Sleep update!

Yay!!!!!!!!!  We have all 3 kids sleeping through the night.  The twins go to bed usually by 7:30 at the latest and Michael is in bed by 8:30 at the latest.  We had a couple of tough nights, but at this point there is limited crying form Michael.  The twins have been going down fine for a long time now.  Michael has been our trying child.  I am finding that this has been my fault.  I feel bad, but I guess that's kind of how it is with your first.  Then the twins came along and like I said in my last post there were all sorts of crazy happenings.  Looking back, I wish I had put Michael on more of a schedule.  I really wasn't ready to do CIO til just now, but maybe I should have done that sooner.  Even at this point, I slowly eased myself into it.  Now, almost a week later, Michael is going to bed, crying for about 5 minutes at the most and putting himself bad into his bed even if he has gotten himself out.  We are not on a totally strict schedule, but we are definitely way more schedules than we ever have been with Michael.  The twins have always been on  a schedule.  The best part is that all 3 kids are going to sleep fairly easily, sleeping through the night and so have I.  I have actually been able to go to bed at 9:30 at the latest for the last couple of nights and I feel so rested.  I have pulled my back and definitely needed to rest.  I am also going to start a new job so getting a good night sleep all around id going to be great.  I know that this is going to continue because I have gone through the CIO phase and know that I can do it and that it works.  I guess that I needed to be ready and maybe even Michael needed to be ready.  I just wish I was ready earlier because I think it has been best for our whole family.

If there is anyone reading this blog who has given me advice on sleeping, thank you and I wish I had taken your advice sooner.  Also thank you for putting up with my constant whining about sleep issues and having me not follow the advice of others who have been there.  If there are people who are dealing with similar issues, CIO is not all that bad.  It was probably one of the toughest things to follow through with, but the outcome has been wonderful.  Also,  having a schedule, at least a schedule that you can follow somewhat is so important.  I realized this after having the twins, but I never really instituted one with Michael.  Again, I am not a fanatic with scheduling, but I do think that having one totally helps.

Amy

Sleep

We have 3 kids; 2 great sleepers and 1 horrible sleeper.  My older son has been a horrible sleeper since the very beginning.  From the start, he was a slow weight gainer and we needed to wake him every 2 hours.  We were also first time parents and probably didn't set as many limits as we should have.  We did not have a schedule, we did not do cry it out,  I didn't even know about the different sleep training theories out there until I had the twins.  Michael started actually sleeping through the night while I was in the hospital having the twins.  The twins had only been home 2 days and my husband was taking Michael to the hospital because his penis was totally swollen.  Here he was 10 1/2 months, 2 new siblings born 5 weeks early and he has to go to the emergency room for a swollen penis.  Come to find out, he had a yeast infection and now he would wake up because of a soiled diaper and we had to put him in a tub to clean him.  Now the kids that had been sleeping through the night for 5 days or so was getting a bath at 2 in the morning.  So now we have a 10 1/2 month old who is not sleeping, 2 preemie babies and a mom who is not sleeping.  Then we had the RSV issue, then we travelled to NC just after Michael turned 1.  I had a schedule for the babies since they were so little and needed to gain and had just been so sick, but never really had a schedule with Michael.  When the twins were about 6 months old or so, another mom in my twins group gave me the schedule that she was using with her twins.  Her twins are just about 2 months older than mine, so the schedule worked out really well.  The twins have been sleeping through the night for what seems like forever.  Michael slept through the night for about 2 months just after he got his toddler bed right before he turned 2.  Then after about 2 months, he just stopped.  He is now 27 1/2 months and we decided that we need to do something about his sleeping or lack there of.  I am still not a total convert to the CIO philosophy, but I try to help him to sleep by rubbing his back and if that doesn't work, I leave and let him figure it out.  It's been a rough few nights, but Michael has slept through the night even though bed time hasn't been the best.  I think one of the biggest regrets that I have is he has really not had any routine.  Again, I so not totally subscribe to a rigid routine, but I do believe that there should be a definite routine with some room for movement.  I think things are finally working out for us.  I think overall, it is a better situation for all involved.  Michael has some limit setting, has a routine, we are sleeping through the night, and I think all are happy.

