Wild Card

With 3 kids, you always have a wild card.

Ella started to sleep through the night at around 8 weeks. By "through the night" I mean go to bed around 8 or 9pm and sleep straight through until 8am. We are having marginal success with these new two, now 9wks old. We have to "age adjust" because they were premies, so we are told to think of them as a month younger than they are, which would make them 5wks. I don't know how long you do that for.

A few nights ago, Lily took a long snooze over the nighttime hours, but Drew had different plans. Then the past two or three nights they have decided to switch rolls. We generally get them fed and put down by 10:30 or 11:00. On good days, Lily will wake up around 4 or 5, and Drew sleeps until 6. This works out nicely for several reasons. First, Martin gets up with the first round of wakeup's. (You might be thinking 'Gee thats great for Erin that she gets to sleep' but don't be fooled, i'm still up at around 1 or 2am to pump). Anyway, when I hear Drew around 5:45 - 6am I get up and take him downstairs for our normal morning ritual which includes 5 medicines, none of which he likes, a bottle, and his CPT (Chest Physiotherapy). The whole process takes just over an hour. So when Drew is up at 6, we finish up around 7, I can have some breakfast and coffee, and an hour to myself before the girls get up. This also allows Martin to get to work before 10am (mind you his work day is technically supposed too be 8:30-5:30).

Then there's days like today. Babies A&B both woke up at 4am, which means both parents wake up to feed them. I had been up about an hour prior to pump, so Lily was just getting a bottle. Lucky for us they both ate and were willing to go back to sleep. But at 8am the real madness begins. All 3 kids get up at once. Drew needs meds and a bottle, I need to nurse Lily, and someone needs to make Ella peanut butter toast (or whatever the breakfast item of choice is). There simply aren't enough hands. So we work together and get Ella in her seat with her breakfast and then I sit down to nurse Lily (who just happens to be very impatient). Martin prepares Drew's meds and gets them in him before giving him his bottle. At about quarter till 9, he is finally able to go back upstairs and get showered and ready for work. On a good day, hes out of the house by about 9 (today it was close to quarter after before he left). Then I am left with Ella, who just wants you to play with her for a little bit, Lily, who is dealing with some acid reflux issues and isn't to happy to be laying down for some period of time after she eats, and Drew, who is remarkably mellow, but needs his 30 minutes of CPT. Before we know it, its time for someone to eat again and the clock reads 11am.

The afternoons usually are the quite part of the day, with everyone eating between 12-1 and then napping for a few hours. We do have days where Ella decides she just wants to play in her room for 2 hours, which she does quite nicely. Its the post nap hours that are the problem then. I don't know any 2yr olds who can go a whole day without a nap, including mine. And its evident by the whining and crying and fighting everything for the rest of the day. But I cherish those few hours of quite time each afternoon, so do whatever you want, as long as you're not downstairs, and I shall deal with the aftermath.

I miss the days where I got to sleep until 8am and then just take it easy for the morning. I don't think they're coming back, at least not anytime soon, but my wonderful kiddies are worth is. And in case you think i'm complaining, I am, and I think i'm allowed to. Let me know if you have a problem with that and you can live a day or two in my shoes so you understand :)