How many days does it take to make a habit???

Answer: Less than 3. The babies had shots on Monday and ever since have been super crabby. Matthew has been having an issue sleeping so for two nights he slept in our bed and on the third night we refused to let him so he cried...and cried...and cried some more. He spent a little over an hour in the playpen in our room with me going over and trying to calm him every 10 minutes before he finally gave in and fell asleep.

I had been so adament about them never sharing our bed but I have discovered that sometimes having a baby come into our bed in the middle of the night trumps being up with four screaming babies because one has woken up the other three. Invididually they have only slept in our bed a handful of times when they have been sick, stuffy or recovering from surgery but collectively it seems like it has been a lot. Call me selfish but I like sleeping without a little bed hog. I mean they take up more room then a full grown adult!

Over the past year I have learned there are things worth sticking to my guns on and things that are not worth being so strict about. I was very determined to have the bottles gone by one year old and we met this goal very easily. The pacifiers were supposed to be gone by one too but they are still getting them at bed time. Hey, can I count their adjusted age? :)

Let me tell you if you ever have a preemie in the NICU your thoughts on things are greatly influenced by the fact that the doctors and nurses scare the crap out of you about safety and SIDS. In the 11 years that I have done daycare I never thought twice about giving a baby a blanket to cover up during the winter months. To this day the babies have never used a blanket other than their swaddles or sleep sacks. They are getting ready to out grow the latest set so we are trying to make the decision as to whether to buy bigger ones or give them blankets to keep warm this winter.

Car seat safety has always been a big one for me. I have always made sure all the kids riding with me were restrained in age appropriate seats or seatbelts but have always followed the one year and 20 lbs turn forward facing rule. After much research and information from our doctor and NICU staff we have chosen to keep them rear facing until 2 years old or until they outgrow the manufacturers guidelines for height or weight.

The entire time I was pregnant I was adament that I would never dress the boys matching. At my shower I was less than thrilled to recieve many sets of threes but over time I have discovered that I like to match them once in awhile. I tend to dress them coordinating most days and other days I have them in just random outfits but it is cute to see them dressed alike other days.

I have stood my ground on is them putting themselves to sleep. I get to spend the entire day with them every day so they get plenty of cuddle time but bed time is bed time and they are put down awake each night into their cribs to put themselves to sleep. I vowed not to be the mom that has to rock each of her children to sleep each night until they are five.