It's been a while. I used to complain about sleep stuff on this blog every day, then every week, then less often. Now, I'm here to say happy things about sleep!
The girls are in a great phase. Note that I call it a phase, so that when it all turns to shit I am not too disappointed.
They are having great naps in the day. We have lunch at 11.30, then I try to get them into bed as soon as possible afterwards, which is usually 12:15. They then usually sleep for 2 hours. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, but usually 2 hours. Unbelievable really. When we go out in the morning I make sure we are home in time for lunch-and-nap. Lunch at home seems to be part of the wind-down process.
The longer naps started a few weeks ago, and they are very very welcome. They wake up happy, and ready to belt around like the hoons they are for the afternoon.
Soon after I complained to the AMBA forum (other mums of twins & triplets) about how early the girls wake in the morning (usually 5:30 or 6), they started sleeping in until 7! Just like that!
I read all the lovely advice given to me by these marvellous experienced mums, considered it all, agreed with most of it, then did nothing new. Somehow it all resolved and for four glorious mornings the girls woke around 7. Then on Monday morning we had to wake them at 6:30 to get to an appointment, and the two mornings since have been early ones again. I'm back to my old pattern of waking up at 5:50 when Trudi gets up, then lying awake until one of the girls wakes, then sitting on the floor between their cots whispering "Ssssh, it's still sleep time" and "Ssssh, it's not 7 o'clock yet" and "Lie down love, it's still sleep time" and so on and on and on and on. Then we all get up and start our day.
The third lovely sleep improvement is that most nights both girls sleep through without needing any help from me. Ivy had a nightmare a couple of nights ago, but apart from that and a couple of other wake-ups, they've been sleeping through for a month. Even when they do wake and need me, they fall back to sleep a lot more easily than in the past. It's all coming together, and not a moment too soon.
Unfortunately, my own sleep skills are not great right now. These days Trudi and I both usually sleep badly, with shallow sleep and many hours of lying awake each night. Sigh. I am sure that I will improve as the girls need me in the night less often. I think I am on alert all day and night, even though I don't need to be any more. Seventeen months of springing out of bed to calm weeping babies has trained me to sleep lightly, and I really hope that one day I will learn to sleep solidly again.
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