In the jungle, the mighty jungle..the lion may be sleeping but the babies are not...

Friday will be the twins first birthday! Hard to believe, it will most surely be a bittersweet day. Another big day is tomorrow…on October 18^th it will officially be one year since I have slept for more than 4 hours straight. Don’t be surprised that I remember my last full night of sleep…at almost 9 months pregnant with twins I cherished this unusual peaceful evening! Most nights they wake up twice a night each at varying times. With one baby that might not seem too bad, but with two little ones that is four times a night for 365 days...I was going to grab the calculator but I am too sleepy to reach for it. 

I like to find humor in all situations, so I sat down and thought about some of the “tips and tricks” Cory and I have tried over the past year to get the twins to sleep through the night. Enjoy!

1.      Leaving a bottle of water in the crib

2.      Noise machine set on loud waves crashing/birds chirping/rainforest rainfall

3.      Noise machine set on soft waves crashing/birds chirping/rainforest rainfall

4.      Sleeping on the floor next to the cribs (you can guess who did that one)

5.      Rubbing backs when the babies start to wake up

6.      Singing

7.      Crying it out (yes, we have tried this. Just for a few nights. This is the most common suggestion given to us by folks far and wide, unfortunately this has been the most detrimental to try. This may work with one baby, but after about 5 minutes of one “crying it out,” the other baby – who was previously sleeping peacefully – is awaken and then a cry contest ensues)

8.      Putting our shirts in the crib with the heartbeat sound machine under the crib

9.      Nightlight

10.    Complete darkness

11.    Rice in the bottles

12.    Big 2^nd dinner right before bed

13.    Not feeding them when they wake up in the middle of the night

14.    Playing the “sleepy lady shuffle” – putting a chair next to the crib and moving it towards the door a little farther every night

15.    Separating the babies into different rooms

16.    Keeping the babies in one room

17.    Blankets

18.    No Blankets

19.    Warm Room

20.    Colder Room

21.    Moving the actual cribs to different locations in their rooms

22.    Having a “lovey” (stuffed animal or familiar blanket for security)

23.    Early bedtime

24.    Late bedtime

25.    Wearing them out during the day (i.e. day at the pumpkin barn)

26.    Bedtime routine

27.    Quiet time before bed

28.    Leaving pacifiers in the crib (although they don’t like pacifiers)

29.    Laying heavy hands on their backs while they are restless

30.    Socks

31.    No socks

Ah well, our quest will continue. Nightime may be rough, but man do the day hours make up for it :-)