Nite, nite
Sleep is todays Wednesday large families topic!
All of my friends here in town whose kids go to bed at a certain time, and sleep straight through the night without a wimper, all think we are crazy at the Jody2ms house.
We do have a routine….and the school age kids have a bedtime. This much is a given Monday through Thursday. Everyone gets a bath or shower after dinner at around 7:30. They get in their jammies and have some ice cream or some other snack. We either watch a movie, read, or play a game. Then they brush their teeth for 3 seconds, all huddled around the pink 1950’s sink in our only bathroom, and like Chris, I have to send them back in to brush them right a few times. Bedtime is anywhere between 8:30 and 9:00. On weekends in goes as late as 10.
After the bigger kids go to bed (it is really an illusion), the baby and I climb into bed around 9pm and I nurse her and read a book. She is usually asleep within 15 minutes. I then either read, or Bill comes in for some quiet visiting before bed, which is usually around 10-10:30.
The kids are usually jack-in-the-boxes for the first 30 minutes or so after they head to bed. Going potty, leg aches “I’m scared” or other various excuses. Cory usually stays put, reading or secretly playing his Gameboy.
Mia does not sleep though the night. She wakes several times in the night for a “boobie”, usually also asking for “the other side” when she is done with one. She co-sleeps with us still, so this is not much of an issue.
Quinn ends up in our bed several times each week. Usually it is in the early morning, so it is fine too.
So, all in all, with the exception of illness, projectile vomiting, leg aches or Mia nursing, we get some pretty consistent sleep. It is nothing that we have done. Trust me on this. We co-sleep with all of our kids (Cody did not like co-sleeping, so at around 4 months he went to a bedside crib and never looked back), nurse them through the night, and somehow they all manage to figure out a sleep routine.
So, my advice would have to be, don’t sweat it. Nurse on demand, co-sleep if you choose, and DO NOT let anyone make you feel like a freak for these things. Kids will find their own sleep nitch as they age.
Oh, and you will find with enough practice that 3 hours of sleep while raising a baby or toddler feels normal to you. Just drink lots of espresso like we do.
“Jack-in-the-boxes” – That is the PERFECT description! That’s like my house.
Glad to hear that our house isn’t the only one with sleeptime shenanigans! But amazing the number of people that will say to me: “baby boy is STILL in your bed?” He’s only eight months old, geez. Sometimes there are four of us crammed into our queen sized bed and I am in so much pain from contorting my body that I just get up. I know it will all end that soon and I’d rather feel cramped and uncomfortable so that my kids will have good memories of the family bed. I know I’m going to enjoy that first night alone in the bed, but will truly miss them down the road….