A Bunch of Love with Twins!: Using the Ferber Method with Twins: Days 5-7

Continuation of Ferberization! The journey to better sleep for everyone!

Day 5 | 15 min (1st wait), 17 min, 20 min, 20 min (subsequent waits)
This was the first day I was without David for support. Their naps were still sporadic, especially in the late afternoon...they'd seem tired (rubbing eyes, yawning, not playing as much) but when I'd put them down, they'd just cry and cry until the nap was "over". BUT bedtime was awesome. We went upstairs and I let them play with me on the bed and just wind down. We did bedtime routine and I put them down at 6:50. Clare fell asleep damn near instantly...there was like 5 mins of intermitted crying but nothing to warrant the start of a timer. AMAZING! Jack took a bit longer, about 20 mins of squeaking...again not full blown crying so not enough to start a timer. I didn't even need the giant glass of wine I poured for myself (although, lets be honest...I drank it anyway) or my parents who I put 'on call' in case I was in for another hour of relentless crying and needed a hug.
PHEW! In Ferber's book he says that by day 3-4 their sleep should dramatically improve, and although this is only the 2nd day where there was significant improvement, I have a feeling we're absolutely doing the right thing. GO BABIES, YOU ROCK!
**I should also say that the last two days Clare has woken up chatting in her crib, happy as a clam. And this morning Jack woke up super calm and happy too (which he never does, since he doesn't like waking up on his belly, usually. The lil weirdo haha)

Day 6 | 17 min (1st wait), 20 min, 25 min, 25 min (subsequent waits)
Today was another reminder that their naps are tricky, but I think I'm spotting a pattern. Jack needs long morning naps and can stay up much later in the late afternoon. Clare likes shorter naps (30-45 mins) and needs 4. Jack maybe can just do 3? I used to feel really confident with their daytime and dreaded bedtime, and now it's opposite! This night they fell asleep after maybe 2 minutes of crying. I mean, barely anything. It was more like "HEY! You're leaving?! ZZZZZzzzZZZZ" Jack did wake up after about an hour of nodding off, I think something just spooked him though because he woke up crying but fell back asleep before my first timer went off. Good job, bud!
Also, Clare woke up at like 6am (boo for that!) and was crying, but heard her cries turn into babbling so I left her. She woke up again at 730, the normal wake up time and had a crazy diaper blow out. All over her, her jammies, the sheet...meh. She still woke up smiling and happy so I didn't feel toooo bad (read: I felt horrible). But still, they fell asleep so fast, on their own and stayed that way all night. Despite getting spooked and making righteous goo.

Day 7 | 20 min (1st wait), 25 min, 30 min, 30 min (subsequent waits)
This day, the day that the program "technically" ends (although Ferber writes that even if there is just slight improvement, continue on until Day 10) was miraculous. All FOUR naps happened at the same time, for good amounts of time (i.e. 45-1 hour long) with ZERO crying. There's some babbling, some baby dinosaur sounds (Jack...) and such, but I look at that as totally normal. I don't fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow. Usually I'm on my phone or reading a book or watching tv, etc etc. So they can talk and babble all they want, because boy does it sound so much better than an hour of screaming!
This is the 3rd day I've noticed they've both needed a nap around 8:30, which is awesome since I was hoping this program would help me regulate their naps.
They sleep so great through the night still, and only wake up around 4am to eat. I do give them a dream feed around 10pm as well. They are still exclusively breastfed (and in the 1st and 4th percentile for their age) so the fact that they eat at night still doesn't bother me at all.
If you had asked me a week ago if my babies could fall asleep without being rocked, without a pacifier, without waking up in the middle of the night for comfort I would have said no friggin way. This week they have shown me to never underestimate them...they are little powerhouses and if I just have some faith in them, they can exceed my expectations :)

Final Thoughts

I am just so infinitely proud of Jack and Clare (and let's be honest, David and myself). I have told myself again and again that sleeping is a skill and we as parents need to help our babies figure it out early for the sake and sanity of everyone. Already, I'm not daunted by doing bedtime by myself anymore--in fact I look forward to it! The babes seem happier when they're awake, and can go longer between feedings during the day. And at night, since they only wake up once to eat, I'm finally sleeping longer than 3 hour blocks at a time.
They don't fall asleep with pacifiers anymore it's true, but we still have them/use them sporadically if they're being cranky when we're out. We definitely try to steer clear of using them to assist in falling asleep (this was thrown out the window yesterday during church when both babes wanted to babble and talk while going to sleep. So in went the pacis!)
Clare doesn't sleep with any kind of swaddling (her Magic Sleepsuit, the swing, the giant papasan chair we brought down, which is basically like a giant nest for her haha). She used to always wake up from Jack crying (she's so much more of a light sleeper) as well, but now it doesn't seem to bother her. So not only do David and I have our evenings back, our twins are falling asleep easier and staying asleep better. Can I get a hallelujah?!