Saturday, December 13, 2014

Sleep

Baby sleep... I will never understand it as long as I live.  Just when we think we have things figured out, they go ahead and change the rules.

They both go down for bed at night fairly easy. They talk and play and giggle with each other for anywhere between 10-30 minutes (occasionally sometimes more) and then they go to sleep.  Ayden continues to sleep through the night, with a few exceptions here and there.  Sometimes Rylee does wake him up, and also when he was sick he had a hard time because he had trouble breathing, but otherwise he is a great nighttime sleeper.

And then there's Rylee.  We were actually doing pretty good there for awhile.  She was sleeping most nights until about 4:30-5:00am, and then I'd go in and get her when she woke up, and we'd finish the night out on the couch together.  If you recall, for several months she had been waking up anywhere between 10:00 and midnight, so this was a vast improvement.  For awhile now, if she ever wakes up before 3:00, I've been putting her in the spare bedroom in the pack n' play, but it always takes longer for her to go back to sleep when we do that.

Naps were also going pretty good, with the exception that Rylee almost ALWAYS poops right after we put her down for her morning nap.  Once we then change her diaper, we'd put her back down and then they'd both sleep for about 2.5 hours.  Yes!!!  Then they'd also take a short afternoon nap.

Then Thanksgiving happened.  Surprisingly, even though they were in the same room, they actually did nap during the day while we were gone to Sunriver.  Not as long of naps, but they did take them.  And then nighttime.  The first night, they both went to sleep okay but Rylee did not STAY asleep.  She decided she wanted to party for a few hours that night.  She would. not. go. back. to. sleep.  The second night, neither one of them wanted to go to bed.  They knew something was going on in the rest of the house and they wanted no part of going to bed.  Their 7:00 bedtime turned out to be more like 9:00 and they had to be held to go to sleep.  Yet again, Rylee was awake for several hours in the middle of the night.  To be fair, she was super constipated and I think that had a big thing to do with it.  She would go to sleep for about 45 minutes and then wake up crying. She was pretty gassy and was only happy if I was standing up and rocking her.  As soon as I would sit down, she started crying again.  Then she'd finally go to sleep for another 45 minutes or so, and we'd repeat.  This continued all night!  It was pure torture!  For both of us, I'm sure.  It was even more challenging because I was also trying to make sure she didn't wake up the other 24 people staying in the house!

Since we've been back home, nap times have been terrible!  Neither one of them want to go to sleep!  They cry.  Actually, Rylee's taken on a whole new level of screaming to let us know she's not happy.  It is absolutely exhausting when they refuse to go to sleep.  I ride it out and they do eventually fall asleep, but the naps have been much, much shorter and it is so hard to listen to them cry SO MUCH.  Rylee has been waking up after only 35-40 minutes, through one sleep cycle, and then waking up crying screaming.  I wait about 5-10 minutes for her to go back to sleep, and then if she doesn't I go in, pick her up and comfort her, and put her back down again.  She screams some more, and then generally falls back to sleep within a few minutes and sleeps for another hour or so.  The nice thing is that once Rylee is up, she is almost always in a very good mood.  Once Ayden wakes up from his afternoon nap, he is the biggest grouch EVER!  It's almost not worth having him take that afternoon nap because he wakes up crying and is so grumpy.

The last few weeks, since we've been home from our Thanksgiving trip, Rylee has been waking up at night around 11:30 to midnight again, and not wanting to go back to sleep.  She cries if I put her in the pnp, and she wants to party if I go to the couch with her.  If she won't go to sleep with me holding her, I always put her back in the pnp, but sometimes she's in there for over an hour alternating between crying and playing. She's been up as much as 2.5 hours during the night.  Why doesn't she sleep?????

Then Tuesday night, she teased us.  She slept ALL NIGHT in her crib!!!!!  Hallelujah!   It was only the second time EVER she has slept all night in her crib, and she made it to 6:20am! I thought maybe we'd turned a corner.  But the very next night, she was up to her usual antics.  Sigh.....

You may wonder why I don't just ignore her when she wakes up during the night and let her go back to sleep.  Here's why - last night I heard her wake up at 2:30am.  She wasn't crying, but I could hear her talking.  I waited a few minutes, but then I made a beeline to take her out of the nursery.  When I walked into the room, she was standing up BOUNCING in her crib, and trying to wake up Ayden.  Okay, there's only one thing worse than one baby that won't sleep at night, and that is TWO babies that won't sleep at night!

I definitely can see how people with only one baby think they know the magic trick to getting babies to sleep once they figure it out.  If we only had Ayden, I'd think our system works great!  I'd be able to say we have a great sleeper.  Yes, naps have been a bit challenging lately, but he does sleep all night.  However, I know first hand that what works for one baby most definitely does not work for all.  We do the exact same routine with both Ayden and Rylee every night. He sleeps great, and she does not.

I do have an obsession with checking in on them while they are sleeping and sometimes taking pictures. They are so cute and innocent while they are sleeping.

I think it's adorable when he's snuggling his little minky blanket

He makes my heart melt

Pure sweetness

She fell asleep with her feet in HIS crib.  Plus, she never sleeps on her back!  Guess I shouldn't say never.

She fell asleep ON her Seahorse!

Again, asleep on her Seahorse!  Silly girl.

