The Norris Family

We've been working on a serious sleep program with the babies for the past seven days. You could say that Passover had a whole new meaning for me (Dawn) this year. Each year, I look forward to Passover, Opening Day, and Daylight Savings at Springtime. They give meaning to the phrase "hope springs eternal". I had been "hoping" for the last 11 months to catch more than 4 hours of sleep at a clip. We (parents and babies) had lost hope... We were tired, exhausted, grumpy, and miserable. Not every moment has been bad - even with sleep deprivation the babies are AMAZING. But, there had to be more to life with infants 11 months into it, than this!

I sought sanctity on the Internet - I found it. I did. The program we have been instituting is called Sleep Sense by Dana Obleman and it cost $47 for a pdf that we downloaded. I had a glimmer of hope, printed all 150 pages of it out, put it in my bedroom and it sat, and sat, and sat since the first week of February until last week. I read it and we were ready to try this program that involves letting the baby cry, with a parent in the room (plan A) or leave and check (plan B). I was more comfortable with plan A so in we lept. The first night, both babies slept through the night. Ainsley has slept through the night every night for the last 6 nights (tonight is night 7). It is a gradual program where the parent moves incrementally towards the door then removes themselves from the room. It's been stressful emotionally and mentally, but they take two solid naps a day and are sleeping through the night (Gabs usually needs a diaper change and then she's back to sleep). This is what we needed, personally, as parents. Everyone told us to let them cry it out, but something didn't sit right with me particularly about this approach. And, with twins, it's twice the crying. I needed to know HOW to let them cry it out, I needed a plan, I needed reassurance, I needed a navigator. This book/program is doing it. Google: sleep sense by dana obleman for more information or to purchase it for yourself online. It also comes with a workbook to track things day to day. It makes no promise of this program being easy - its WORK, it requires persistance, consistency, a strong will (stronger than the infant's will), and patience. But it is working for us and I wanted to share it with anyone else who hasn't slept more than 16 hours in a WEEK COMBINED for months due to a non-sleeping infant. The most important thing I learned is that the babies need to learn how to put themselves to sleep. The longer an infant goes without it the worse it is in the long term - resulting in ADHD, learning disabilities, bad health, the list goes on. And simply teaching them how to sooth themselves is a huge step in the right direciton. Oh, and the babies are booth pacifier free - we cut them from it cold turkey when we started the program as one of the recommendations. They haven't missed their "passies" and we haven't missed trying to keep track of them, keep them from Ruby, our dog (who loved to destroy them!), and they have better appetites as well!

As you can see from the photos below they are beautiful in their dresses thanks to their Great Aunt Julia and Second Cousin Holli from California. There are plenty more gorgeous gowns for these girls to try on so more pics will be forthcoming once I can find more time to do a fashion show with them and a photo shoot. But, they were so pleased to be princesses for an hour and I was thrilled to photograph them! Remember, you can make the pics bigger by clicking on the image that you would like to view in larger format.

As for Adam and I we are hanging in there. A date night would be nice once the new program is achieved. We've been on one date, in a restaurant, since the babies arrived. We are hoping to get away for a few nights in August for our 5 year wedding anniversary. Adam is working a new deal right now and is also looking for a new assistant so if anyone knows of someone who wants to work in finance and has solid administrative experience, please email Adam a resume.

I just got back from Sundance two weeks ago and my mom, aunt Trish and uncle Steve kindly watched the babies with Nanny G for the week as Adam and my dad were at Golf School in Florida at the same time. I attended a photographic workshop by National Geographic photographer, Nevada Weir. It was phenomenal and I learned so much. AND, I slept some:) It was refreshing to get away for a little bit and recharge. The group I was with was made up of incredible individuals and I will never forget the experience.

We hope you all have a wonderful start to the spring (and maybe we might even be blessed with some warm weather!).
Hugs and Love,
Dawn, Adam, Gabby, Ainsley, Honeycomb, and Ruby Lou