Let's hope that this is a permanent change and all sleep through the night consistently!

Amy

Happy Father's Day

I got the idea for Father's Day from my twins group.  I put my own spin on it though.  The kids were not all that cooperative with holding the letters, but I got decent pictures.  They could have been better, but maybe next year.

I took the following pictures and put them into a re-usuable take along tea mug.

Michael

Eva Rose

Thomas

I also took this picture and put it in a frame:

I almost got the DAD on the lawn in the picture but not quite

Then finally I painted the kids foot and stamped it in a card and wrote about the each of kids' favorite things to do with daddy.

Maybe next year the kids will cooperate more.  We'll see!

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Amy

Back to Work

I think I posted a while ago that I had applied for a part time  job that had hours that were perfect for our family.  Well, since then, I have interviewed and received an offer that I really can't refuse.  The hours are M-F from 4:30p to 7:30p.  I won't have to worry about daycare since my husband will be home to watch them and even though I hoped that they would offer a salary that I thought was too low, they offered at the high end of the range that they mentioned at the interview.  I got the offer today and I quickly talked to Tom about it.  There really is no reason to refuse the job.  It will give us more money, get me back in the work force, help me maintain my knowledge, and get me out of the house feeling productive.  On some level I am looking forward to it, but I am also so sad.  I shouldn't be, I still get to be mostly a stay at home mom and won't have to worry about anyone but mom and dad taking care of the kids.  I get to be a professional, yet still be the main care giver for my children and that is the most important thing!

I will most likely be accepting the offer on Monday and then trying to plan a start date.  Wish me luck in going back to work after being out for almost 2 years.

Amy

Pregnancy Pictures

Yesterday was mine and my husband's 3rd anniversary and I made him a scrapbook from the time we got engaged til now.  I decided to put in pictures of the major times and events that have taken place since we got engaged and write what those times meant to me.  I decided that I would put in pictures from our 3 Christmases together since our engagement which meant: my engagement ring, me pregnant with Michael, me pregnant with the twins, and then finally the 3 kids.  When I looked at my picture when I was pregnant with Michael compared to when I was pregnant with the twins, I was amazed.

Pregnant with Michael December 25, 2007

Pregnant with the twins December 24, 2008

I was supposed to be due a week earlier than I was with Michael so I was right at the same time frame in both pictures.  I think it is absolutely amazing how much bigger I was with the twins (I know I shouldn't be that amazed but to see it in a picture just blows my mind).

I am so glad that I did that album for my husband and I am so glad that I found these pictures!

Amy

ERGObaby Giveaway

I love reading takencare.blogspot.com and now she is giving away an ergo carrier.  I have heard such good things about this carrier and would love to try one.  I love wearing the babies and since my daughter is the smallest, I tend to wear her more often now.  I wish I had done this more often when they were little.  I did wear my daughter in a moby wrap when she was small since it seemed to help with her reflux.  I wish I had the ergo since all reports from other moms say that it is so comfortable!

Check out takencare.blogspot.com

Amy

makes My Monday: You don't need to buy kid toys

We were at a graduation party yesterday and unfortunately most of the day rained so the party was forced inside.  The house where we were had a tarp on the deck to prevent the rain from soaking whoever was grilling below.  The tarp collected water and there were a ton of puddles.  The kids, who are now all walking, didn't not want to stay in the house.  So, we brought them outside and they found the puddles.  It was like their own slip and slide.  It's amazing what simple things around the house can give kids a fun time!

Thomas running through the puddles!

Eva Rose splashing!

Michael looking over where to splash next!

We had lots of fun playing in the water!  Gotta love simple things that keep kids occupied!

Amy