Adoption: Working Through Sleeping Patterns

So we are coming up on one month with the new kids.  That is so hard to believe!  The little ones are doing so much better.  They definately did not get disciplined correctly where they came from so that made it much more difficult for us when they came here.  But I am so happy they are here and I pray in the name of our Lord our Savior that they will be able to stay.  Please keep our family in prayer as the court and the state decided what to do in this case.  I can't imagine them moving them again but the Lord knows.  I will continue to trust and have faith that no matter what the Lord will see us through.

In the beginning I was quite concerned because one girl would get up around 3:00 am and walk over to the other girl and wake her up.  They were really loud so the rest of the house would wake up.  I would finally get them back to sleep and then another one would wake up at 5:30 am and wake up the other one.  I couldn't send them back to bed because they would cry and wake up everyone in the house. I was up at that time because Milford would be getting ready to leave for work and I make his lunch and breakfast every morning.  I hate to admit it but I do not like sharing my morning time.  My morning time is what keeps my sanity and now that I don't have my morning time alone that means that I will be insane all day.  Poor kids!  There was no way this could continue.  I played with their nap time, their bed time and anything else I could think of -- nothing made a hill bit of difference.

I decided to separate the kids.  I braced myself because these little ones act like twins so I knew this was not going to be an easy task.  First of all I had only Little M (4 yrs) take a nap.  DHS gave me a sheet a paper showing their schedule and it said that both girls took naps.  Little M goes to sleep fine in the afternoons but explaining why she takes a nap and why her sister doesn't is a very hard thing to do.  Finally I just say she doesn't have to sleep just "rest your eyes".  She feels much better with that and falls asleep almost instantly.

We have a small room off of our master bedroom.  It is around 8ft by 16 ft.  It has an upright piano in there and we store our camping gear in there.  I laid a twin mattress on the floor, put a bunch of stuffed animals on the bed and made it cozy looking.  I put a smoke detector on the wall and also removed the door knob completely so she could not lock herself in there.  This room would be for Little K (5 yrs).  She does not sleep well.  I can hear her tossing and turning in the baby monitor.  She also grinds her teeth.  When we got her she had really dark circles under her eyes.  Now that she has  been with us for a month the dark circles are almost all gone.  Anyway-- Little K loves her new room.  I am going to put a dresser in her room and make it as girly as I can.  

At first it was almost comical.  With the girls separated I would get up with my husband getting him breakfast and my eye would catch movement.  Little M was making her way down the hallway toward me.  I looked the opposite direction and her comes Little K coming towards me!  Neither one made a sound but all smiles at 5:30 am.  It was in disbelief!  At least it was not at 3:00 am. I can't separate them any further apart than what they are!! I took Little K back to her room and she went without crying and then let Little M back to her room.  There were NO TEARS!! They both went back to sleep.  There for awhile Little M would wake up at 6:30.  I knew that if I sent her back a second time the tears and screaming would start so I let her stay up but constantly thinking what can I do differently this next time I send them to bed.  

 This is what I feel like doing sometimes!!

So as of today this is what that sleeping schedule looks like and it is working out GREAT!!  At 10:30 I start fixing lunch.  I have all the lunches made my 11:00.  At 12:00 I lay Little M down for a nap.  She sleeps till about 1:30.  In the evening I give both girls a bath at 6:00 and at 7:00 pm.   They both have been sleeping till at least 7:30 am.  Thank you Jesus!!!