Bedtime has been insane around here for the twins. They would be awake for 2 plus hours at night looking out their window, playing, talking, crying, asking for bathroom trips, etc. They just fed off eachother’s energy and silliness. And then of course they were miserable all the next day. Those two are so sensitive when it comes to sleep. Don and I were frustrated and stressed out over it, and we were being really inconsistent in our responses to their nonsense.

Anyway, I went back to my well worn copy of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and realized that my thoughts that they need their own rooms was probably right. But that can’t happen in our house. So we decided to put Avery down on a kid sized Aerobed in our room and then move her to her bed after she was asleep. We also promised them a reward of M&Ms in the morning for going to sleep without crying or coming out of the room. And we committed ourselves to silent returns to bed, even if it took 1000 times. Night 1 was rough and nobody got M&Ms. Night 2 was better – Avery cried for 3 minutes and came out twice for potty breaks and Alex did about the same. I gave them each 1 this morning as a motivator because it was such an improvement over the first night. Tonight – no crying and no doors opened! I just moved Avery to her bed. It’s the earliest and quietest bedtime we’ve had in weeks, maybe months. I am soooo happy!

Now, to get Adam on the right track. He goes down well but is often up every 2-3 hours.