Changing up the bedtime routine

Never Easy...

We are currently exploring the world of toddler beds for both boys in the same room. It's a lot of work. We all know that I'm a co-sleeping mom. I don't regret being a co-sleeping mom, not one bit. I'm grateful for the bonding I shared with my boys, and the extra sleep I got because they slept better in my bed. It also made middle of the night nurse sessions so much easier. But, there is a downside. And that is getting that kiddo out of the bed! We had to transition Charles out of his bed much earlier than Thomas since....well Thomas came along when Charles was only 16 months old. But now that little man #3 will be making his appearance soon, my 2 year old Thomas needs to transition out of mom and dad's bed. And it has been a nightmare! At first. 

So we started by moving him to the Pack n Play and he did pretty well in there. But when he would cry in the middle of the night, I moved him to bed with me and just let him stay. Mama doesn't have time to fight that fight, I'm pregnant, I work all day, and I'm in school. Oh, and let me say that while Matt was deployed, I ignored all the "you'll regret this later" whispers in my ear and let both boys sleep in bed with me. Because...well the same reasons above, I'm pregnant, I work all day, I'm in school, oh and my husband is gone. Mama is gonna do what mama needs to do and I really didn't care about the work I'd have to invest later to kick the babies out of the bed. I was hanging on by a thread by the end of that deployment! 

When Matt came home, Charles made the transition back to his bedroom fairly easily. There were some gripes at first, but honestly, he prefers when Dad puts him to bed in his room after a few books. Thomas would fall asleep with me in bed then Matt would move him to the Pack N Play. Well, that just isn't going to fly when this little man comes next month so, we got a toddler bed for Thomas, moved some things around in Charles' room, got them new Thomas Train bedding, made a big deal out of it, and started the transition. 

The first night was pretty brutal. Thomas woke up screaming. SCREAMING. Throughout the night. And there is just something about that boy's cries (there always has been too) that will break any mamas heart. His cries are high pitched, shrill, and sound extremely panicked. Matt would try to console him, but he wanted me. So that first night, I laid on the floor and forced him to stay in his bed (there was a lot of forcing, A LOT, he kept trying to get out), and it was just miserable. We planned this on a weekend though no work the next day. But really, that first night was the worst. I had to move their toddler pull out foamy couch in the bedroom because pregnant or not, laying on hardwood is NOT FUN. 

It progressively got easier though. When Thomas wakes up in the middle of the night, he doesn't scream like the world is out to get him anymore. He just comes on over to my side of the bed and says mama mama mama until I wake up. Usually I hear him coming down the hall though because for some reason, since I've become a mom, I have turned into a very light sleeper. And that's ok, because I want to know what my kids might be up to in the middle of the night. Anyway, the second night he cried when I put him back to his bed and tried to fight me again, but that didn't last long. The third night, he was ok with me putting him back to his bed, as long as I stayed put until he fell asleep. Last night, the 5th night, he didn't even come to the bedroom until 0520, which is only 10 minutes before my alarm goes off, so it was a win! We're making progress, and while I absolutely miss cuddling with Thomas (because Thomas is an excellent cuddler), it's time to start doing some growing. 

So how has Charles been doing with the whole move? He's actually been doing really well. I have no idea how he sleeps through Thomas' cries and movements in the middle of the night but he does. The only time he really has issues is if he pees through his nighttime diaper. He's potty trained during the day, but we're still working on the night time potty training thing. We've had some issues with teaching him to go back to sleep on his own and that pops up on occasion, but for the most part, he's getting it down. That's usually the struggle with toddlers waking up in the middle of the night, they don't know how to put themselves back to bed without mom and dad. 

Despite the rough few nights we've had getting everyone adjusted to new sleeping assignments, I wouldn't do anything any different. I'd still co-sleep with my babies. But this little guy, being our last, will need an eviction date that isn't driven by a new sibling coming. Otherwise he's going to be spoiled rotten with the co-sleeping thing! 

*update* I wrote the first part of this post about a week ago and didn't have time to post it yet. So, we're still adjusting and out of desperation I've decided to jump into the world of essential oils by Young Living. The one night I remembered to put the oil on their feet (Sleepyize) they slept through the whole night no issues! I really need to be more consistent with that. Then another night I forgot to put the oils on their feet and Thomas was up every hour. He doesn't scream anymore, he just tries to get back in bed, so walk him back to his room, make him crawl back into his bed, and wait until he falls asleep, then I go back to bed. Doing this 4-5 times a night is EXHAUSTING. I am 9 months pregnant and I can hardly sleep as it is. I put the Sleepyize on their feet again last night and I found myself running to their room at 0430 to make sure they were both still ok. They didn't end up getting up until 0600! Going to see how consistency with the essential oils works to help my kiddos sleep better and then you better believe there will be a blog post dedicated to just how awesome they are for sleeping kiddos. I know I'm late to the party here, but I'm pretty excited about seeing what else I can do for my kids and my family with this oily lifestyle. I'm not an extremely crunchy mom....but I have my moments.