The Four B's

Sleep (noun)

"The natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored." (Thanks Webster...)

So, yes, as you can guess, sleep isn't something that has been high on my "to-do" list over the past six months.  Actually, it is on my "to-do" list; it just never gets crossed off.  :)  In fact, I keep getting this sneaky feeling that I'm starting to look like a zombie from one of those post-apocolyptic books that I secretly like to read.

The good news?  I'm not alone!  Moms all over are feeling my pain and sharing their own memories of sleepless nights.  Although I generally hate to hear about other people suffering, it does make me feel good that I'm not the first or the last person to ever go through this.

More good news?  It gets better!

Rewind to June of last year.    

Before the boys were born, Jody and I took a class together called "How to Care for Your Newborn."  The teacher of this class actually had twin boys.  She taught us that course material like our very lives depended on, and looking back, they kind of did!  We learned many valuable things that day, but by far, this was the most important:

The Four B's!
*Bath
*Book
*Bottle
*Bed    

When the lady taught us about this nightly bedtime routine, she mentioned several times that this was something that we probably wouldn't get around to implementing right away; however, she did recommend starting it, you know, after the first week home or so.  (Pssssshhhhhh!)

Fast forward five months.

Jody and I are dead tired and wondering how in the world we are going to make it through this.  Then it hits us!  The Four B's!!  Granted, we were trying this several months after the recommended start date, but I'm about 75% sure that lady was some sort of Mommy Robot anyway.

Now, let me tell you, aside from some teething, SVT, and reflux issues, the Four B's have literally saved our poor, little tired hearts.  Here is our new nightly routine:

1.  Bath time!  Now, in the beginning Rowan hated it, but the idea slowly began to grow on him.  Jack has always been pretty chill about getting a bath, so this part of the plan worked flawlessly for him.  After a few days, they both loved it.  They were both used to baths, but before they were just on different nights throughout the week.  In other words, it wasn't a predictable routine for them.  Now, it's a nice way to wind down the day, and if anything, it's always fun to see who is going to get peed on (which is usually me, since Jody seems to have some sort of sixth sense about these things and bolts before it even happens).

Getting ready for our bath!

Rowan, all warm after his bath

Happy Jack

2.  Book!  I LOVE THIS PART!  Now, I've always read books to them, but now that we do it at a set time every night, it is amazing to watch their enjoyment of it all.  They smile and kick when I get out the books.  They actually sit and stare (quiet as little mice, mind you), and look at the pictures.  Now they also try to turn the pages for me, which I know will soon lead to random page turning before I'm even done reading the page.  :)  

3.  Bottle!  This has always been the trickiest part for us, simply because we have a lot of medicine to give the boys at night.  Both boys take reflux meds thirty minutes before they eat.  Rowan also has to take a round of heart medicine at 9:30, and he has to eat right after that dose so that he doesn't spit it up.  Our eating times are right on schedule every day, so that we can keep Rowan's medicines on schedule. It took us awhile to find something that works, but now we're on a roll!

4.  Bed!  Whew!  After a long day, this is something we all look forward to.  The boys still have to sleep inclined right after they eat, so this has been an issue for us.  We can't wait until their reflux gets even better than it already has, so they can eat and lay flat.  They would sleep so much better if they could!  Right now, we are sleeping from 10-3:45 (which is when another dose of Rowan's heart medicine is due), so that's pretty good.  Now, we don't always sleep straight through during this time.  We usually wake up an average of five times during that span (and sometimes Jack will wake Rowan or Rowan will wake Jack), but at least a few times a week we are able to sleep straight through-ish.  I know what you're thinking....you call waking up that many times during the night success??  Well, it is much better than getting up every two and a half hours to feed them.  At least with these wake ups, they are usually short lived and easily soothed.   So, progress!

With each passing day, our sleep patterns get a little better.  It won't be long until those boys are sleeping until noon, and I'm begging them to get up, so I guess I better enjoy this time while I have it!