Good night sleep tight!

Ahh sleep, normally bedtime is something I look forward to. The past several months when it gets past 5 pm I get nervous wondering what "excitement" the night will have.

There is a saying that no 2 babies are the same, no 2 pregnancies, births and ect. I agree with this, but I am shocked at how different my 3 kids sleep.

I wanted to post a 6 month photo of each of them and I thought I would include a little bit about how they slept at 6 months old. Whenever I am out in public the one thing I hear repeatedly is how much alike or related the kids look.

Andrew was my super sleeper.  He loved to sleep, I had rule to not let him nap over 3 hours at a time. Yes, he would take 3 hour naps and sleep really good at night.  He woke up a little to eat and then would sleep some more. Andrew seemed to thrive on a schedule, you could set your watch by him. It was tough at times because he did not handle getting his nap interrupted or bed time pushed back very well.  At 6 months old he liked going to bed at 6:45 pm and would sleep until 7 am and then take 2 naps a day.  I had so much free time during his naps, I often got bored wanting him to wake up so we could play. When I would read about how much sleep your baby needs, Andrew would often add another hour to that grand total number. I knew he was a excellent sleeper.  After 3 months Andrew never really slept in the carseat and would get very mad if it was nap time or bedtime and he was in the car. This excellent sleeping lasting until he was 3 years old.  I think he logged all of those sleeping hours and saved them and is cashing them in now, because he needs very little sleep and has a hard time giving in and letting his body go to sleep.

Lily was my night owl, she preferred staying up late. However she was excellent at going to sleep I did very little "sleep training" so she didn't really cry it out much at night or naps. She was and still is very flexible.  She never logged as many sleeping hours as Andrew did but she slept through the night at 3 WEEKS old! She was not the best napper but did still does good.  Some days she goes down early for nap at 11:30 and other days at 1:30. She can also miss a nap and not fall apart :) Lily did not like the carseat at about 3 weeks old she screamed every time she was in it and never would sleep in it. Overall Lily was such a flexible easy sleeper. I hope she will keep her naps past 3 years old and not drop them like Andrew did.


And then there was 3.....

My favorite line that people tell me is "Isn't the 3rd baby supposed to be so easy, and laid back?" hahaha is my response.

Actually Will is very flexible and maybe a little too flexible.  Since turning 6 months old I have been able to transition Will to a 7 pm bedtime.  This has been nice, and I could tell he needed it.  He still not sleeping through the night. Yep, for the past 6 months he has gotten up at least 2 or more times in the night 95% of the time.  Most nights he wakes up at 12, 2, 4,6 and 8 am to get up. I know I lucked out with the first 2 kids sleeping great but I can honestly say I was not prepared for this. I am amazed at how well (or at least I think I can function) on sleeping in 2 hour chunks for a extended period of time. Will is my best car ridding baby, he loves to nap in the carseat. Sometimes this is great other times I am amazed at how fast he can power nap.  I remember friends telling me about the dreaded car nap that messes up night time or nap time and never really getting it because my kids never slept in the car. Well now I get it. Naps are really short for Will he has a hard time going back to sleep after the 45 REM cycle. I am thankful that he can handle his morning nap to be short and in the car on the go, since that is what has to be done some times.

We currently are at the stage where I am trying really hard to be home at 6 pm and start the bedtime routine with him. It stinks to leave things early, but I can tell it is really helping Will, and I am so tired that I don't care :) I affectionately call Will my baby that never sleeps. I can tell that is hopefully changing soon.

I know why there are 100's of baby sleep books for sale, because every family, and baby are unique  and different.

Well they all 3 are adorable and look like their own unique self but still very related.  I love all 3 of the kids will all of my heart and before I know it they will be big kids that I am dragging out of bed in the morning to take them to school.

I am secretly hoping next month I will have discovered some hidden secret trick that gets Will to sleep through the night :) For now I can relate to the mom who had a baby with colic, and that didn't sleep through the night, and hopefully encourage her that is was a short time frame in the big picture and that it gets better.