A Chance to Type At Last!

It seems I'm hardly able to type lately...someone is always needing me. Today Thomas is napping great so here's my chance!

More on Tom's sleeping...he's been through periods of problem sleep (as you all know since it's been a topic on this blog numerous times) since we started his "sleep training" at 7 weeks. Basically, we've been wimps at the various phases of his life. We let him cry it out and it works for a bit, but then a bad habit will develop and we're lazy about nipping it in the bud. Like this early-morning-waking business. It's been a problem for a long time and we've been lazy about letting it slide...but now it's a problem since we're sleep-deprived due to Rachel's night wakings. Well, being tough about it has paid off...he slept in today. Monday was bad- he cried from 4:30 to 6am, then crashed until 7:30am. He woke up yesterday at 5:30, but it was really more of a whine than a cry and we didn't go in until Allison was up, shortly after 6. Today- no problems at all. His nighttime routine was also becoming a problem. He likes to be rocked and sung to before we put him to bed...well, these sessions were getting longer and longer and then he'd call out for either Paul or I after we'd leave the room. It was tedious! We nipped that in the bud as well and he pretty much got the picture after the first night. His naps have also been erratic- sometimes only 1 hour or 45 minutes- and that leaves him over-tired by the end of the day. It's so hard to be tough about sleep issues, but we don't know what else to do. Over-tired kids are not fun! Allison usually gets what she needs by going to sleep at around 7pm and getting up at 6am-ish, but her sleep gets affected by Thomas' wakings so she also gets overly tired alot. In fact, she's napped 3 times in the last week, which is really unusual. I wake her after a little while (figuring she must need a little rest because of all the commotion around here) so she'll still go to bed at night without problems. Man, keeping them rested and on a schedule is exhausting.

And as for Rachel...well, she's been handling my "not up for more than 2 hours" routine pretty well. We've been bouncing her to get her to sleep, even using the bouncy chair with its "calming vibrations", but some days are still tough. If anything disrupts our being home for her to be put down, she's a mess. Then I spend the rest of the day trying to "sleep" her and get her rested so that she can rest better at night. I have to remember that she is still pretty little - she'll be 7 weeks on Sat.- but I get so tired from taking care of the other 2 that sometimes I want to fast-forward to the point where we can just let her cry it out at night so we can get 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Usually she sleeps for 2 hour stints all day long, but the nights are still a mess. She'll wake up and need a feeding, then she just can't seem to settle herself down and STAY down like she can during the day. Not all nights are like this...she's been better some nights and we'll get 3-4 hours of sleep at a stretch. I just long for the 6+ hour stretches. All I can hope for is by starting early, maintaining a good routine of a bath and then a feeding, that eventually she'll get it. Then I'll look back on this time (if I remember it) and think, "That wasn't so bad!" Ha!

The good things definitely outweigh the bad...Rachel grins and stares at us. She'll turn her head if she hears me, too, which is so rewarding. Thomas is talking up a storm, playing well with Allison outside, and becoming more and more of a little boy. Allison is a tremendous help and is so independent. She can do everything essential for herself...get dressed, use the bathroom, buckle herself in her carseat, and she helps me by retrieving things I ask for when I'm nursing Rachel or tending to Thomas. It amazes me how much she's changed and turned into a little lady. I treasure the time I have alone with each of them as well. When Thomas naps and Allison is done resting, we get to hang out. When Allison is at school and Rachel is sleeping, Thomas and I have our moments to play. When Rachel is up and the other two are asleep, that 's my time with her. I'm thankful for it!