Wednesday, June 27, 2012

We Need Sleep

As I've said many times now, none of our children find sleep an easy task. Today, Ezra and Elliott were awake from 4 PM to 1 AM. They then woke up at 2:30 AM and now 3:00.

Nathan and I are feeling a little defeated. And by a little, I mean immensely. Would any of you be so kind to share what you do for your little ones? Schedules? Tips and tricks!?

I've read nearly every sleep training book, but I am desperate for anything. The twins are such good babies as long as sleep isn't involved. I can't help but think I am simply doing something wrong.

Please shower me with your wisdom. I need something new to look forward to and hope that it works.

8 comments:

  1. K, I will preface this by saying that I am a total jerk and have been told so on more than one occasion.

    We have a rule in our house- you can sleep or not, doesn't matter to us. But during night time and nap time hours you will be in your bed.

    There has been some crying in our house in the past but now my boys are awesome sleepers and I have always been well rested. So that's my secret. I let them cry while I sleep peacefully with my fan on high for white noise.

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    1. I love this even though I'm not a mother.

      On a semi related note, my dad had a rule that if you're going to sleep, go to your bed and not the couch etc. Nobody should have to tiptoe around because you chose to sleep in a public area.

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  2. When my twins refused to sleep, I would lay them in the same bed. They would quiet right down. But that only worked sometimes. I also ALWAYS turned on Enya in my CD player. They loved that. I think they just liked some kind of background noise. If my three year old doesn't go down, I let her cry it out for a few minutes and then go in and talk to her. Same with the twins now that they are almost two.
    It's always hard when you are told to let them cry cause I hated when they cried, but for me the trick was consistency. I'd go in every few minutes but would never let them out of the room. Good luck. I'm sorry you aren't getting any sleep.

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  3. I agree with Rachel in keeping up with consistency.

    I know our babies are different and it may not make a difference, but after this last weekend, Anna seems to be better now that I've kinda put my foot down and said, "Hey, if you're tired or sleepy, you're going to bed." I lay her down and put the binky in her mouth to help her relax and just stand there with her until she's finally ready to be on her own. I think she just needs to know that I'm not abandoning her and/or she's not missing out on all the fun (cuz what we're doing is so much fun ya know). Mind you, I'm only in the beginning stages so we'll see. Yesterday her last nap was rough going and I eventually gave in to screams and put her in the bouncer, where she promptly fell asleep and I scooped her up and put her in bed. Silly lady. At this point, the babies are old enough now that they know they can "manipulate" you (i.e. they cry, you come runnin') so it really takes us being like "So I actually am the adult and am in charge of this situation and I really do want what's best for you so you can be happy." It's so hard, I know. I hope something will work soon. Y'all need sleep.

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  4. With Abby we tried this and it worked in a few days. It is a cry it out method which i don't like doing until kids are 6 months, but you are there! :) So you do your bed time routine make sure they eat a good amount put them down. When they wake up go into them and rub their back give them a binki what ever you use. Then leave and let them cry for 10 min, come back give them their binki or rub their back ect. Let them cry for 20min, 30, 40. you get the idea. We never had to go past 30 min of crying. I liked this way because I did not feel like i was TOTALLY ignoring my kiddo. Good luck!!!!

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  5. Oh oops I started with 5 min, then 10 :)

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  6. Oh man, I am so sorry. :( I'm pretty sure I don't have anything to tell you that you haven't already tried. We liked the book "The Sleepeasy Solution," but you've prob already looked at it. We did basically what your friend Jessica said, when Noah was 9 months old. Next time I'm not waiting until 9 mo. At 6 or 9 months, he did not need to be waking up once or twice a need to nurse. He was just in the habit of it, I guess. It worked in 3 nights. He cried for 30 min the first night, 15 or so the next, then 5, then he didn't cry at all to fall asleep after that. And I also went in every 5 min to comfort him, then every 10, etc. But in the stuff I read, it says not to touch them, because it's sort of "teasing them" by making them think you're going to pick them up. I stood in the doorway or by the crib and told him I was right there and it was okay, I loved him, etc. Basically I said it was time to go to sleep. But I know this doesn't work for everyone. Since he was born, we've also put him down "drowsy but awake" so he learned how to fall asleep on his own. He's in a super dark room with blackout curtains seriously not letting in a bit of light. (I'm a little obsessive with my push pins). And we turn on white noise. It was louder when he was younger, but we've turned it down and we're kind of in the process of phasing it out now. I don't think he really needs it much anymore, but it's good for muffling sounds if someone rings the doorbell or something. We do the same routine every time he goes down for nap or bedtime, with a few changes for day/night. Basically: quiet down, give him a sippy of milk (used to be nursing), read a book or two and sing a song or two and we say goodnight and put him down. If he does whine every once in awhile now, I tell him Daddy and I are going to sleep now too, and everyone is sleeping now. It's harder to say that when it's summer and there is light streaming in his door when it opens. :) I know this is nothing new, and you've tried it all...I hope you find the thing that works for your kids. One thing I've heard is that it's sort of like potty training in that you shouldn't start a new plan and say that you're going to stick with it and it's the new rules or whatever, and then quit. I guess it can tell them if they protest enough, any new plan can be abandoned. I guess this is for toddlers/preschoolers more than babies...You guys are totally awesome parents, and I hope you get to sleep soon!!

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  7. try babywise. I know that it doesn't work for everyone, but my sister used it twice and I used it once. We love it. I also have a cousin that loves it.

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