I have explained what is going on a little, but here is a quick recap: Ezra and Elliott are still receiving breastmilk. I can nurse them during the day as long as I am laying down, but they prefer just to have a bottle most of the time. At night, it is a different story. Nathan takes one boy and goes to the basement bedroom with a bottle of milk, and I sleep with a baby in our room. If that baby wakes up, I feed him and then try to put him back in the bed. Nine times out of ten, he screams if I move him, so he typically sleeps with me. Nathan usually ends up cosleeping with the other baby as well. They hate their cribs for some reason, and they hate being alone. I keep reminding myself that, as twins, the boys have never been on their own--not even in the womb. Thus, their separation anxiety is understandable, but they are just too wiggly to sleep in the same crib. Back to eating habits, they drink plenty of milk and eat solids at least once a day (typically). Mostly, they just want milk. They sleep about 6-7 hours total during the night (after waking up 3-4 times and going to sleep between 11 PM -1 AM). They can't possibly be hungry every time they wake up. After assessing this situation, I realized this has to stop. We need structure here!
So yes, enough is enough. I decided to put my foot down tonight. Nathan and I have been sleeping in separate rooms for over a month, and I miss my husband.
I washed, lotioned, rocked, fed, and sang to the boys. I put them in their cribs and gave them their lovies and blankets. I gently encouraged them to consider taking a pacifier (they haven't used them in months), sang one more song, and then turned on Enya.
We let them cry for two hours (checking on them every 15-20 minutes). They were okay at first, but then they started really screaming. Finally, Grandpa could not stand to hear his boys crying any longer and stepped in to rescue them. Nathan and I went in to check on them (and we actually share a room with them for now) and Rex, my father in law, was already in there, comforting Elliott. This is what it sounded like, FYI. You may want to turn down your volume :)
Does anyone want to come over and hold them? Take them for a night? They're really cute! I think I need a twintervention!
In all seriousness, I hope things will improve over the next few days. I didn't expect the problem to be solved overnight, but I was hoping for a little less hysterical screaming. I hope the video made you smile though. I know I'm still laughing at the ridiculousness of it all!
It's not even midnight, so maybe the night will get better. Sail away to sleep, little ones. Please!
They totally know that if they scream, someone will pick them up. I think you need to ask everyone to suffer through this and respect your decision to break the habit or it will never change. That is my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with the first comment. Everyone in the house has to respect your choice to teach your babies to sleep on their own. And letting my babies cry and cry when they sound hysterical and angry and sad is, hands down, the HARDEST thing I have ever done. It's horrible, I know. But give it three nights. It wil feel like a lifetime, but three nights..and you will see improvement if all caregivers can be consistent.
ReplyDeleteWhite noise machines for everyone! Seriously..if you have some loud fans or something, it makes a world of difference.
ReplyDeleteIt does take a while. For my oldest it took about a week. You have my sympathies!
Keep at it. You're doing so good just doing what you can. It's harder for the little folks to understand change and why it's good for them, but eventually they get the hang of it.
ReplyDelete