Putting Out Fires...a.k.a. Twin Issues

We’ve been on a mission lately to resolve some issues we’ve had with the twins. It all started with napping, but we’ve learned so many things along the way.

At first we were having some difficulty in putting the babies down for the evening in the same room. The problem was that Karter goes to sleep easily, but Lisse makes lots of noise and cries enough to wake him up again. It was becoming a vicious cycle. We decided to try moving his bed into another room to resolve the problem. Voila! Karter was sleeping quickly and lengthy. Lisse on the other hand was still having issues going to sleep.

This brings us to issue number two: Lisse not going to sleep. We began rocking her to sleep in the living room rocker, then lying her down in her bed. No sooner would her head hit the pillow then she would bolt back up crying. This too was a vicious cycle. It killed our backs to stand at her bedside and continue rocking her until she was literally snoring. Only then could we lay her down and be certain that she wouldn’t come back up.

Let me just say that during the day I have no problems putting her down. Of course this was a learning process as well and at one time involved too many tears. Now she takes her bottle, sits with me for a couple minutes while I talk softly to her, then we stroll to her room and I rub her pillow and say, “pillow”. She recently even leaned toward her bed! Normally she’s crying when I leave the room and quiet within a few minutes and asleep in less than five. How perplexing it was then that for bedtime Lisse became an entirely different creature. Then it dawned on me...it’s the light. She can’t go to sleep in a dark room. I wouldn’t necessarily characterize it as being afraid of the dark, but accustomed to a norm of going to sleep in a brighter room. The first night we turned on the lamp, we went into the kitchen and listened to her cry mildly and intermittently. We stood in the kitchen and prayed to God that He would put her to sleep, giving her and us some much needed rest. Again, voila! Suddenly she’s as easy to put down at night as she is during the day.

Now on to crisis number...I don’t even know what! Two days ago, Karter didn’t want his afternoon or evening bottle. Both times he pushed them away after barely a sip. Him not taking the afternoon bottle didn’t particularly bother me, but once he skipped the evening one I became concerned. If you know Karter, you know this is very out of character for him.

In the middle of the night he awoke and would not go back to sleep the way he normally does. Usually I can put his pacifier back in his mouth, rub his back, and he quickly goes back to sleep. Not last night! He seemed wide awake. I tried for a few minutes to cradle him to no avail. Okay, so maybe now he was finally wanting a bottle? Arie jaunted to the kitchen and back, determined to get him a bottle made quickly before his crying escalated. When I first put the bottle to his lips he had the same reaction, one sip before pushing it away. The second time I put it to his lips, it was like the seas had parted and he devoured the whole thing! Whew! Arie was able to go back to sleep, Karter passed-out again quickly and went back down with no problem, then I was out as well.

Act two...Karter wakes again at about 4:30 to 5 am. I’m not sure since I couldn’t see the clock. I cradled and snuggled and again he was needing a bottle. At that point, Arie was going to be up in 30 minutes getting ready for work and I was trying not to disturb his last minutes of sleep. I jogged once more to the kitchen, rushing to make a bottle and get back. As I turned from the sink, shaking the bottle, I was met at the corner of the fridge by Arie asking what I was doing. Uh...yeah, he was obviously still asleep and actually doesn’t even remembering meeting me in the kitchen. Together we rushed back to Karter, I lifted him from his bed and administered said bottle hoping he would not turn it down. Again, he downed the bottle in record time. Having made that particular bottle myself, it finally occurred to me what the problem has been all along. In my haste to make the bottle, I hadn’t taken the time to let the water warm-up. Apparently, here in lies the problem...Karter no longer likes warm bottles. This has proven true with each bottle since. Crisis averted!

Many of the last week’s nights have been spent sleeping on Lisse’s bedroom floor, propped in my bed holding Karter, or sitting on my bathroom floor rocking him and trying desperately not to wake Arie. Now with both babies current issues understood and under control, I’m hoping to spend my first good night of sleep in more than a week in my own bed. I keep telling myself that this is only temporary. Like all things it too will pass. I know eventually I’ll look back and long for these times. Reminding myself of that helps me cope during the times when my back is killing me and I’m feeling overwhelmed by all the needs of those around me for whom I’m responsible. I even think of Nadia Suleman (Octomom) and her brood. I can’t even imagine being in her shoes! Anytime I think of her it’s easy to be thankful for my situation.

Man am I looking forward to having a good night’s sleep!