When we brought them home from the hospital at a mere 8 days old we quickly learned that we couldn't put both girls in the same Pack N Play or crib to sleep. Nope. Livvy was a talker. She would wake up not only Bri with her "talking", but Mommy and Daddy too. And we needed sleep. NEEDED sleep. We couldn't have a "talker" messing with the sleep schedule in our household! No sir!!
Si's mom (who was staying with us at the time) made it her mission to work with Livvy and very quickly got her situated and used to sleeping in her crib. This could either be the crib in her room (while we were sleeping downstairs on the couch for the first 7 weeks of the girls life), or in the crib upstairs in our room (once I could actually lay flat to sleep in my own bed).
Bri was a reflux baby and had to sleep at an angle. Most nights for the first 6 months of her life she slept in her little lamb cuddle swing. We had two of these swings. We LOVED them.
One of the swings usually traveled up and down the stairs each day with Bri. At night, the swing was in our bedroom, running, at the bottom of our bed. In the morning the swing was carried back downstairs and the girls would nap in their swings.
Please don't judge me! =). We did what we had to do to get some peace, and the girls to sleep. They loved napping in their swings, so that's what we let them do. They turned out just fine!
Once we transitioned Brianna out of her swing at around 6 months, she went into the bassinet portion of the Pack N Play beside our bed. I was still nursing the girls, so if/when they would wake up first thing in the morning (sometimes around 5-6 AM) I would nurse them, and put them back down, and they would sleep until 7-7:30.
At about 8 months Livvy moved downstairs into her room (the nursery) to sleep at night. YAY!
At about 10 months miss Bri followed suit and was moved downstairs.
BUT, not into her crib. Oh no. Not Brianna. She wanted NOTHING to do with her crib. She wanted to sleep in her Pack N Play. And NOT in the same room as her sister. Oh no, she wanted her own space.
So we gave in.
She got to sleep in her Pack N Play in the spare bedroom.
She'd been there ever since.
Fast forward to the beginning of March. I started talking to Bri about sharing a room with Livvy. She was very excited at the prospect of getting to sleep in her "real" crib in the same room as her sister. We talked about it several times a week for several weeks.
Last weekend we decided it was time to take the plunge.
The first night was ROUGH.
After bath time, we put the girls into their cribs (real cribs) in the same room.
Lots of tears.
Bri FREAKED out.
She didn't know where she was in the dark.
This wasn't her Pack N Play.
Oh but wait....I hear my sister...she's crying too!
Wait...my sister is here with me?
Sister?????
Que talking and whining for about 20 minutes.
Finally it was quiet. We were guessing they went to sleep.
They got up an hour early the next day. Oye.
Nap time was even worse.
Tears, followed by standing up in their cribs, chatting, giggling, and jumping on their mattresses.
After 30 minutes they finally laid down and slept for an hour.
AN HOUR.
These girls normally sleep for 2.5-3.5 hours in the afternoons.
They had gotten up an hour earlier than usual AND had only taken a fraction of the nap that they normally take.
They were fussy.
We were frazzled.
When we put them down for bed that night they cried for about 30 seconds, talked for 5 minutes, then went to right to sleep.
Since then they have had NO issues.
Sure, occassionally they would chat for a couple minutes before going to sleep, but then they would SLEEP. And sleep well!
Now they love sharing a room!
They love seeing each other first thing when they wake up.
They love knowing that their sister, their best friend, is right there in the same room with them.
Our transition is complete. We survived! And it was a success! I'm so glad!!!
Now to tackle the potty training....
T-9 weeks and counting....
Until next time -
Megan
