I Counted My Chickens

I jinxed myself. That's the only explanation. In the lead up to the end of DST (aka "fall back"), I was getting a bit anxious about how the boys would adapt. And I didn't want to be one of those parents who complains, "I didn't get an extra hour of sleep because I have children!" So we started taking proactive measures to adjust them to the new time gradually.

About 10 days ago, I noticed the boys woke up a little later than usual. That day, I pushed their schedule back by about 15 minutes and it seemed ok. As the days went on, we kept them up later and later. Yesterday, they got up around 8:15am and went to bed at 9:30pm. It was perfect - an hour later than usual! I'll admit, I was totally patting myself on the back and getting ready to write a blog about my amazing parenting/sleep coaching skills to share my awesomeness with y'all.

The best laid plans, eh?

Last night, sometime in the wee hours of the morning (I make it a rule not to look at my clock when awakened), I heard a cry. Rousing my brain from slumber, I hoped whoever it was would just squawk a little and go back to sleep. But moments later, I heard the other kid. That's never a good sign - once they are both awake, intervention is required. I wondered if they'd gotten too cold, as autumn has finally arrived in TN. So I went into their room to find both boys sitting in their cribs, crying, but with no obvious cause. They felt appropriately warm - not feverish, not freezing. Diapers were fine. I got them up and rocked them for awhile. They calmed down. I put them back in bed and returned to bed myself. Checking my phone, I found it was 2:36am. Hmm, so that meant I already got my extra hour of sleep, right? Because we repeated 1-2am?

Apparently the boys weren't ready to go back to sleep, since the squawking continued. DF and I hypothesized that perhaps they had teething pain. They've seemed extra drool-ey of late. I gave them Tylenol and rocked some more. Gus actually fell asleep in the rocking chair but awoke in the attempted transfer back to bed. I tried a couple other go back to sleep techniques, including the ill-advised "let's lay on pillows on the floor while I rub your backs," which only resulted in them seeing all their toys and wanting to play. Sigh. So, we got up, changed diapers, ate some Cheerios, read lots of books, and sang some songs. Finally around 4:15, they got drowsy and acquiesced to slumber.

Now, who knows what the day holds. It's 7:20am CST meaning they should be awake by now, yet they're still snoozing away.

Let my tale serve as a warning to you: all those cliches exist for a reason! Do not congratulate yourself prematurely, and hold your future plans loosely....especially if you have twin one year olds.