When you have a baby everybody tells you, "Sleep when they sleep." But that is nearly impossible when you have 2 or more kids. Having them both nap at the same time is something I strive for every day but it rarely happens. On the occasion it does happen, and usually only for about 20 minutes, I shower, unload the dishwasher and pick up around the house. Most of the time when I put one kid down for a nap the other is waking up.
When Averley was first born I had a lot of help. Ryan & my mom were on vacation the week after she was born and they were both able to help me get rest when I needed it. I never got more than an hour at a time since I was nursing but even 20 minutes of sleep was helpful. Once Ryan & my mom went back to work my dad was on vacation. He would come over & take Declan to the mall or out to eat while I stayed home with Averley and rested. I am so grateful to have family that is able to help out like they do. Without them I don't think I would have made it those first few weeks!
Declan sleeps through the night usually between 7pm & 8pm to 7am. He has done this since around 6 months old. He occasionally has night terrors & will cry out but quickly goes back to sleep. I can remember nursing Averley a few times at night and hearing him scream out of nowhere. It scared the crap out of me! I can't imagine what it is that is so scary to him but I guess anything he sees during the day his mind can twist into something scary.
Averley is now only up 1 time a night for the most part. She goes to sleep around 7pm, nurses between 2am & 4am, then is awake to eat again around 7am. She still has her nights when she is up more than she should be....that is when I am exhausted the next day and would rather sleep than shower :)
These past two weeks we have been trying to work on getting away from swaddling. We currently use the Miracle Blanket (www.miracleblanket.com). We started with not swaddling during naps - it wasn't until yesterday that it actually worked really well. I was able to put her down in her crib awake, unswaddled & with her pacifier and she would fall asleep on her own. We attempted to do this last night as well. She made it until 1:30am - I nursed her and tried to put her back down & she wasn't having any of it. I ended up swaddling her again and she finally fell asleep around 2:30am and woke up at 7am. I can't wait until she sleeps through the night!! Today I am tired - but lucky me my mom is on vacation this week & will be coming over soon!
We will be taking Declan & Averley to the doctor today for their 18 month & 4 month visits. I know Averley will be getting shots but I am not sure about Declan. We shall see! I'm looking forward to seeing how much they have both grown these past 2 months.
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