A few weeks ago we experienced a momentous occasion in our house. Logan moved out of our bedroom and into his own room. You see we have all shared a family bed except for a few times when we tried to have him in a crib. For good or bad the boy always had to be held to sleep. If you read my review of the Ergo baby carrier you know that is the only way the boy ever napped until he was to big to fit in it. After the Ergo he eventually napped in a bed, but he always had to be surrounded by pillows. He eventually started to grow out of that and a while back we bought him his own twin sized mattress which we just pushed next to ours. This helped with the space issue a little since things were getting cramped when Philly was very pregnant with Nyah. We eventually created a gap between the two mattresses and put up a toddler rail so he wouldn't fall out of bed. At this point he still had to hold my hand to fall asleep, as a result my arm fell asleep every night before I did. It's crazy to think of what parents are willing to do for their kids. So this kept up for some time until about a 5 or 6 weeks ago. We asked Logan if he wanted his own room to sleep in and play in. A space of his own that he could decorate any way he wanted and keep his toys away from his little sister. He said yes, so we moved his across the hall and all was well for a few weeks.
During this time, Nyah has been trying to figure out if she wants to get teeth first or walk first. I really feel like this girl has been teething for at least a few months now. The mobility has been fun to watch progress from barely on her hands and knees rocking to now standing and just letting go to see what happens. Keep in mind this girl is only 8 months old, Logan walked at 13 months. I joke that she is trying to walk so fast for one of two reasons. The first is to keep up with her big brother, the other is to run away from him. In addition to her teething woes and her increased mobility, this girl fidgets. I'm not talking an occasional movement of a foot or something, I'm talking her whole body needs to move to be happy. Her nickname is "little miss squigles", she is cute but trying to hold her for long periods of time is rough to say the least. So after both Philly and I have been severely sleep deprived for longer than I can recall, we decided on a course of action. A crib. kind of a foreign concept to use given the way Logan always was. I guess that is part of the wonder and challenge that comes with having more than one kid, the are completely different. So we tried the crib thing in our room and then in another room. We are kind of new to the idea so we were not sure what would work for us. So where does that put us now?
What can I say, our kids are back in our room to sleep at night again. Tonight we officially moved Logan's mattress back in next to ours. I have heard that toddlers go through this stage of having bad dreams and waking up in the middle of the night screaming. Well, we have been going through that for a bit now. Last night I had to actually sleep in his bed with him to keep him settled down. As comfortable as his mattress is, his blankets are meant for him. I was actually cold last night for the first time I can remember. So we are hoping that by being back in our room it will help to know we are right there. So Logan is hopefully sorted, what about Nyah?
Well, we are trying something new there too. She has been successfully napping in her crib during the day. Granted the naps have been a little shorter than they used to be, who knows maybe its a stage. Anyway, the new pattern has become very interesting. Philly puts Nyah to bed in her crib in Nyah's room while I read stories to Logan and put him to bed in another room. Then a few hours later Nyah will wake up crying and usually just need her pacifier put back in. Then some time around midnight she wakes up. At this point, I get up and check to see if she needs a fresh diaper. Then I pull her into our bed and hand her off to Philly so Nyah can feed and settle back down. This seemed to work great until last night when I was in Logan's bed. Who knew sleeping could be so complicated.
So that is where we are as of tonight. A complicated sleep system that we hope will work going forward. Both Philly and I have been operating at about 25% brain capacity since Nyah was about 4 months old. I'm not sure I even understand what it means to sleep for a full 8 hours anymore. I like to joke that I'll finally start sleeping when I turn 50. I just hope I can make it that long. After all, Philly just noticed the other day, I am starting to get some white hairs in my beard.
Cheers for now,
Aaron
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