Our Bed Time Saga

I have always felt good about our sleep training tactics. Jason and I have worked very hard to give all four of our kids the skills to be good sleepers - they have only slept in their cribs, know how to soothe themselves back to sleep and nap really well! Quin transitioned beautifully out of her crib into a toddler bed. Somehow I had lulled myself into thinking that it would be that easy with the triplets. Not so much!

About two weeks ago the triplets decided that they didn't want to stay in their cribs anymore :( They have been able to climb out of their cribs for months, but with their sleep bags on it hasn't been worth their effort, until now... The three of them are in cahoots together! If left to their own device, they will stay up for at least an hour and a half after bedtime. And, if I don't watch the monitor close enough, this is a taste to what I will walk into: (They were all sleeping, so I went to brush my teeth. It was a matter of 5 minutes, max!)
They love to pull every last piece of clothing out of their drawers. I had to laugh this time because Ellery's sleep sack got stuck under the drawer and she couldn't get out. Easton did try to help her, but Gianna just acted as if there wasn't anything wrong with this situation. UGH!

At first I was curious to watch what they would do without anyone 'watching'. The one and only time that we did not interupt their shenanigans they played tag, hid in their closet, opened their shutters, climbed into each other's crib... They also had a great deal of fun rocking together in their chair - they would rock altogether and then the girls would push Easton out and laugh and laugh. I was able to catch some of their actions on video, from the monitor. Gianna tired out the fastest, but wouldn't climb back into bed (who knows why!). Easton and Ellery rubbed her back and gave her kisses as she screamed for me - really, very sweet indeed!!!

The 'fun' of this tired quickly for Jason and I! So, we have worked hard the past few days to get Easton's room ready enough to move him out of their shared space. He has slept in his (very stripped down) room for three nights now, alone. Although the three babes are falling asleep better, Jason still needs to stand in the hall and police their crib hopping for at least a half an hour. We are hoping that the fun of this wears off and we can return back to normal. We do not have the toddler railings for their cribs yet, and I would like to keep them in their cribs as long as possible.
To be continued...