Sleep Training Update

Yes that is my baby. And that is how she is sleeping most mornings. I go in around 6:30am to find her head all the way back on her boppy pillow with her arms behind her head. She looks so peaceful I almost hate to wake her up!

While we have been taking a break from sleep training, there are a few things we are still doing with the girls to prepare them for that long awaited day when we pick up where we left off!

First, we decided to continue feeding them every 3 hours rather than every 4 hours. Their little tummy's still can't hold more than 5 oz. (& that is only at their 7pm feeding). They need to eat smaller amounts (they average between 2-3 oz.) every 3 hours. They eat at 6:30am, 9:30am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, & 6:30pm. Sometimes this fluctuates by a half hour.

Waketime- we try to keep the girls up for at least a half hour after their feedings before putting them back down for a nap. After their 6:30am feeding though, they may just go right back to sleep depending on how they slept during the night... I am just fine with putting them right back to bed after this feeding. (This also gives me a chance to pump, make new bottles, sterilize, and get the house picked up before their next feeding). Usually they take 3 naps after their first 3 feedings.

After the 3:30pm feeding we try to keep them up the whole time. We play on our gym mat, practice laying on our back and rolling side-to-side, sing to Jesus during our praise and worship time, and then we start our bedtime routine.

Bedtime routine starts about 45 minutes to an hour before their last feeding. (It's take awhile to get through it with 2 babies!) We give them a bath (this is the only part of the routine that we sometimes skip). Followed by a little baby massage with the super rich aveeno baby lotion, we read them each a story, turn on our praise baby soothing music, dim the lights in the nursery and then feed them. When we're done they still need to be kept upright for at least 20 minutes to help their reflux. We say our prayers together and then put them down to sleep.

The first night it took almost 2 hours for them to fall asleep!! Last night however it took less than 30 minutes! They usually sleep from around 8pm until almost midnight/1am and then take a bottle. They wake again between 3/4am for another little bottle and then we start our day again at 6:30am.

I think we are creating healthy habits for our girls by helping them learn to sleep now and also being sensitive to their individual needs that when we begin sleep training full force it will likely be much easier.

Though we miss our sleep, it is such sweet times at 3am to hold and feed a sweet little angel completely dependent on you. Our sleep training books say to not make eye contact in the middle of the night feedings so as not to stimulate them too much... I don't want to miss a second of looking into their big eyes and thanking Jesus for the gift of life he has blessed us with!!

Thanks for following us on this journey!