Sleep Update

When I made my post about the babies sleep habits, they were waking every hour or two to nurse all night. We started working on extending time between nursings and were up to three hours between nursings. Then we all got the stomach flu, and all our progress was shot. Once I was sure we were all past the flu, we started working on stretching night nursings and sleep.

About a week after we were working on sleep again we had the night from hell. Neither baby was willing to be rocked, patted, shushed or snuggled. There was so much screaming going on. They would both quietly nurse, but wouldn't even nurse to sleep. I could tell they were overtired but were having a hard time getting back to sleep. I was getting frustrated and needed a few minutes to regain my composure, so I set them in their cribs and left the room.

Harrison was asleep within minutes, Brooke wasn't as quick to go to sleep, but I could tell she was going to get there on her own. They only slept for an hour or so in their cribs before I brought them back to bed. After that night I knew it was time to make the transition.

The next morning we all woke up happy but tired. I knew there would be no more naps in the family bed or all night cosleeping. We went about our day as usual and when it was time for a nap they nursed to sleep and as soon as I moved them to their cribs they woke up. I left the room and they played in their cribs for 45 minutes before finally going to sleep. Their afternoon nap went the same way.

When it was bedtime we followed the same routine as usual: stories, bath, nursing, sleep. They were not happy about being moved to their cribs at night. They fussed and cried for about 5 minutes, but then they both went to sleep. There were a few wakings throughout the night, but each time they were back to sleep within a couple minutes. Around 5:30 when someone woke I finally pulled them into bed so we could nurse and snuggle the rest of the night. They slept till almost 8. Night 1 was a success.

They have been in their cribs for over a week now and things are still going well. Night sleep has definitely improved. This morning they slept until 6:40. Now we're snuggling in bed while they get their last hour of sleep, Naps are still occasionally a bit of a struggle for Harrison. They always have been. Some days he'll go to sleep easily and nap for an hour and a half. Other days he won't sleep longer than 30 minutes and then he's a grouchy butt for the rest of the day.

I'm not sure if it was the timing or my determination that it would work this time, but the transition to cribs was much easier than I expected. There was very minimal crying involved. Much less than what we were experiencing when they were in bed with us. Rob and I are still sleeping in the guest room and they are in the master. I'm hoping we'll all be able to share a room. If they start waking once we move back to our bed, they'll be moving to their room. I like having them in our room, so hopefully we won't have to move them.

I was starting to wonder if we would ever get to this point. It has made a huge difference in my life. I no longer feel like I'm running on fumes, and I know we're all getting enough sleep at night. There were two books that really helped me. The No Cry Sleep Solution and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I didn't follow either one exactly, but they both had valuable information that helped me understand sleep and formulate a plan that worked for us.

It's almost 8 am which means my well rested kids will be waking up soon. Happy Easter everyone!

Easter Baskets

Only one more week until the babies' first Easter.  I know they won't remember it but I'm excited.  I ordered their Easter baskets from Etsy a couple weeks ago.  They came this week, and they're so cute I could die! I was having a really hard time figuring out what to put in their eggs.  Obviously they won't be getting jelly beans and robin's eggs.  Then I remembered that Annie's snacks are bunny shaped. Could they be more perfect? They'll get some cremes and yogurt drops in their eggs too.  Of course I got the glitter eggs, because everything is better with glitter.  Here are their baskets and loot.

God Gave Us Easter, Pat the Bunny, What is Easter, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, Finger Puppets from Target, Mini Squeaky Animals from Meijer

St. Patty's Day

St. Patrick's Day to me means two things; corned beef and cabbage. My mom makes the best corned beef you'll ever have. She always picks a great cut of meat and prepares it perfectly, nice and lean. Serve it up with cabbage, carrots and potatoes, perfect.

I started my morning off with some festive cupcakes from Cupcakes & Company. Key Lime, Green Velvet, Chocolate Mint and Irish Car Bomb.

My fabulous dinner. Complemented with a Guinness, of course.

Creme de Menthe cake for dessert. Another thing my mom makes fabulously.

Brooke was all about her veggies, even the cabbage.

Harrison wasn't as fond of the cabbage, but he still ate some.

H, B and I all sporting our green. This was before dinner, so they were hungry and less than thrilled to be posing for pictures.

