hours of sleep in a 24 hour period to sometimes only 10.
What I really need is three things:
Someone to tell me that this will end – even if it takes another two months, I just need to know that there is an end to it.
Any and all advice on how to better deal with the NW’s. They scream when DH attempts to go in and he works early mornings and can’t take any time off. I’m the one to deal with them and I don’t mind doing it if I could have a faster and more effective way to settle them in the middle of the night.
Tips for a wind down routine in the evening. They bath in the afternoons because they get rather hyper when they hit the water and run around happily screaming for about an hour or two after they get dried off. Books excite them to the point that they scream out the names of characters that they recognize. I’ve even had to take away the Sesame Street book with Elmo in it because they get so wound up they are over stimulated from it. If they have certain books too long, they end up having meltdowns, so I try to keep the books to a minimum after 6pm. We do milk in the evenings and diapers ½ hour before bedtime so they can calm down from their change into their pj’s. We sit in the living room watching the news and try to cuddle, but they’re not cuddly and are literally the textbook definition of introverted spirited children. I’ve read Raising Your Spirited Child but haven’t found anything that can help with this transition in it.
Again, I apologize for the length but I really need some help on this one.
Thanks, Vicki
