2, 4, 6, 8! Abby let us sleep in late!

I tell ya, ladies and germs, last week was a monumental week.  Abby finally started getting on a schedule and was able to sleep about 6-7 hours each night last week!  Kelvey and I had just about reached our wits ends with both of us getting up every 2-3 hours to feed, change and rock Abby back to sleep and were trying our best to figure out how we can get her on a day and night schedule so she would be able to stretch out her nighttime feedings.  We even pulled out Eli's old log to see how old he was when we got him on a schedule, what times he was eating and sleeping, and how he compared to Abby's feeding habits.  Luckily, we found that Abby had naturally fallen into a routine very similar to Eli with a similar starting point to the morning and a similar rough patch from 2-5pm (the intervals were only off by about 30 min to 1 hr).  Unfortunately, we were now faced with a very big dilemma: how do we set a bedtime routine to help Abby get her body and mind ready for a long night's sleep when we have a 3 year old trying to get ready for bed at the same time?!  It took some trial and error, but we were able to figure out a way to get everything done without denying either child their much needed attention: 

7:30pm- Eli hits the potty for his nightly pre-bath poop while Abby bathes

8:00pm- Abby's out of the bath and Eli is on his way in

8:30pm- Abby's dressed in her pajamas with a fresh diaper and gets a late dinner with Kelvey, Eli's out of the bath, brushing his teeth and (very slowly) getting into his pajamas.

8:45pm- It's story time with Eli and Abby together!  *One of the best parts of the night*

9:00pm- Eli gets hugs and kisses from everyone and gives his special kiss to Abby on her head, then he's off to Sleepytown.  Abby hangs with us and usually ends up sleeping in our arms because she's not quite ready to lay down yet.

10:30pm- Abby gets topped off with one last feeding and is ready to go down for the night.

The first night that Abby slept for about 6 hours, she started fussing around 5am and I sprang awake thinking, "Holy Crap! I slept through a feeding an Kelvey is going to KILL me!"  Thankfully Kelvey woke up too and confirmed that Abby had been sleeping the entire time.  We were both a little confused at what had happened and the joy of our good fortune did not settle in until much, much later.  Hoping that Abby was on her way to more restful nights, we got her more acquainted with the bottle so Kelvey and I could alternate nights feeding her while the other got to sleep.  The combination of a regular routine, a nice relaxing bath (which Abby actually loves!), and a full belly make for one peaceful night.

To be completely honest, I used to dread the idea of getting set in a routine and having a life full of constant predictability.  As a parent of 2 kids, I have come to accept it with open arms if it will help me get 35 of my 40 winks at night.  By the way, I have found that getting a decent night's sleep also makes managing Eli much more tolerable.  For a while, Kelvey and I were so tired that it felt like we were in a constant battle with Eli to get him to follow the simplest of directions.  It didn't help that for a brief period, Eli was also waking up every other night talking and crying because of crazy dreams he was having, and we would have to go in and comfort him back to sleep.  It was such a horrible feeling spending so much of our time together in the evenings just trying to get to bedtime without any hassle, but things are getting back on track and the difference is noticeable in all of us.  I just keep assuring myself that we will eventually be able to bring flexibility and freedom back into our lives as Abby gets older and we all find a find a groove we can share comfortably.