Monday, March 2, 2009

Makes My Monday: Half Way There

While lots of people are excited by the snow (or sick of it, take your pick...) I have something way better Making my Monday: one of the twins finally slept through the night!!!

Let me say that again: SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT

Sometimes I feel like this is happening a bit late for me when I compare my kids with others but whenever it happens, it's cause for celebration! Collette, who I knew would be first, is the blessed one of the duo to accomplish this feat. Both babies went down at 630pm and our little missy did not open those little eyes until 5:53. Close enough to 6 for me! Now, this did not mean a "full" night of sleep for me even though Billy was here and fed Mr. Sebastian. I thought Collette was waking up around 345 and I even heated up her bottle but by the time the bottle was warm, she was fully asleep, not a single wiggle. By then, there was no way I could go back to sleep without pumping as it had been 8 hours. Then the dog had to go out. No rest for the weary. Still, I'm pretty psyched right now. And well-rested. Ish.

I think this would have happened sooner but we have been having swaddle issues. When we brought our bundles home from the hospital, we swaddled them the regular way they teach you, with just one waffle or receiving blanket. I also had a Swaddle Me, a Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle and a Miracle Blanket that I received as gifts for the twins. The traditional swaddle worked well for a few days on Collette. She very quickly learned how to wiggle her arms free. We tried the Swaddle Me, the Sleep Sack Swaddle and the Miracle Blanket on her but had the same result - arms coming free. Luckily, the Goddess had a solution: the "uber-swaddle" - aka my dream come true. So, we have been using this on both twins now for almost their whole lives - and up until this last week it has not failed me.

However, these twins have beaten the uber-swaddle and, in doing so, have been waking up when I think they might be able to make it through the night (well, Collette at least - I think it will be longer for peanut boy). I had two choices. 1 - wean them from the swaddle. 2 - find a better swaddle. I tried option 1 for one day - I didn't make it to bedtime. They couldn't even nap without the swaddle. So, I decided it was too early for weaning. I needed to find a better way to wrap these babies up.

After many nights of swaddle escapes, I realized that it wasn't their arms but their legs that were casuing the problem. With the uber-swaddle, they simply cannot move their arms up or out. At least not yet. But the second part of the uber-swaddle covers both arms and legs. My babies have started kicking like it's some sort of contest and in doing so, they have been kicking their way out of the swaddle. I need something they couldn't kick out of but that would also restrain their arms. I figured out that if I used the arm-straight-jacket part of the uber-swaddle with the Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle, I could solve my problem. And I did! Collette has not escaped since we started her on it and we just got a second one for Sebastian. Hopefully, he will follow suit and sleep through the night soon enough. Here are some photos of what I call, in honor of the Goddess in Progress, the Uber-Swaddle Sack:




Sebastian may look alarmed in these photos but, as I write this, he is napping sweetly in his crib and has been like that for almost 2 hours, along with sleepy sister. Ok, little boy - you're next!!!
How is your Monday??

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11 comments:

  1. WOHOO for sleeping! Congrats! And I think your kids are way ahead of schedule, so be proud!

    Ha, I had a similar uber-uber swaddle at the end, when they were too big for the blankets to cover them entirely. So they'd be in a sleep sack, and then we'd do the uber-swaddle just on the top half. :-)

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  2. Congrats on the sleeping through the night! And i swear your Sebastian makes my Monday! His little eyes crack me up!

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  3. My son does that look (or used to - it goes away) - we called it "The Shining Look" (like the movie). I CANNOT BELIEVE she slept through the night - way ahead of schedule. Penny started sleeping through first too. When we finally did CIO on Ned (at 5 months) he did wake her up but she went back to sleep. This may be the time to consider transitioning completely to sleep sacks. We did it when they started sleeping through the night but then Penny reverted a bit because she can't sleep on her tummy yet and so we now swaddle her again. One step forward...two back. Congratulations!

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  4. omg poor Sebas looks horrified in those pics! Someone is not into modeling :P

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  5. YAY Sleep! (I've had a hard time with blogger not taking my comments today, so I'm glad I came back to peek at that photo of Sebastian where he looks aloft on angel wings! :)

    SOOO precious! Wishing you oodles of sleep in the coming days...:)

    Thank you for playing along with Makes My Monday!

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  6. WOO HOO!!!! That ROCKS.

    I absolutely love little Sebastian's eyes. I get a big grin on my face every time I see him :)

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  7. yay on your 'uber swaddling' once you are ready to 'move on' from that swaddling method, you should check out the Peke Moe sleep sacks from New Zealand. Was magnificent for our boy, and made the transition super easy ! and was a great blanket alternative also! all the best!

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  8. Yahhhhh !!
    Love those swaddled looks..my goodness his eyes..so cute

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  9. Cute post.
    Just stopping by via SITS.
    Have a great day!

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  10. Wow, congrats! I may have to try that swaddle method for our little boy...his arms are definitely waking him up in the middle of the night. I am convinced that little sister will sleep through the night first...last night I think she could've made it if it wasn't for big boy! I think our twins are pretty close in age, so this gives me hope for a full night's sleep soon!

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  11. stopping by from sits... thats great that your babies are sleeping though already! Great feeling isnt it??

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