Emerging schedule

I'm counting down the last two weeks before I go back to work, and I'm eager to get the boys on some semblance of a schedule to make it easier on them and on Mindy, our care provider, and my parents when I am gone. The plan as of now is that I will work a full day (8:30-4:30) Monday, 12-4:30 Wednesday, and 9:30-4:30 Friday. My parents will come up for most Fridays and Mindy will take care of the boys Monday and Wednesday.

So the boys usually go down relatively easily and calmly for naps in the morning (9-10ish) and early afternoon (12-1 or 1-2, sometimes earlier if they got up earlier in the morning and took an earlier early nap). But as much as it is obvious that they need a late afternoon nap, they often refuse to take it. Which makes the 5-7pm hours very difficult, with cranky, overtired babies who sometimes fall asleep too early or just refuse to be put down for even a moment. Last week I decided to try taking a long walk around 4 to encourage the babies to take a nap before the witching hour begins. It worked awesome; they slept for about 45 minutes, I got a little exercise, and they were happy and calm during the 5-7pm period. I've tried to do it every day, and it's made a huge difference in how bedtime goes around here. My ideal has been to have the boys put themselves to sleep, in their cribs, for every nap and for bedtime, which they won't do at that time, but I think it's more important that they sleep during that late afternoon period than that it be in their beds. I also think it's good to be able to tell a babysitter to just go for a walk around 3:30 or 4pm; I'm sure EVERYONE will be ready for a nap by that time! Last night I even put the babies to bed by myself (Jeff was at soccer) and it went so calmly and beautifully that I still can't believe it. We read books on the floor of their nursery, then I changed them both on the floor, into their nighttime diapers and sleep sacks. Then I nursed Theo while Beck played with his blanket, then I put Theo down awake and he put himself to sleep while I nursed Beck and then put him down. Amazing! Thank you, late afternoon nap!

So the schedule (for the moment) is:

Wake at 7am, nurse sometime before 8am
Nap 9-10 in crib, then nurse upon waking
Nap 12-1 in crib, then nurse upon waking
Nurse 3:30 or so
Nap 4-5 on walk (in stroller or Ergo)
6:30 bedtime routine--nighttime diapers, sleep sacks, nurse, then bed in crib at 7pm

Beckett has resumed waking up multiple times in the night after he had been sleeping 8+ hours before waking. I was feeding him every time he woke up but he didn't actually seem that interested in eating--he would eat lazily for a minute, then fall asleep, then wake up and nurse again, then smile and coo at me for a while, then nurse for another minute, then fall asleep. It seemed like it was more social hour for him than that he really needed the food. So now we're going to cry it out (CIO) at night, for Beck only. Theo only wakes up once during the night, usually around 3am, and eats voraciously and then goes back to sleep without any fuss. I kind of think that's what they both need, one feeding, so I have been waiting for Theo to wake up, then I feed them both and put them both back in their cribs. They had also been waking up too early (5am or so) and we thought maybe it was because their diapers after 10 hours had been too wet. So now we get up at 5 and change both their diapers, which I have to say has worked to help them stay asleep in their cribs until 7 or later. But Beck is still waking up multiple times, sometimes as early as 10pm, wide awake and angry. So we have been letting him cry, hoping that if we do not reward the crying and wakeups with cuddle time or food. A fellow mom of multiples in my group here in Syracuse who calls herself Cruel Nazi Bitch Mom advocates providing nothing at all that babies like if they wake up beyond what she deems they need to--"no water, no food, no nursing, no playing, no cuddles, no kisses, no talking". I kind of love it, because it just makes so much sense. Beck has been much better rested since sleeping more during the day and I am hoping that when he gets used to sleeping through the night better (with one wakeup), that he will be even better. They need the sleep, I know they do, it's just that they need to learn how to get the sleep they need.

We had our floors refinished more than a week ago and even after airing it out a lot of last week when it was so nice out, I think the downstairs still smells pretty bad. I have all the doors and windows open again today and we're freezing our cajones off here but it still doesn't seem to be getting better. I'm beginning to wonder whether we need to vacuum out the cold air returns and leave the windows open more of the time, but it's getting colder all the time! Brrr....