False Alarm
I woke up in the middle of the night feeling oddly refreshed, hearing nothing over the monitor but the fish tank filtering away. I turned to look at my alarm clock, and through a tilted display and sleepy eyes, saw the display read 5am. I turned to face the ceiling, reveling in my fortune as someone began rustling in the living room.
5am is an hour later than they usually wake at night. Not only that, but I tried a new schedule last night, giving them the day’s last feeding at 8:30pm. Before I would set them down for a nap/bedtime at 8:30pm, take care of Abbie for the night, and then feed the twins one last time before putting everyone to bed. A few weeks ago, I had to consistently interrupt daddy-daughter reading time every few minutes to reinsert pacifiers. Then they started falling asleep long enough for me to put Abbie to bed before I had to feed them. Then they started falling asleep long enough for me to blog before I had to feed them. Finally I had to wake them up to feed them one last time. Last night I experimented with feeding them and putting them down for the night earlier than ever. I figured the worst that could happen is they’d wake at 2am, but instead they rewarded me by sleeping in.
I added the hours while listening to someone stir. They had just slept eight hours without food. That’s officially sleeping through the night territory. It was deeply gratifying to know I’d done something right after my failed experiments to find a schedule that works for all of us. I’ve spent this month weaning them from four naps to three naps a day by slowly eliminating the day’s first nap. My original goal was to spread them out from a three-hour schedule to a four-hour schedule, but I’ve already given up on that dream. Instead I’m aiming for a three-and-a-half hour schedule, but the boys aren’t cooperating. I can usually keep them awake now for 60 to 90 minutes without much effort, but after that they require progressively more intervention to keep awake. I go from tickling, to rubbing, to clapping, to poking, to dripping ice water on their foreheads, to hanging my head in shame when they defeat me. I then put them down thinking they must be ready for a long two-hour nap, but instead they wake up screaming and hungry 20 to 45 minutes later. While I’m trying to stretch them out, they’re trying to cheat down to a two-hour schedule, or perhaps they’d be happiest in a bouncy chair with a bottomless Podee strapped in their mouth so they can suck, drift to sleep, and repeat every 15 minutes. Regardless, they’re currently in no mood to drop that fourth nap, no matter how gradually I eliminate it.
While basking in a successful schedule change, I heard the grumbling grow more and more insistent. I finally rolled out of bed to address it, and that’s when I noticed the time began with a “2,” not a “5.” I wasn’t oddly refreshed, I was ridiculously tired, and they were awake at 2am, just like I feared. I stumbled into the bathroom, and fortunately they’d fallen back asleep by the time I emerged. They stayed asleep until 4am, just like normal. It was still a successful schedule change, but not as successful as I’d hoped. Now if only I could do something about their daytime napping.
5am is an hour later than they usually wake at night. Not only that, but I tried a new schedule last night, giving them the day’s last feeding at 8:30pm. Before I would set them down for a nap/bedtime at 8:30pm, take care of Abbie for the night, and then feed the twins one last time before putting everyone to bed. A few weeks ago, I had to consistently interrupt daddy-daughter reading time every few minutes to reinsert pacifiers. Then they started falling asleep long enough for me to put Abbie to bed before I had to feed them. Then they started falling asleep long enough for me to blog before I had to feed them. Finally I had to wake them up to feed them one last time. Last night I experimented with feeding them and putting them down for the night earlier than ever. I figured the worst that could happen is they’d wake at 2am, but instead they rewarded me by sleeping in.
I added the hours while listening to someone stir. They had just slept eight hours without food. That’s officially sleeping through the night territory. It was deeply gratifying to know I’d done something right after my failed experiments to find a schedule that works for all of us. I’ve spent this month weaning them from four naps to three naps a day by slowly eliminating the day’s first nap. My original goal was to spread them out from a three-hour schedule to a four-hour schedule, but I’ve already given up on that dream. Instead I’m aiming for a three-and-a-half hour schedule, but the boys aren’t cooperating. I can usually keep them awake now for 60 to 90 minutes without much effort, but after that they require progressively more intervention to keep awake. I go from tickling, to rubbing, to clapping, to poking, to dripping ice water on their foreheads, to hanging my head in shame when they defeat me. I then put them down thinking they must be ready for a long two-hour nap, but instead they wake up screaming and hungry 20 to 45 minutes later. While I’m trying to stretch them out, they’re trying to cheat down to a two-hour schedule, or perhaps they’d be happiest in a bouncy chair with a bottomless Podee strapped in their mouth so they can suck, drift to sleep, and repeat every 15 minutes. Regardless, they’re currently in no mood to drop that fourth nap, no matter how gradually I eliminate it.
While basking in a successful schedule change, I heard the grumbling grow more and more insistent. I finally rolled out of bed to address it, and that’s when I noticed the time began with a “2,” not a “5.” I wasn’t oddly refreshed, I was ridiculously tired, and they were awake at 2am, just like I feared. I stumbled into the bathroom, and fortunately they’d fallen back asleep by the time I emerged. They stayed asleep until 4am, just like normal. It was still a successful schedule change, but not as successful as I’d hoped. Now if only I could do something about their daytime napping.
posted by Matt at
10:55 PM
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