MOMday - The NEW Normal

Ok - thanks for bearing with me as I get my blog working the way I want it to.  Now for a little special something for Mondays...or should I say MOMdays :)

Throughout the lives of my twins, there have been many times a new normal was introduced.   Coming home from the NICU was a new normal for them.  Having to adjust to the bottles we had here - another new normal.   Moving from swaddling to sleepsacks...yep, another new normal (and one that took them from sleeping 7 hours a night to 13 hours, I might add). Eating new foods.  Moving them from breastmilk to formula when my supply dried up.  Switching to sippy cups when cows milk was introduced.  All new normals.   My girls have always been troopers with pretty much anything we changed.  They just went with it.   This past weekend, we had a new normal that didn't go so smoothly.  We decided that,in preparation for our upcoming Mexican vacation, we would get them used to sleeping without sleepsacks - we want to NOT pack as much as possible and sleepsacks take up a great deal of luggage space.

As far as feeling they were ready for it - Goober is able to unzip herself from her sleepsack anyway.  Most mornings, I go in and she is half hanging out of the thing.   Doodle is so easygoing that I figured she would probably do just fine.  Unfortunately, momtuition isn't always what we hope it will be.  

Oy vay.   I don't think any of us slept much those first two nights.   Unused to be free in their cribs, we anticipated they would spend some time jumping around and then fall asleep exhausted.  That first night it almost seemed like that would be the case.   After if had finally been quiet for a couple of hours, I snuck into their room and covered them up.   Then, 20 minutes later - Doodle started to cry.   I went to her and picked her up.  She was barely awake.  Obviously startled awake by the change in sleeping situation.  She wouldn't settle so I decided to let her cry it out.   Soon she was back to sleep.  Then Goober started.   Goober doesn't do anything very gently so that cry started out like a chainsaw - a few revs and then full-on wailing!   I got her out of their room to hope Doodle wouldn't wake again and spent some time soothing her to no avail.  Finally decided to just let her cry it out too (a risky venture with that one). 

Because I had my long run the next morning, I needed sleep so I had hubby deal with Doodle when she woke up next.   Apparently she went into party mode because she wasn't used to not being in a sleepsack for a middle-of-the-night interruption.   By 3:30, I woke to hear hubby say "GO. TO. SLEEP!" and then closing their door and falling into bed exhausted.   At 415?  You guessed it - Goober.   I got up with her so hubby could get some sleep.  She went back down pretty quickly again - I just wish I could say the same for myself.   I didn't sleep until just before my alarm went off to get up for my run.

All total - I got about 1.5 to 2 hours sleep.    Not a good start. 

Nap time on Saturday?  Doodle slept about an hour of her usual 3 and Goober just jumped and giggled the entire time.   By bedtime Saturday night...we thought they'd be good and ready to sleep.  It was all looking promising when they went right down.  And then 9pm rolled around and the first cries rang out.   I went in and retrieved Doodle.   She was not a happy camper so I brought her downstairs and she wouldn't calm at all.  I figured maybe she was gassy so thought I'd let her run around...the only thing was she couldn't WALK!  She limped and fell over.  A light bulb went on after the second attempt.  Poor munchkin was experiencing her very first asleep foot!!!!  It was almost comical when I realized it but a bit of massaging and a walk to her bedroom up the stairs took care of the problem and she went back to sleep.   I wish that was the end of it...until around 3am, we were up with one or the other of the girls until we finally just said "cry it out" and we all went to sleep eventually.   They did well - sleeping through until I woke them at 830 for breakfast.

For whatever reason, I failed to anticipate that this might not go over well as a new NEW NORMAL.   At least we did it on a long weekend to give us 3 full nights to get them used to it before hubby had to go back to work and needed his sleep.   Hopefully, by the time we head to Mexico next month, these girlies will have realized they are sack-free for good.   We loved our sleepsacks, but this just means one fewer thing to pack when we travel...and that makes us breathe a sigh of relief.  Even if that sigh will be turning into a yawn for a while yet....

Update from Night three...SUCCESS!  They slept right through from 7:30 to 9am!  On Sunday morning, when I changed Goober, I noticed her feet were really cold so we bundled them right up for Sunday night.  It seems to have done the trick.  Such a  happy momma am I!!!