Sleep

(I hesitate to post this to seem ungrateful for how well my boys sleep or boastful about how well my boys sleep...today I post for myself, to remember these days.)

Dear Timothy,
You have become very verbal these days, particularly about sleep. You'd rather just continue on with your days, no stopping for sleeping, even though you don't hesitate to say that you're tired. You'd rather just play...but you need those hours of sleep as you've become a little more like mommy - grouchy when you don't get to sleep. You get to bed between 7:30-8p. and rise between 6-6:30a. Feel free to sleep till 7a. Lately, you've had a few earlier mornings, like that one day you woke and stayed up from 4-5a. just singing, and reminding us that you were "Ready to get out of bed all night, please mommy daddy. Please please please." You've also become a little bit more...imaginative we'll call it. You don't like it dark dark dark like before because the "curtains are scary." (Having more light in your room helps for sleeping away from home - thanks.) Unlike some of your friends, you usually only sleep about and hour and a half for naps and have needed to go down a little sooner than before since you're up earlier. Although, may I just say that I've enjoyed these past two days where you and your brother have taken fantastic two hour (or more) naps simultaneously. And I don't mind that we have time together in the afternoon before I have to crank out dinner. Thank you boys! Speaking of boys...

Dear Cayden,
I've been blessed by another wonderful nighttime sleeper. You usually go down around 7:30p and wake somewhere between 4:30-6a. to nurse again before going right back down for another two hours or so. You sometimes need a little comfort in the night and are soothed by just your passy. You do have "harder" nights where you wake up more times to nurse but then head right back to sleep. Naps tend to be about 50% difficult for us. The 45-minute "intruder" is familiar to you. He comes along after you've been sleeping for 45-50min and startles you awake. I do a "two helps and you're out" meaning, I'll help you twice by giving you your passy and/or trying my trick (sometimes two minutes of crying is enough to help you fall back asleep) before taking you out. My trick - covering your eyes; if it works I see your sweet little hands rise to touch mine and within a minute or two they drop limp as you've dosed back off. I imagine you just need a little comfort of knowing you're not alone. Then, there are fewer days when you take a three hour nap; those are the days I'm always checking to see if you're breathing. :)

I love you guys.