Asleep and Awake

The babies are rolling all over the place these days. It’s great, but a little scary since I haven’t baby-proofed a single thing. Our play yard is ready to go though. I think we’ll get great use out of that. Anyway, since they love to roll to and fro during playtime, it was inevitable that they’d also try out this new found mobility during naptime. They are not used to sleeping on their stomachs, so this has been a small hurdle in their good sleeping habits (for some reason they didn’t realize that all they had to do was roll back over and all would be well). They all discovered this freedom at different times too (all within about a week though), so each time someone else decides to roll onto their tummy in bed, they cry and cry interrupting everyone’s quiet time. I have turned them over a time or two when I know they are especially tired and can’t figure out how to get out of this predicament. But I just decided that it’s all about learning to self-soothe, and they can take care of themselves. It only took a couple days (per baby) to get used to this new sleeping position, and now they can sleep on their back, tummy, side, whatever they desire. I even find them horizontal, or with their head at the opposite end of the crib from how I placed them. I have wondered a lot if I should’ve taken the swaddles away when I did (though we still put them on waist down as a blanket) since it was such a hard adjustment for them, but I am glad they are doing well now, and are learning more mobility because of it. I’m pretty sure their heads aren’t as flat anymore either.

A baby sleeping peacefully in their crib is one of the most loveliest sights. Wouldn't you agree? Sometimes when naptime is over and I hear the chattering in the nursery, I go in to find only one or two awake. It's so sweet to see them sound asleep through the noise of their siblings. This is rare for me to see, since I would never want to risk waking the babies by going in while all are asleep (but sometimes when I miss them, I very quietly creep in before I go to bed and feel all their tummies go up and down a couple times). So I have to take some pictures when the moment presents itself. I also love seeing them happily playing in their cribs after naps. I turn on the lights, give them toys, and they are entertained for another 15-30 minutes. It’s so fun to hear my rested, happy babies talk to each other in their room. I keep the windows covered, so with it being so dark in there, it’s hard to get good pictures, but you get the idea.

Alex (He was just waking up in this picture.)

Bennett

Ruby

In case you were wondering, those are cardboard diaper boxes that we are using as crib bumpers. I just get so tired of spending 75 dollars here, and 100 dollars there on things they’ll grow out of soon, so this is what I came up with to keep them from getting their little legs stuck, as they have a few times (oh, I felt horrible when I found out that is why they were crying in bed one day.) In Alex’s crib we are using a little bumper toy thing that their teacher gave us, and it works well, but we only have one. So for the others I taped up some cardboard on the sides they most often got stuck on, and it works like a charm. A little white trash, but hey, they don’t seems to mind. In fact, I think they like looking at the colorful images. You should try it out.