Sleep Update

So the girls are four and a half months old. About three weeks ago, they were going 4 hours in between feedings at night. We often timed it to hit (like clockwork) at 9 PM, 1 AM, and 5 AM. Then the girls suddenly started going from 9 PM to 2 AM and then 6AM. This was also fairly predictable for a week or so.

Now, things are going crazy - in a good way. They jumped to 6 hours a few times, then back to 5 hours. The doctor told us that the highest incidence of SIDs happens during the fourth month. There is a correlation between fewer SIDs cases and the child sleeping in the parents' bedroom. For this reason, Ches has pumped up the twin-sized air mattress and has slept in the girls room the past two nights. The girls also happened to go at least 7 hours after the night feeding both nights. Ches will continue to sleep in the girls room, especially if it somehow encourages them to sleep longer and better.

Regardless of feeding time, the girls prefer to be out of the crib around 5:30 AM. We are not sure if it is associated with the room growing brighter from the sun or if they obtained the perfect amount of sleep. Since Robyn takes the morning shift, she will bring the girls out to the living room, place them on pillows next to her on the couch, make faces at them for a little until they fall back to sleep fairly quickly. Robyn has been out hiking and down in Portland the last few days, so we have have started pulling the girls out to cuddle with us in bed for the first part of the morning. They have loved coming into mommy & daddy's room to fall asleep for a little while longer.

To try and minimize the amount of time we are up for that early morning feeding, I get the bottles with water ready before we head to bed. So when it is time to go, one person has to start changing the girls while the other goes out to mix in the formula and heat it up to the perfect temperature. We take turns doing each part. Whoever does the bottles gets to start feeding the first clean & happy baby. A few minutes later, the other person comes out, washes their hands, and feeds the second hungry baby. And then the race is on!

The girls are not the most effective burpers at night. They often fall completely asleep right after the bottle, making it neigh impossible to release the pent up air bubbles. The goal of the race is to have the baby that finished their bottle and burped before the other baby has done the same. Obviously, this is a race of chance, since we have no direct control over which baby will ultimately win. But the prize is so very sweet: to sit on the couch, with the sleepy (or occasionally hyper) girl cuddled in your arms. It is such a peaceful, quiet time. That is until the other baby burps or the other person is convinced no burp will come. Then the girls must be put back in the crib.

Nights are way nicer than they used to be! We were reminiscing on the time when they girls were only on a three hour cycle and fussed all the time in the crib. Now if only I could get past my stupid sleep issues! I still wake up very frequently, even if there is no sounds from the baby girls! But I am sure it will get better!