Anyway, January was maybe one of the hardest months we'd had. I feel like maybe there were some developmental shifts happening and, as first time parents, we just weren't prepared. First of all, the boys got sick twice in that month and once again we kissed any sleep progress and schedule we'd had good-bye. They also really started fighting naps hard during this month. We had been somewhat inconsistent in our sleep training in the sense that we were pretty strict on training in the middle of the night, but not for bedtimes or naps. It was so hard to listen to them crying at 2 AM that to also do it during the day just felt like too much. So we'd still been nursing them to sleep at night and bouncing them to sleep on our bed during the day. (Our mattress will never be the same.) So all of a sudden this stopped working and they would fight the nap. Naps were skipped. Tears were cried. They were a mess. I was a mess. It was ugly. I felt so defeated and like a failure. I knew my babies weren't getting the sleep they needed and I wasn't getting a break. I slowly saw them becoming less like themselves- the happy babies I knew they were. And yet I was trying so hard. Never before have I tried so very hard to succeed at something and fail over and over. I talked to a nurse at Dr. Hartman's office every week it felt like because I just couldn't get them to nap.
Finally one weekday (after a meltdown on my part that weekend), BJ stayed home that morning and we decided to get tough with nap training. Upon Dr. Weissbluth's advice we were going to do a sleep time routine, lay them in their beds awake, and let them do what they wanted for one hour without going in. I was anticipating screaming for the whole hour and then having to soothe two hysterical babies. But having BJ with me made me feel like I had the right ratio of help finally. It had been such an overwhelming feeling to have to crying babies fighting naps who I didn't even have enough arms to soothe. So we let them go and they both had fallen asleep within 50 minutes of crying. I literally did a cartwheel I was so happy. And that really was the turning point. We still had some harder days, but ever since then we do our sleepy routing of reading 2 books, singing a song, saying a prayer, and laying them in bed. Their naps have lengthened overall and they became the happy, energetic babies they are supposed to be. I guess we had just been getting in their way. (Note to self with next baby: nap training by 6 months!)
Besides all of our sleep drama, the boys were rolling all over the place and Blaine started pushing up on all fours. They got their first haircuts with Carol and instantly became big boys! They did so well and she was wonderful with them. It was fun to carry on the first haircut tradition since she had done mine 26 years earlier! We started some solid foods with baby arrowroot cookies and they both loved them! They were a mess afterwards, but it was worth it to see them enjoying a "big boy" food. By 9 months old they were finally both sitting up! I wasn't sure we'd see the day. This age became the new favorite of mine. I always think each month was so easier before, but then the next one is even better!
The boys became so interactive and even more like little people. They know us and get excited to see us and we can all just play on the floor together. They're also interacting more with each other and having "conversations" in their exersaucers. By the end of this time they could both say "dada", "mama", "nana" and other baby words only they know. They don't necessarily associate any of us with these sounds, but it's so fun to hear their little voices. We still go to Nana and Papa's most days and they really know them now too. By the end of March, Blaine was officially crawling and an even happier baby for it. He can really "haul baby toosh" as we like to put it. :) Looking back at these three months, I can't believe how much has changed. I didn't realize it, but this was probably the time of the biggest developments. They went from being stuck on their backs all the time to crawling, talking, interactive boys. It's bittersweet to see them growing up more quickly now, but I love this age so much that I'm just soaking it all in.
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