Friday, December 14, 2007

Getting ready for Christmas

Well, it has been a while since I have written or posted a video. I plan to post a video soon. Well, I had planned on doing that a month ago but just haven't had time. The main thing sucking up my time has been the calendar we made earlier this month. We are selling it for 20 dollars as a fundraiser and it is pretty great...if you like babies. Anyway, you can read more about it on our website at wilkinsonquints.org/calendar.html.
Here are some pictures from it:

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Something interesting things have happened recently. Last week, Rachelle went and ran the Trail of Lights 5K near Downtown Austin. That was fun and I think next year we will ALL run it. That should be quite a spectacle. I was really proud that she could be running a 3 mile race four months after giving birth to quintuplets.

Also, we have had a bunch of people over. First, Candice, the doctor who delivered the babies, came to visit for a few days and helped us all get a little fatter. Next, my aunt Victoria came to visit and that was helpful. While she was here, we got to go see Enchanted which I can definitely recommend.

We also got to go to the little ceremony where Riley got his award for his video. He was the first student in school history to submit a video which was fun.

As I am writing this post, we are doing the sleep training. There are a bunch of books out there about how to teach your kids to sleep through the night and I think Rachelle has read all of them. I am not sure of the name of the method we use but it basically starts with creating a routine that you follow very strictlyeach night when you put them to bed. The idea is that they will start to recognize that it is time to go to bed and get sleepy. Our particular routine consists of feeding them at 7:00, taking off their clothes for a little diaper only time, changing the diaper, rubbing them down with lotion, putting their pajamas on and wrapping them up. Up until tonight, we would kind of bounce them and rock them until they went to sleep and then put them in their cribs. We have been doing this routine for the past few weeks now but tonight was Day 1 of the hardest part. In this phase, we do the routine except after we bundle them up and make sure they are calm (but not asleep) we go and put them in their beds. The result, as you might expect, is that they eventually began to cry. After you put them down, you go in after 5 minutes and give them a little pat (but don't pick them up) and then leave again. You next wait 10 minutes, then 15, then 20, etc... Eventually, they will fall asleep...in theory. Right now, It has been about an hour and a half and one of them, Ryder, is steadfastly refusing to sleep. The others, however, have all given in and are currently sleeping through Ryder's loud crying.

Lest anyone think we are mean, there are two primary reasons why sleep training is important. First, the babies need to learn how to fall asleep on their own. We did the same training with Riley and Kaiya and were able to avoid a lot of the sleep problems I had heard about from other parents. One of the biggest problems with getting kids to sleep through the night is that most of them wake up naturally multiple times during the night and don't know how to get themselves back to sleep without help. When they learn how to fall asleep on their own, they can wake up in the middle of the night and then go back to sleep without help which means they will tend to get more needed rest.

The second reason that babies need training is for the sanity of the parents. Parents need to be able to put the babies in bed and have some parent time.

Now, I definitely have to say that it isn't very fun. When we first put them down, it was an amazing chorus of crying that simultaneously made me laugh and cry. I wanted to laugh because it was just so comical to hear that many crying babies all at once and wanted to cry because it is a bit sad to hear that many crying babies all at once. Anyway, we will make it through this and pretty soon, we will be able to just put them down at 8:00 and have time to do all kinds of stuff... like catch up on making more videos.

17 comments:

Career.Nanny said...

Completely impressed. Completely. Good for you. Your children are so lucky to have the two of you as parents.

Sleep training is very exhausting but you are 100% correct on all counts, routine is reassuring to babies and children who cannot tell time, everyone really does wake up during the night and being able to get yourself to sleep is a skill that can benefit them their entire lives and parents ARE important!!! Taking care of your children means taking care of you, all of you are parts of the equation that makes up your family. Good work!

And finally, I'm sure I don't need to remind you, parenting is a life-long marathon, not a sprint.

Kathryn said...

Good for you!!!! I agree completely, parents need to be able to take care of themselves! The first night is the hardest and as long as you stick with it you will get there! I'm so impressed!

Cassaundra said...

Rock on.........you have to do what it take for ultimate peace and harmony! Bless you with your challenge.....and continued laughter and tears!

2 + 2+1 = 5 said...

Good for you. We have twins and did the exact same thing. Our girls, almost 2, are wonderful sleepers. The only difference is that the girls go to bed at 7pm and get up at 7:30 am.

Emma...

(thebarrusfamily.blogspot.com)

McKay said...

So I didn't get the part about Riley. He was the first person in school history to submit a video? Or he was the first person in school history to submit a video that was fun?

Anyway, congrats to Riley.

Good luck with the sleep training. I'm glad the rest of them can endure Ryder's protests!

The Dragonfly said...

As a mother of 3 sleep trained kiddoes, I give you full props for doing it with five at one time. I've found that my tolerance for a crying baby at bed time has grown with each child! You'll do great and deserve every minute of parent time!

QuatroMama said...
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Mama M said...

I am a big believer in sleep training. The long term gain of happier and healthier children and happier and healthier parents is worth the short term sadness of the period of adjustment. It can be done with love and kindness, as is evident by your account.

You know, a lot of us, even those of us who do not know you personally, are really impressed with the Wilkinsons. Carry on!

Kernal Ken said...

I'm glad I left before it all started, I'm such a sucker for those crying quints. I'll look forward to my next visit when all my cute nephews and nieces will go to bed without a peep. I know you guys will succeed.

No surprise that Ryder was the lone hold out, he's a determined young fellow.

Miss you all...
Love
Auntie V

Kathleen Seaton said...

As the mother of five, I can attest to the fact that children who learn to put themselves to sleep are happier and easier to manage. Keep a little note about how long each one cries each night and you'll notice how it becomes easier in a couple of days. If you wait until their older, it will be much harder on you and on them. Thanks for sharing your adventure with all of us.
Kathy

lltanderson said...

you guys are amazing! your kids are so lucky to have you as parents.

congrats to rachelle and riley for each of their accomplishments!

Nerns said...

Oh my. I am going through this right now with my 13 week old. Here I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldnt get him to go to bed earlier than 10:30! I can't imagine doing the bedtime battle with FIVE babies! You guys are truly amazing.

Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Elyse said...

I know that it is hard to hear them cry and not just run in and console the baby, but you will get through.
As a babysitter who has had her experiances with sleep training, yes it is difficult, but it is for the best. Parents need time to talk without babies around and sleep training will eventually allow parents to have alone tme.
Stick to it and you will get through!!

Joyce said...

I have raised 6 boys(not all at once:)) I did this with all my kids,the oldest is 25, before all the books came out. I quess i learned it from my mom,who raised 9.
The only difference is i started at 6-8 weeks. My boys were all 8-9LBs at birth. Hang in there! you won't regret it and the babies will be much happier.
Joyce(mother of 6 boys,Grandmother to twin boys)

Meghan and Riley's Pictures said...

WOW....Good for you! All those babies crying at once must be hard. It is amazing that the others can sleep thru the cries! Keep up the good work.
megandriley.blogspot.com

Jennifer Walker said...

I love it. I added it to my parenting website - BabyBlogAddict.com.

Here's a direct link to the post.

Jennifer
BabyBlogAddict.com