We're currently in the process of transitioning from two naps to one. Yes, at (almost) 2 and half years old, we are still on 2 naps a day. I'm certain my kids hold world records in the sleep department, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. They typically go down at night by 7pm and wake up between 8-9am add two daily naps and you've got a lot of sleep. Until now it's been great and our schedule has always been a morning nap from about 10:45am-12pm and an afternoon nap from 2pm-3:30pm. I hear so many stories of other kids taking one nap a day and giving their mom a 3-4 hour break...uhh yeah sign me up for that! I tried it yesterday, making them hold out until after lunch and a long therapy session. 1:30pm I put them down and they were out until 4, not too bad! Today on the other hand, not so great. Again, with all of my strength and despite their begging for night night, I made them hold out until 1pm. Surely, this would allow me at least a good 3 hours to myself. Nope. 2pm ALL of them are up, crying "I like out. I like out!" My first thought NO WAY! I've left them, I think some may have fallen back to sleep, but I don't dare peek in to check. It's currently 2:50 and I know the boys are up...joy. Maybe they're not ready for the one nap thing? Wish us luck on this whole nap thing, won't ya?
An update on our ENT situation. We have ALL FOUR scheduled for tonsil (and possible adenoid) removal on Monday August 8th. Are we crazy? Maybe. But we figure it would be easier than doing them one by one dragging out the process for months. Brody had a follow up appointment with Dr. Peiffer and he still has fluid in his ears, therefore he will be getting tubes as well. Brody's balance is still not the greatest which could be due to fluid sitting in the ears, his mild CP, other neurological issues or, most likely, a combination of all. We're hoping the tubes will do nothing but help him in the whole balance department. I've enjoyed hearing some of your experiences with the whole tonsil/tubes/adenoids situation some that went smoothly and some not so great. If you've been through this, especially with small toddlers or multiples, please let me hear your input!
On a good note, Brody and Kylee can both get on the couch by themselves! It's been a looong long time that we've been practicing building not only muscle but confidence! They, along with Korbin and Baxlyn are into e v e r y t h i n g. I'm happy they're doing good, thriving and learning new things, but with each milestone they hit, I swear the wrinkles in my forehead get deeper.
I'll leave ya for now, there's mountains of housework sitting behind me I must get to! PS - we've had several comments left on older posts over the past few weeks. We have answered your questions and replied to some of your comments under the comment section you wrote in. Hope you're all having a great week!
Hi Heather...i have followed your blog and prayed for your family since the babies were born but i don't think i have ever commented before. I love reading your updates...good luck on the transition to 2 naps...it will come, sounds like you have some good sleepers on your hands so hopefully it wont take them too long to catch on. Sending prayers for a speedy recover for all 4 on the 8th!
ReplyDeleteHi, I have never commented before and I am not sure how I found your blog but I also enjoy reading your updates on your little ones. I look after (other peoples) toddlers from home and they are all about to turn 3 years old (such a nice age) when we were going from 2 to 1 nap I always put them down about 12pm. I found when I put them down any later they were over tired and would not settle well and would always wake early. Might be different for your four but just thought I would shear that info nothing worse than over tired 2 year olds. Ali
ReplyDeleteHi, I have followed for a while, but have never commented. I actually do not remember how I found it and I have nothing in common with you other than the fact that I am 30 and live in Corsicana, TX! I just wanted you to know that I will be praying for you guys and I just wanted to say hi!
ReplyDeleteTabitha
http://talkintabitha.blogspot.com/
My older son had his tonsils removed right after his third birthday and he did great. he did have to spend the night in the surgical stay center (very common). One big piece of advice is push fluids and take the meds every four hours(or as often as perscribed). JD was back to running around a few days later. He did have a hard time coming out of anesthesia but again I have heard that is normal for kids. I had mine removed two months ago at 28 and as long as I drank and took my meds I felt decent, but tired. Good Luck!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather! Long time reader, first time commenter! I enjoy your blog and your kiddos! Just wanted to share my two cents, mostly on your upcoming surgeries. My little boy is 3.5 and has had 3 sets of ear tubes and had his adenoids out with this most recent set. After the first set of tubes, we noticed immediate improvement in his hearing. He went from 55% loss to hearing almost perfectly, plus we noticed his balance was better. He was just 13 months old at the time. He had chronic ear infections/fluid since 8 weeks old. The tubes lasted about a year, then when they fell out, the fluid/infections were back, so we did another set. Surgery for just tubes is super easy and literally takes about 5 mins and the anesthesia is super light so he woke up very easy. With the 3rd set of tubes, he got what is called long-term tubes and had his adenoids removed. This surgery was a little more difficult because the anesthesia was stronger, so it was harder for him to wake up, so it was a lot scarier for him. I hear with tonsils, it's even harder. If you are doing all 4 at one time, I'd make sure you have a family member per baby who can go into the recovery room and can pick them up and hold them as soon as they start to wake up. My little guy woke up so scared and I was able to pick him up and rock him and he passed back out for another hour or so and then slowly started coming to. But he definitely wanted held and cuddled during the time he was coming to. For the tubes and adenoids, they wanted my boy awake and tolerating fluids before they released him. I don't know what the requirement would be for the tonsils. Good luck and if you have any questions, I will try to answer them!
ReplyDeleteAs for the sleep thing, my son was the same as your kiddos. The less sleep he got, the less he would sleep when it was time. Weird, huh? The transition from 2 naps to 1 was difficult for us too, and we did it at 2 years old. If my guy gets over tired, he doesn't sleep well. He is still taking sometimes a 2-3 hr nap in the afternoon. They will eventually adjust, but it will probably be difficult for a while! Good luck!
Hey- some nap advice from a mother of 5: when you ditch the morning nap you need to make the afternoon nap much earlier! Feed them at 11:30 and put them down right after at 12. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your comments and for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I'll do my best at sticking with the one nap, it's just gonna take some time I guess! As far as the tonsils, we have talked in detail to the nurses at the hospital so kind of know what to expect. We do plan on having 5 people there at the top of the morning and them staying until the quads are in their rooms and settled. Someone they know will be by their sides at the time they go to sleep as well as when they wake up. We've dealt with anesthesia before with Kylee and she woke up a ticked off mess...yikes kinda forgot about that! We will see what all four at once :/ lol Thanks again for your input and advice!
ReplyDelete-Heather
My suggestion on the naps would be to not hold them out until 1. I always had an 11:30 lunch, read them a book and put them down between 12:00 - 12:15. They would sleep until 3 to 3:30. I was like you with an early bedtime, 7:30 here!!
ReplyDeleteI would also suggest you tell them it is rest time and they need to stay in their beds and mommy will come get you when rest time is over. That way when they are 4 or so, you can still do a "rest time" regardless of whether they sleep or not. It is good for children to take a time out on there own. When they were this age I would give my 3 a special box with books, stickers, and puzzles to do because generally they didn't sleep but were quiet and stayed on their bed. At this age I only had them on their bed from 1 - 3.