Thursday, June 5, 2014

Night Time Shenanigans

I realize I'm pretty lucky that my babies sleep through the night several times per week.  Their record so far is 3 nights in a row of 11-12 hours.  When they do wake up for a feeding, it is usually not until sometime between 4:00-5:00am.

I'm not including Rylee fussing until I pick her up and sleep with her on the couch.  If she goes right back to sleep, I count that as sleeping through the night, even if it is partly in her crib and partly with me.  I will admit I am pretty tired of sleeping on the couch though.  My back is starting to kill me.  I can't wait for the day that I can sleep through a night in my own bed.  Seriously.  It's been over a year now.  Sigh....

Last night was a different story though.  I had to get Rylee a little earlier than normal at 10:00pm.  I think she's been having trouble sleeping because she is so congested.  Ayden woke up at 11:55pm, which means I had to put Rylee down in order to go get him.  And of course that wakes HER up.  I think Ayden woke up last night because he was also full of snot.

I cleaned him up and sucked his boogers, changed his diapers, gave him a bottle and put him back to bed.  Then I did the same for Rylee.  I like to feed them separately at night if I can, because they USUALLY go back to sleep easier that way.  Not.  This.  Time.  I actually think Rylee would have gone to sleep pretty easily, but Ayden was not having any of it.  He whined, he cried, and he snotted all over his bed.  I tried to soothe him.  I tried to let him fuss himself to sleep, but when he hit the sobbing stage, I went in to get him.  Then I decided his crib sheet needed to be changed because it was flat out soaked.  I couldn't let him lay his head down on the cold, wet sheets when he already had a cold.  So I put him on the changing table and buckled him in, with Rylee looking on as I changed his sheet.  Since Ayden was already on the changing table, he decided to go ahead and take a grumpy while he was there.  So I then changed his poopy diaper.  Sigh.

I knew he wasn't going back to sleep any time soon, so I took him back out to the living room and tried snuggling with him out there.  He wasn't into snuggling, so I eventually just made him another bottle.  Rylee went to sleep within seconds once her room was nice and quiet.  Ayden finally fell asleep while finishing his bottle and I was able to lay him back down in his crib.

Two and a half hours later... I need to repeat that.  TWO AND A HALF FRUSTRATING HOURS LATER, finally, at 2:20am he went back to sleep.

I crawled back into bed.  Ahhhhh......  My own bed, my own mattress, my own blankets, with my nice warm husband snoring beside me.  I thought for sure I'd get a few hours in before Rylee stirred again.

Nope.  At 2:30am she started fussing and crying out in her sleep.  If I don't pick her up when this happens, she eventually just wakes up and it's end of story.  She won't go back to sleep.  Back to the couch we went.  Sigh.  Lots of sighs and bad words last night.  Doh!

I thought for sure they would sleep in this morning after being up so long last night.  Wrong again!  Ayden woke up at 6:20am.  Arggggg!!!!  Hubby got him up and changed his diaper, but he had to get ready for work so the rest was on me.  Of course, that meant Rylee then woke up because I had to set her down.

Oh.  My.  Garsh.  I just wanted to sleep.  I just want to sleep now!  I want to cuddle up in my bed under the warm blankets and stay there all day.  Not gonna happen of course.  However, they both happen to be napping right now, so maybe I can sneak in a few minutes....

*Just in case you think badly of Tony for not helping, he has an hour and a half commute to work and back everyday.  He's working to support our family.  In order for him to make that awful commute and earn a living, I do all the night time stuff.  He does most of the bedtime feedings and puts the babies to bed.  He gives me breaks on the weekends.  He most definitely does his part in the Daddy department!

UPDATE:  Not even two minutes after hitting the publish button for this post, the babies are both awake.  Sigh.  Deep breath....  I can make it!

26 comments:

  1. Wow you are a super busy lady, not that we didn't already know that of course! I sure wish I could help ya girl!

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  2. I think babies have an internal alarm or something that goes off to wake them up when it is least convenient for mom. Somehow we push through it. I hope you get to sleep in your bed soon!

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    1. Haha! Yes, I agree. They just somehow know when to cause havoc but we do push through and survive, and we know that it is SO worth it!

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  3. Oh man, that is a rough night! I seriously hope tonight is better!! Sending sleepy thoughts the twins' way!

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    1. Most nights are pretty good now, but that makes the bad nights seem all the worse somehow! I've was getting spoiled...

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  4. My heart breaks for you as I am also grinning and chuckling from this post!! I promise you, it will get better! It's already gotten better since Jan. when I was there. And IT WILL CONTINUE TO GET BETTER!!!!! You will then rest most every night and then they will grow into their teens and stay out past curfew and again you will be without sleep! A never ending cycle as a parent but again, IT DOES GET BETTER!!!! Lots of love and hugs and a BIG HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO TONY!!!!!!!!!!!
    Auntie

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    1. Oh it has definitely gotten better! I think I've been pretty lucky actually. Still wish Rylee wouldn't get so agitated in her sleep, but that will hopefully get better with time. I sure wish you were able to come visit again! You would enjoy them so much right now!