At Sunriver, he fell asleep with his legs scrunched up on the side of the pnp.

19 comments:

  1. Could they be ready to go to one nap a day? E didn't drop his morning nap until about 15 months, but A dropped hers around 11 months. The transition sucked and required an earlier lunchtime and afternoon nap, but once we got past that it was better. Sleep issues are so frustrating, and you are right, what works for one often doesn't work for another.

    Hang in there. It will get better eventually.

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    1. I'd been seriously considering dropping to one nap, and I probably would if they slept the full 11 hours they are supposed to get at night at this age, but they usually only get about 10-10.5 at night. And sometimes Rylee is only getting 8 hours on those nights she decides to play! I think I'm going to keep trying a little longer, but then I may decide to go that route anyway.

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  2. Such sweet pics. (-: Sleep can be such a bear. My boys are so random. I never know what I'm going to get. But they're a million times better than their sis so I'll take it! (-:

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    1. They sleep better than their sis? Now? Oh you are scaring me if she's still a poor sleeper at 3!

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  3. Good God. Posts like this terrify me. Thanks for scaring the pregnant lady, Amber. ;)

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    1. Lol Aramis! I'm sorry. Maybe you'll have a good little sleeper like Ayden.

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  4. My twins are 10 months and neither of them eep through the night and only nap if they are beingg held. The only thing I can say good is when we are up at night they go back in the crib wirking 20 minutes or so, and do stay the while night in the crib...but I also agree we go in fast when one wakes because 2 awake is aweful

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    1. Oy. I'm so glad they at least go back to sleep quick for you at night, but I have to say, I'm not sure I could handle the nap thing if they only slept while being held. I'm super impressed you are able to do that with two! How do you EVER get anything done????

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  5. Sleeping has been a real chore in our house. Luckily they have done well sleeping in their cribs. Olivia is a fantastic sleeper, but Lilah on the other hand is not. She screams throughout the whole night. I get up sooth her and put her back in the crib. I am sure most of her problem is acid reflux at this point though.

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    1. Sounds like you are going to end up having one of each like us, a good sleeper and a not so good sleeper. I will say this Tonisha, Rylee is at least a TON better sleeper now than she was, so I hold out hope that it will get better for Lilah as well. Hopefully the reflux meds will help her to be able to settle down!

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  6. Oh, the cuteness in the photos!!! Ayden's hair looks like it's getting darker or just filling in? Rylee must REALLY love her seahorse!!! Absolutely adorable!! You've tried everything towards making sleeping work and only suggestions from others will be helpful because as you said, what works for one doesn't work for another and you think you have found the magic formula and they shake things up yet again!!! Just rest when you can so that you can keep your humor over all of this and trust that soon and probably very soon, they will be sleeping all night, every night and both of them!!!!!

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    1. Ayden's hair is definitely still blond, but is filling in. He has cute little curls in the back that I just adore! As for resting when I can, that is a challenge for me during the day because it's the only time I have to get things done or have ME time, which has unfortunately been very short lately with their lack of napping. I know it won't last forever!

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  7. I was lucky in that mine slept through the night from about 2ish months adjusted, but we did drop the 2nd nap around a year adjusted...maybe that's what it is? Idk. Sending you good thoughts as you work through it with her. Besides, you know where to find me those nights she doesn't sleep. ;)

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    1. Haha! Yes, I have noticed that you do tend to be a night owl :)

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  8. Baby sleep can be the most challenging part of parenthood, no doubt! Paloma had been waking after 1 sleep cycle during her naps and I have to go in and get her back down again. Makes it hard to get stuff done while she naps!

    I hope Rylee grows out of this phase soon! It sounds exhausting!

    Very cute pics! She must really love that seahorse!

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    1. Haha! She does like the seahorse :)

      I will never understand the baby sleep. After writing this post, they both slept great the next two days and nights. Last night and today, terrible again! Rylee was up half the night and took 45 minutes to get down for a nap! Makes it super difficult!

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  9. Yikes, this scares me. I'm a really good sleeper - like I could easily sleep 12 hours a night and nap an hour or two during the day. And I'm (kind of irrationally) holding onto the idea that my kid will be the same and sleep a ton too (you know, from day one, because while we're being irrational, we may as well dream big!). I hope Rylee starts sleeping better soon!

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    1. Well, I hope for your sake that you do get a really good sleeper! Although I wouldn't hold my breath on the first few months. They kind of have to eat :) It is really hard. I'm not gonna lie, but I just keep telling me that this is a very short time period in our lives. We do get our good days mixed in, so I really probably shouldn't be complaining at all!

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  10. Baby sleep is one of those great mysteries. Overall, our girls have been really good sleepers. We know we are very lucky. Then just before they turned a year old, we seemed to enter another sleep regression and at 15 months we still seem to be in it. Some nights they sleep great, some nights they wake up by manage to get themselves back to sleep before we have to get out of bed. Then there are the nights where it takes an hour or two to get whoever wakes up back down. Or the nights when both of them are up. They are equal offenders in the middle of the night waking. Last night was pretty bad, but we did just get to Colorado and it was their first night at altitude. So.tired. Sorry you are having setbacks, too.
    Also, what is it with them needing us to stand up to comfort them? My girls do the same thing. If they are upset I am not allowed to sit. Babies are crazy.

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