Knock on wood but we have super sleepers. Sleeping in their own beds, in their own room. We’ve had our ups and downs with sleeping, and were on track late August with two kiddos sleeping on their own, not in our bed. All was well. There have been nights since where we have one or two kiddos in bed but it hasn’t been the norm. We’ve had our bed back but not our room. Lainey Bug was still sleeping in our room with us … until last Friday.
We had been in California the first week in December to celebrate the holidays with our families. Our sleeping schedule was thrown way off. Naps barely happened and bedtime was pushed a few hours later than normal. It was chaotic. While the kiddos slept fine once they were out, we didn’t. The lack of sleep was worth being there and seeing everyone but we were anxious to get home and back to our normal sleeping schedules. We flew out Sunday, December 9 just to rush home to rip up the flooring in preparation for our mini-home makeover. On top of dealing with the house torn apart—keeping the kiddos restricted to the upstairs for the week—Blaise came down with a temperature ranging from 102-104.4 from Monday night until Friday morning. And since Blaise had been sleeping with us in California, we let him sleep with us when we got home and continued to let him while he wasn’t feeling well. Between our trip, a chaotic house, and Blaise not feeling well, we figured if we were going to boot Laine from our room, why not just go for it on top of everything else.
Laine is a light sleeper. She goes down easy—we just lay her down and she rolls over to sleep—and she sleeps through the night fine. Until the morning. The moment we step out of bed she hears us. Okay, maybe not the exact moment but she tosses and turns when we get up, and is fully awake within the hour. Which isn’t cool with me, I like some non-kiddo time in the morning. I wouldn’t mind morning kiddo time if she was a super napper. She’s always been a power napper, napping about 45 minutes before she thinks she’s rested (even though she’s still rubbing her eyes). Occasionally she’ll nap 90 minutes but that’s rare. I’ve been spoiled with naptastic Blaise, napping 3-4 hours every day.
So, last Friday. We didn’t really plan on how we were going to transition her, we just went for it. Friday night, after our bedtime routine, I just put her down in Blaise’s bed (he slept with us that night). She was slightly excited and slightly nervous. I sat with her for maybe 10 minutes then left the room. She’s quick to go out (because she doesn’t nap well so she’s exhausted come bedtime). That was it. She slept in there all night long. And she slept in later than usual by almost an hour.
Saturday was a piece of cake too, same thing. Sunday she went out fine but woke up thanks to Leilah barking (and echoing loudly thanks to the new wood floors). It took a few times with Brian sitting with her until she went back down, then her waking up again until he finally got her back out for the night. She did wake up around 4am so we just brought her into bed with us … which reinforced me really wanting her evicted for good. She’s a tosser and turner, and will only sleep with me (she’s all about Brian during the day but it’s all me while she’s sleeping). I love the kiddo, I also love sleep.
Laine had been sleeping well (Sunday night excluded) and it was time to evict Blaise since he was feeling better. We just went for it again, putting both in the same room Monday night. They share a room; the crib is in there with one side removed and Blaise has a twin bed that Laine had been sleeping in. We did our normal bedtime routine, then put both kiddos down for the night at the same time. Laine in the one-sided crib, Blaise in the twin bed. After about an hour of Brian sitting with them, they both were out. We thought we were golden. Until Laine fell out of bed which woke her into freaking out crying frenzy, which consequently woke up Blaise (who usually sleeps through anything?!). We were getting ready for bed so we just tossed both in with us and had a slumber party.
Tonight, two kiddos, two beds, one room. Since it took about an hour last night, I figured we’d give it a shot putting Laine down first, then Blaise down about an hour later. We knew there was a chance she’d wake up when we put him down, and she did. But since she was half-asleep, it was easy to get her back down. She was in the twin, we put him in the one-sided crib. I sat with him to make sure he wasn’t going to harass her and he was about to fall asleep—Hot Wheels in hand—when I left. He was back up. When I went to get him back down, he wanted to sleep in his bed so I moved Laine to the crib and he hopped in his bed and was out like a light. They’ve both been asleep for hours, and I think we’re in the clear (being optimistic here).
Regardless of how it goes with the two in the same room, Laine has been a dream since we switched her. Not only is she sleeping better and later in the mornings, she is napping longer—close to two hours. I’m a huge sleep begets sleep believer; I never wake a sleeping kiddo, neither since day one. Except Blaise twice. Once to make our first PEPS meeting and once to catch our flight to Hawaii (just to be stuck in our hotel because of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, causing tsunami warnings for Hawaii … Blaise slept through it all).
Now if only I can get myself back on a sleeping schedule. I keep staying up until the wee hours of the morning, just to get up with the kiddos around 7am. I’m both a night and morning person, which isn’t a good combination when I need a good 8-10 hours of sleep each night to be a happily functioning mom, wife, and member of society … as I sit here close to 2am with Worm the cat (purring loudly), the only other night person around here.
Laine sleeping (half-sleeping?!) in the one-sided crib before she fell out of bed. We’ll upgrade her to a twin soon … lesson learned with Blaise (dark but that was the last night he slept in a toddler bed). They toss and turn so much, and fall out of bed (Blaise always slept through the fall and a bed rail didn’t stop him) so at least in a twin there is enough sideways room to prevent falling and odd positions. They sure are funny little sleepers.
Jumping Raccoons 