Monday, February 15, 2010

Sleep (re)Training Day 1

Begrudgingly, I took apart Audrey's crib this morning and reassembled it in Ronin's room (aka The Nursery, which was the original room for the babies). Denis helped keep the kids at bay while I wrestled with the allen wrench and all the nuts & bolts. He also moved Nikko's racing car bed out of the nursery and back into our second room, which is where the car originated. No turning back now, I decided it was time to start re-training Nikko how to sleep by himself/stay in bed at bedtime. We still have to switch out the clothes drawers and I have to clear dresser tops, but that's for tomorrow onward. The rest of the day was about getting Audrey and Ronin their naps and just being around each other. Denis decided to take us out to a little buffet joint called CiCi's Pizza, a Valentine's Day dinner for the fam on the cheap. The only drawback was there really wasn't anything Ronin could eat there, but I brought him chicken nuggets, crackers and Oreo cookies.

Our bedtime routine ran late because we got home close to 8:30 and I had to figure out what pajamas to take into which room, which diapers to put where and what lotions to bring to which room, all not to disrupt Audrey after she went down to sleep. I coaxed Nikko into the bathtub first instead of Ronin, but he was a tad resistant coming off the toilet again. We all ended up in Nikko's room for nighttime stories, and when it was time to take Ronin to his bed, Nikko was anxious. Then he erupted into cries and wails when we left the room. I put Ronin to bed, who was tired but also wide-eyed because he could hear Nikko screaming and pounding on the door. Thankfully, Audrey stayed asleep! But that's how it went between 9:45p and 10:15p. Nikko cried, screamed, wailed, pounded on the door, kicked, threw himself on his knees, hit and scraped at the plastic doorknob, and tried everything he could to get out of the room. The first time, we forgot to put that plastic doorknob on so he got out. The second time he raged really hard and I came in to settle him, also moved a lamp out of the doorway. The third time he raged and I went to check on him after 10 minutes. The fourth time he raged and hit the plastic knob right off, so I had to take packing tape and fix it. I think it was this time that he was probably tired of his rages, so when I walked toward the door he wailed loudly but didn't get up. His cries stopped within two minutes of that. I checked in on him later and his blanket was still slightly tucked around him when I last left him, so he gave up. Poor Nikko. I really hope he doesn't wake up at 3a, because if I give up and sleep on the floor instead of walk him back and leave him, then it will defeat the purpose of everything we're going through. If he wakes up at 6a instead of 7a, I'm not sure what to do... he used to lay and talk to himself, and would still talk to himself if I came in and Ronin was sleeping nearby. But I think he'd wake up, go wail at the door, and want to come into our bed. He may start talking there, and that would irritate Denis. I guess if he wakes up at 6a, I can go lay with him until 7a. I highly doubt Nikko will go back to sleep again. I just hope Nikko is tired enough to sleep at least until 7a. That would work for me.

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