Bedtime Nightmare...

You all thought that we had figured it out didn't you?  That, like pretty much everything else that requires routine and consistency we'd have it down pat... Just because I stopped with my funny nightly pictures of the first few weeks of toddler bed transition doesn't mean that our struggle was over!  Well let me tell you something!  It is NOT over... We started in April so we're now almost 4 months in and we still struggle every single night with bed time.  We have asked numerous people, we have read numerous toddler sleep articles, every method we try, we give it the consistency it deserves and still they take an hour to go down.  You have to remember a few things : 1) We have THREE TODDLERS  2) They are IN THE SAME ROOM  3) Jacob can't handle life without his dad glued to his hip and 4) they all have DIFFERENT NEEDS!!  I feel like one method that would work for one would not work for another so we are essentially screwed!  We tried letting them cry a little so that they'll understand that we'll only go give them cuddles and kisses if they go to bed.  You all know that I'm all about CIO as it was what got our babies to sleep through the night from 4 months old on. On toddler CIO most sleep experts have a different opinion.  They say that the baby stage was where the self soothing methods were key, at the toddler age, letting them cry has quite a different effect on their minds.  This is where they start feeling the feelings of abandonment.  The Ferber method for toddlers doesn't call for CIO, it calls for immediate adult attention and putting back to bed with a soft "good night" or no words at all but none of the methods ever mentioned letting them cry.  So I felt like an ass for leaving Jacob crying his little heart out for me at the end of the hall thinking that CIO would be the key to success in toddlerhood too!  I guess not!  I would love to be able to own a bigger house and give them all their own room so that we could try and cater to their individual needs but that doesn't seem to be in our cards.  So for now, we need to roll with the punches and figure out what works good enough for the three of them.  We have decided that we just need to have one of us stay in the room until at least Jacob falls asleep.  If he's asleep and the other two are calm we are almost always in the clear!  Tonight we went in there at about 6:45, we read stories, said good night to the sun, turned off the little light and I said good night to them while Gab stayed in.  He just came out now at 7:45.  So tonight it took about an hour but it was an hour without tears, without frustration and a night without exasperation.  Gab still doesn't believe that it's the best solution because he says that we're giving in to what they want and my argument is that we're giving in to what they NEED which is just more security and love.   Jacob is also the one that has an internal alarm clock of 5:20AM... We want to make sure that he knows that he must stay in bed until our GroClock sun comes out (which is 5:45AM... still yuck but better).  So Gab takes him back to bed every time.  This morning he just wasn't having it so instead of getting his wiggly bum in our bed, I put him in the play pen by our bed that we use for naps to separate them.  He stayed in until 6, it was glorious!  Oh I miss the days when I'd wake up before the boys and be able to drink a tea alone in the living room and watch the world wake up... it was awesome and I really hope to that again some day!  When they are teenagers most likely lol!

So that's the current crisis in our house!  Of course we're still dealing with toddler craziness but overall my boys are so cute lately and sooooooooooooooo much fun!! We laugh so much!  They have developed so much attitude and have so many opinions!  I wish I could have a live cam in my house so that you guys could watch them at times... There have been many "Just a minute mom, I'm not done yet, I just have to go fix that pretend board with my toy drill" or "Mom, I can't see the TV, MOVE" (This is my crazy TV obsessed Zachary... we are slowly working on weaning him from TV...) or  "No, I didn't poop or you can just leave the poop in my diaper".  I truly just want them to stay this age forever.  This is my favorite.  Even amidst the fights and the tantrums, I'm still getting my cuddles and I get to see them figure things out about the world, different things every day that they just absorb and accept... it's the greatest wonder to watch and I'm amazed every day.  Can't they just hover at this age until I'm ready for them to grow up a little more?  I know I also lose my patience on a daily basis with them and their tantrums that don't make sense to me but man oh man... the good parts far outweigh those moments...

On that note... I'm off to bed!  Tomorrow I'm spending my day with Sam!

Pictures:

I had a morning date with Zachary this week so he could go to the doctors to get his fracture bump checked out.  It's all healing well! 

Went for a little walk with baby Charlie

Zachary wasn't a fan of the walk... 

Costume Day at Daycare!

Yummy smoothies!! Zachary looks so old there!

Fun times at the Dieppe Kite Festival!  They had so many bouncy castles in their lives this weekend!!!

SO MUCH FUN MAMAN!!!

Snack break!

Keg date with my hubby for our 3rd year anniversary! Complimentary Champagne! 

Not complimentary wine... But look at that plate!!!!  I want to eat it all over again!!!  Stayed after supper to hang out with some friends who were celebrating my friend Josée's birthday.  Gab went for a drive so that I could partake in the the celebrations!

Games night at the Ho's!  Such a good time!

Either I had been drinking too much wine or this game was just too complicated for me... lol

This looks like Sam just learned to walk... lol.  Visiting my mom this morning!

We finished off the weekend with a great birthday party for my friend Mel's twin girls who were turning 4!  There were TWO bouncy castles and much much candy!  lol...   My picture Dropbox is being stupid so I don't have any pictures from that event today... womp womp but my boys had a great time!

That's all folks!