Ahhh, Sleep!

It's been a long time since I talked about bedtime with the boys. I am beyond thrilled to tell you that we have FINALLY reached the point where the three of them (mostly) stay in their beds at bedtime and all night.

When we first moved them to big boy beds in May, it was sixteen kinds of crazy. CRAZY! That room was like a frat party out of control for two hours or more every night. We had to sit on top of them to get them to settle down, and even with us right there, they'd goof around until they earned a time out or were sent to the pack and play in our room for exile.

When we hit their third birthday, four months into this everlasting "transition," and were still dealing with shenanigans every night I thought I'd never be able to get rid of the pack and play in our room, even though they were almost too big for it.

Long about Thanksgiving, a full six months after we first moved them out of the cribs (which they were climbing out of anyway), they finally got the hang of bedtime.

At Christmas time, I took down the pack and play so we could move a chair and side table to our room to make way for the Christmas tree.

And I haven't had to put it back up. Yay!

We were pretty settled by Thanksgiving, but Isaac was still struggling to fall asleep at night. He was mostly good about hanging out quietly, but as soon as his brothers were asleep he'd start coming out of the room. Or worse, he'd go take his brothers' blankies or move their beds around and create his own brand of quiet chaos.

Then the miracle of melatonin came into our lives. It has made a world of difference for Isaac, and also for Amelia. Amelia falls asleep pretty well now, but when she was Isaac's age she followed the same pattern of spending up to two hours in bed awake. It was frustrating for the kids and for us!

Our pediatrician told us to try melatonin, and wow! What a difference! I think it helps them settle down enough to realize they are tired. We give it about 20-30 minutes before bedtime most nights. But we never give it at naptime, and the boys have gotten pretty good about laying down with a minimum of chaos and going to sleep. So maybe they really have learned?

Isaac still comes to our bed some nights to snuggle. But now it's more the exception than the rule, and it mostly happens when he's not feeling well. Since it's the exception, I can snuggle up with him and enjoy it. That was not the case when he was interrupting my sleep every night!

Of course, now that I've written this I've probably jinxed myself. But if you are struggling with kids who have trouble falling asleep, I highly recommend the miracle of melatonin!

© Trippin' Mama 2012

"I'm Twapped!"

Today Isaac refused to stay in his big boy bed at naptime. This has been an ongoing problem, so I moved him to the pack and play in our room as usual.

He got out.

Several times.

It was impossible to keep him in a bed while I was also policing the other two boys who were having a bit of trouble staying in their beds, too. (Although they did MUCH better once I removed Isaac. I think they got the message better than he did.)

Finally I had enough.

As it turns out, you can makeshift a crib tent out of a crib sheet and a pack and play...if you have enough duct tape.

Trust me when I tell you Isaac was not amused.

He was even less amused at bedtime when he wound up in a slightly more sophisticated version of the cage. As I fastened the cover in place with safety pins Isaac looked up at Jeff and said, "I'm twapped! Mommy is twapping me."

You bet I am buddy.

Seems necessity really is the mother of invention.

© Trippin' Mama 2011

Big Boy Beds = Crazy Town

Amelia never got out of her bed. Not her crib, and certainly not her "big girl bed."

The boys, on the other hand, will get out and bang their bedroom door closed. They will shove the beds around the room in a modified version of bumper cars. They will push the beds together and then leap over the bed rails from one to the other. They will visit a nearby bed to poke a sleeping or nearly-sleeping brother in the face.

And the whole time they scream and giggle wildly like a pack of mad apes.

It's yet another way that Amelia did not prepare us to parent these hooligans.

I honestly believe that the boys are ready for big boy beds. I also believe that the majority of the problems we are having come from the issue of multiple kids. If we take the boys individually, we have one who is a master staller, one who is an escapee, and one who is pretty complacent about bedtime. The last one in particular, I am sure would go down with no problems were it not for the other two.

Even our staller and our escapee would be more easily dealt with were it not for the rest of the tribe. 

I used to look forward to bedtime. Now? Not so much. We're on Day 10 of the transition, and at times I think we're making progress. Then we have a night like tonight and I'm pretty convinced they will never learn to lay quietly in their beds and go to sleep.

Oh I know they will, some day. The question is: Will they learn before their mother gets carted off to the loony bin or after?

© Trippin' Mama 2011

I Love A Parade

Aunt Judy and her friend Scott came to visit this weekend. Since we were man-to-man on the kiddos, we decided to brave the crowds and take everyone to the parade this weekend.

They loved it.

Well, the first hour of it anyway. Then they were done. Fortunately, we had lots of snacks to keep them satisfied for the last of it. Food is the great pacifier around here!

Left to right: Aunt Judy, Alex, Amelia, Sam and Isaac

The Jamba Juice smoothies were the biggest hit of all.

Clockwise from left: Sam, Alex, Isaac

I'm finally convinced to spring for a blender and start making smoothies for breakfast. Anything to get some fruits (and maybe a sneaky veggie or two) into my kiddos. I insist they try their fruits and veggies at every meal, but being the Plate Police sure gets old. If you've got any great smoothies ideas or recipes, send them my way!

I'll try to get back to some regular posting this week, but the big boy beds are really cramping my blogging style these days. I have to police both the nap and bedtime, which has virtually eliminated all of my blogging time.

I'll share more details about the transition to big boy beds soon, so you can commiserate with me. Suffice it to say, if you are frustrated with getting your kids to stay in bed you are not alone. And you are not the first mom to think about using duct tape or a staple gun to solve the problem!

© Trippin' Mama 2011