Thanks to the colder than usual temps, our St. Patty's Day festivities were limited to indoor fun only. For reference, below is me last year on St. Patty's Day. 28.5 weeks pregnant and enjoying my allotment of beer, 3 ounces of green Summer Shandy. I'm pretty sure it was almost 80 last year.

I hope everyone enjoyed their St. Patrick's Day as much as we did. We thoroughly enjoyed Rubens the next day too, I take mine sans kraut and with cheddar so not really a Ruben. I'm already looking forward to celebrating our minuscule amount of Irish heritage next year.

10 Months

Happy 10 months to my sweet little not so little babies! This months' post, and photo shoot, are a day late thanks to the wonderful stomach bug that's going around. B got it first, then H a couple days later and finally me yesterday. Thankfully it was only 24 hours of an upset stomach for each of us. I'm hoping Robbie and Grandma don't get.

We officially have our first word! In addition to the usual mamamamamas, dadadadadas, bababababas, ahhhhs, and ohhhhs that consume the majority of baby talk, Brooke has started saying dog when looking at the dogs. It sounds more like daw than dog, but she definitely knows what she's saying.

Both H and B are still cruising up a storm. They got a second walker that they love, so now they can both walk around at the same time. Baby races anyone? It will be great once we can get outside and they have more room to move around. The stupid walls get in the way.

They are both starting to stand unsupported for short periods of time. They seem to be nervous about doing it without support. Brooke will start to sit down when you let go and then realize she can do it on her own and stand back up.

H is up to 8 teeth through the skin. I'm pretty sure the 8th one is through. He's tired of me sticking my fingers in his mouth so it's hard to tell 100%, but it looks as though it's through. I'm not looking forward to molars next. B has 3 through the skin and her 4th one should be making its grand appearance any day. It's there, it's just not all the way through yet.

This is such a fun age. I feel like they learn something new every day. One day it's how to turn on their ball popper, the next it's how to open their chest of drawers, then it's how their stacking cups fit together. I'm loving every sleep deprived day and look forward to the next. Happy 10 moths Harrison and Brooke!

Snow Babies

Over the last couple years Fort Wayne has been rather lacking in the snow fall department. Last winter we never had enough snow stick around for me to go cross country skiing. So much for that year long pass to Fox Island.

When we got 10.5" last week I knew I had to get the babies out in it. I grabbed their snow suits I purchased on clearance from Von Maur (only $11 each, score!) and we headed outside. While they didn't hate it, they didn't exactly love it either.

Brooke didnt want to touch the snow while we were outside, but once it was indoors... Game on! Straight into her mouth.

If you're buying things ahead while you're pregnant, buy a size up in the months clothes. Their snow suits are 9 months, which they are, and I had to squeeze them into them. They reminded me of Randy in "A Christmas Story," little slugs. Funny for me, probably not so much fun for them. They're not huge babies and they've been a size ahead from a month on. 3 months = 6 months clothes, 6 = 9, etc.

Farmers Markets

The first Saturday of every month is the Fort Wayne's Farmers Market. We've been going every month since the babies were 4 months old. As far as I know this is the only winter market in Fort Wayne. There are many weekly markets during the spring and summer, but it's nice to have one year round.

We try to feed organic to the babies whenever possible, and the farmers market is a great way to help accomplish that. Plus, it's less expensive than organic produce at the supermarket and you're supporting local business.

This particular market grows from month to month, so much so that they are looking at doing it twice a month. They have rotating vendors as well as permanent vendors, so each month there is something new. Here are our purchases this month.

6 pack of cupcakes, homemade noodles, zucchini bread, a turnip, a bottle of Catawba and a bottle of Traminette.

We didn't get there early this week, so there wasn't much produce still available, hence only one turnip. Go early for the best selection and make sure to bring a reusable grocery bag. It's beneficial to build a relationship with the vendors. Often times you can preorder items and they'll have them for you at the market. I order a 6 pack of cupcakes every month and they always hold it back for me. If you're taking your kids, don't take a stroller unless you plan to plow over people with it. Wearing babies is the way to go.

In past months we've purchased, olive oil, stone milled bread, fresh herbs, homemade jams and much more. If you haven't gone, go! You won't be disappointed.