Sleep, Baby, Sleep!

I have been hesitant to say much about our sleep situation, for fear of jinxing us, but I have to admit I am really, really proud of how well my babies have been sleeping. We had been on a regular schedule for awhile- in bed by 10:00 or so, then waking up around 1:00-1:30 when Jeremy gets home, then back down until about 5:30. Last weekend, though, the girls and I spent the night at my mom's in Scottsboro on Saturday night. They slept in a pack n' play in the room with me (still in their Boppies, of course...they sleep so well in them). I got up when one of them started fussing a little around 2:00 or so and put a pacifier in her mouth while I went to fix their bottles, thinking they would be up soon. However, I noticed she had fallen back asleep. I laid back down, expecting to be roused again in 15 minutes or so. An HOUR later, one of them fussed again. Again, I put the paci in and she immediately went back to sleep. This process continued until 4:30 am!! At that point, one baby actually woke up and began to fuss and cry, and I could tell it was time to eat. Still, I was wonderfully excited to get 6 hours, which is technically considered "sleeping through the night." (Who decides that, by the way? In what world is 10-4:30 sleeping through the night?!)

I was afraid the good sleep at my mom's may have been a freak one-time thing, but the same rough pattern has continued for a little more than a week now. Yay for extra sleep at our house! Last night was amazing...they were down by 10:00 and didn't wake up until almost 5:00. If I can get that bedtime moved back to about 8:00, we will be in business. I have also been focusing on getting in a good long nap each morning and afternoon. We still pretty much have to swaddle them in order to get them to sleep well for a couple of hours, but the pediatrician assures me they will outgrow that pretty soon. (Not that I mind...whatever works...I was just worried about when we should try to stop.)

I do have to brag on my sweet babies for a minute. I have prayed for good eaters and good sleepers, and as always, God has taken care of us! Praise the Lord (and ok, knock on wood for continued luck!), we have had wonderful luck so far. I just can't say enough how blessed we have been with these girls. As if being born five weeks early in perfect health, with fully developed lungs wasn't blessing enough, they have continued to amaze and surprise us every single day. They are developing wonderfully well for their adjusted age, we have had no issues with food or had to switch formulas, no sensitivity to diapers or other products (thank goodness we can use the cheaper Luvs!!), and no doctor visits other than regular checkups.

Again, I am a little hesitant to mention all of this, for fear I will jinx us, but I just want to share how incredibly lucky we are. The Lord is certainly looking out for us and providing just what we need. God is so good!

I am about to go enjoy at least a few hours of sleep since my babies are down for the night, but I'll leave you with a collage of some of my favorite pictures from the pictures we had done at seven weeks. Addison is on the left in both the single picture and the one of the two of them. You can see she has just about caught up to Mackenzie in size again!