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  5. You got to stop taking Rylee out to the couch and snuggling with her to get her back to sleep. She will never learn to sleep alone. The longer you do this the harder it will be to undo. Let her figure out how to go back to sleep on her own. Trust me. Our parents certainly didn't snuggle with us every single night and we survived!!

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    1. Ashley, thanks for your advice, although it seems to come across a bit snarky rather than helpful. You most certainly do NOT know whether my mom snuggled with me every night or not. I do love comments and helpful advice, but I don't recall if you've commented before, so I don't know if you've followed our story or not. Rylee spent the first 3 months of her short 5 months in an extreme amount of pain. If she was awake, she was crying. I definitely do not feel bad for giving her comfort when she needs it. She actually does a good job of putting herself to sleep, but she cries out a LOT in her sleep. Sometimes she stays asleep, or puts herself back to sleep and sometimes she doesn't. I realize this is a habit that will probably be difficult to break, but the way I see it, this is really a short phase in her life. If she ends up being one of those kids that has to go crawl in mom and dad's bed in the middle of the night sometimes, so be it. That's not something we have a problem with and again, it won't last forever. Before we know it, they will be grown and out of the house and I will wish I had more time to snuggle!

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    2. Ashley that is ridiculous! They all eventually learn to sleep alone and snuggling with your long awaited for baby finds comfort in your arms, then I say, go for it and get some sleep at the same time. As long as she is co-sleeping safely, it is a wonderful time that you will never regret. I did it with my 3 - 3, 6, 9 years old and they are all fast asleep, in their own beds just fine.

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  6. Those nights are rough! Wishing you long and wonderful naps to make up for the lack of sleep.

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    1. Ahhh, long and wonderful naps. What are those again? lol

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  7. Oh Amber... You are getting me ready for my twins. lol. I think every baby and every situation is different and you shouldn't be judged. If I need to strap both of my babies to my chest is order to get the sleep I need to stay sane during the day then I will do it. You and Tony are doing an amazing job and your babies are healthy and happy so that proves it. Keep up the good work and hopefully you can get in a nap today!

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    1. Thank you Friend :) Twins are not easy, but they sure are fun at the same time! You will do great!

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  8. Amber, do you have the Nose Frieda? If not GET ONE! OMG, that thing changed my life!! It gets the boogers/snot down to their brains! My LO got sick at about 3wks old and it was miserable! I can't imagine having two sick LO's. ALso can you or have you tried swaddling Rylee? I know they are bigger now but you might revisit that? Just shooting some tricks out that I tried (sometimes successfully, sometimes not, LOL!) I agree they are only little for a while, but I also agree the holding while sleep is a hard habit to break (we had to break our 12mo old of this night time routine and it was BRUTAL) Hang in there and hopefully sleep is better for you all tonight! (Seems like once they are both feeling better sleep will get better as well right? (hopefully that answer is YES!)) What about a baby wrap?! I saw a Mom with one on and it looks amazing!!! Good luck moving forward no matter how you need to girl! HUGS!

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    1. Thank you so much for your friendly advice. It is much appreciated! We do have a Nose Frieda and I use it frequently, although it makes me gag and grosses me out also :/ We actually do swaddle Rylee. If we didn't, I'm not sure she would EVER go to sleep. I agree that holding her while she sleeps will be a hard habit to break. That's why we try to let her sleep as long as she can in her crib, and I never hold her for naps, so she does sleep by herself a lot of the time. She's usually just with me for about half the night. She did one night sleep almost the whole night in her crib! But that's only happened once so far. Thank you again so much! I do appreciate good friendly tips. How else would we all get through this tough stage?

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  9. This sounds so tough, and I'm sure running on no sleep or only couch sleep doesn't help. But you're right, this time is so short. They will eventually sleep through the night and no longer need you every few hours. You're doing such good things for them and they will appreciate it. Hang in there, Amber!

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  10. Whew that is a rough night! I hope it gets better soon! Hang in there!

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    1. Thanks Melissa! Most nights are good, so I truly can't complain. It just makes it harder when those bad night do happen because I was getting spoiled with my our 3 good nights in a row!

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  11. You gotta do what you gotta do. Having Reagan sleep with us isn't our first option but Matt and I both need sleep. Will she sleep with us forever, no but for now it works.

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    1. Exactly. If I let Rylee stay in her crib and fuss/cry, she would eventually wake up her brother and NONE of us would be getting any sleep. At least this way, ALL of us are actually getting to sleep. Usually :)

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  12. Not sleeping is rough. Hang in there, friend. Hope you get some rest soon!

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  13. Do what you have to do to survive! I have a 16 month old son that still doesn't sleep all night. It is rough. I feel your pain sorta. Two bad sleepers is much harder I can only imagine. I keep telling myself someday I will get to sleep all night uninterupted. They are only little once. Good thing for helpful husbands and weekends! Good luck with it all. You are doing an amazing job!

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  14. I know it's mean, but I had to laugh when I read the update about the babies both waking up after you hit publish. Hoping a great nights sleep is in your future :)!!

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