On vacation, forced to switch to beds!

So we are on vacation in Reno at my parents house. The kids normally sleep in PnP's and everything is usually goes very smoothly..... WELL NOT THIS TIME! :nea: The kids had other plans apparently.
Set up....
Cast of characters: Me, Ali, Martin and Divot (dog)
Wake: 4:45 a.m.
Depart house for Trip 6:30 a.m.
Flight time: 9:38 a.m.
Actual flight departure: 10:40 a.m.
Gate changes: 1 (from one end of the concourse to the opposite end)
Snotty customer service agents: 2
Arrive in Reno: 12:00 p.m. (lose one hr.)

So, I put them down for their nap the day we arrive around 2:00 p.m. They are exhausted and beyond tired, but as soon as I put them in there they jump out of the pack n plays like they are merely a bump in the road. They have opened drawers and dispersed the contents. It's really a little funny, but I'm so tired I can't see the humor in it!

3:30 p.m. - give up on naps, they'll go to bed early
8:00 p.m.- (missed early bedtime) time for bed - climb out, my Dad and I had proofed the room, so it was not going to be as fun. He suggests I leave them in there for a little while and then go in and settle them again. So that's what I do. Finally go in and try to simmer them down. That's not working and I'm SO tired. Finally, I lay on the floor by the door to let them know that I am there and everytime they try to escape I foil their plot! Working like a charm on Ali, Martin is beside himself and can no longer soothe himself or cope with life.

They finally give up around 9:00 or so and I sneak out of the room and go to bed myself. AAAAAhhhhhh. Relief, lying down, long day.
9:30 - turn off light in room
1:25 a.m. - Kids wake up screaming. "Too dark" "too dark" they are OUT of their PnP's! Stumbling around - keep putting them back in. Screaming, crying, Ali's trying to sleep and soothe herself but Martin's beside himself. Some of the crying is ME! I'm SO tired, I'm sobbing to them and begging them to go to sleep. I'm scaring the children, must pull myself together! Don't want to scar them for life!
3:30 - Call husband in DC - he'll be getting up soon. Cry to husband on phone.
4:30 - still haven't slept, eating rice krispies in kitchen. They think it's time to get up.
5:00 a.m. - SILENCE! At last - I'm thinking they'll sleep till like 9:00 or 10:00, right? WRONG!!!
5:45 a.m. - Give up, get them up and turn on cartoons in the family room and give them some breakfast.
6:15 - drink coffee with dad - he's leaving to play golf soon, no relief
7:00 - load up and head to walmart to get the stuff we need while we are there. The ONLY time of day to shop at walmart!
8:00 - Shopping heads off, UH OH....drank coffee, must take care of business - but cart's full and kids aren't wearing shoes! What was I thinking? Panic sets in, must go to bathroom. What to do? OH NO! Take kids into family bathroom barefooted! HORROR, the grody factor is about 300 on a scale that only goes to 100! Resolve to wash feet when we arrive home.
Back to the house.
10:00 time for naps! I can no longer see straight and am fairly certain that I am a danger to myself and others
11:00 they FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY give up! I sneak out and get myself prepped for nap at about 12:00 - we all sleep till 2:00 or so.

Strategy session with Dad results in the movement of furniture and putting of bedrails together. Resolve that if they sleep on the floor, so be it! Don't really care! Frankly, they could sleep hanging from the ceiling like bats as long as they sleep!

Time for bed: 7:30 - they are messing around and throwing their stuff off the bed. I can hear Martin coaxing Ali to get down off the bed. Good girl! She refuses. She cries. I go in to "re-cozy" the troops. They seem happy in the beds, this might work!
8:00 - all is quiet on the Northern Front. Kids are actually asleep! First night in beds! (Wasn't supposed to happen till I got home).
9:00 - sneak in and cozy the troops, turn off the light (hoping for a sleep in!)
Afraid to go to sleep, just know they are going to wake up soon. All will be ruined!

12:00 a.m. - Alarm clock keeps going off and fuzzy Mexican music is playing, why does it do that. OH! Seems to stop when I hit the bar on top. Hmmm. What's going on?
12:10 - There's that fuzzy mexican music again - why does it do that? Too tired to figure it out.
12:20 - Music, still fuzzy, still mexican sounding
12:30 - Musica (now I'm speaking Spanish), still fuzzy....you get the picture.
12:40 - Ai Caliente, Musica! Mui Bueno!
12:50 - WHY is this music playing again? What's going on? Sooooo tired. Can't imagine why this is happening.
1:00 a.m. - Decide to potty and this wakes me up enough to decide to sleuth the music issue. OH! The alarm clock is on! THAT must be why! Turn on light. Dog's NOT happy about that! Fix the clock for good! HA! I win! Long battle, I declare victory!

3:30 a.m. - Screaming, CRYING - TOO DARK, TOO DARK (Oh crap! I had a feeling that would bite me back!)
Soothe DD, she's ready to sleep, good. Lay on floor in room so I know when she's sleeping, can turn light off - really angling for a sleep in here! She's breathing steady, ok, she's asleep! Turn off light and BAM! "WWWAAHHHHHHH!!!! LIGHT ON! LIGHT ON!" Ok, ok, YOU win. Declare defeat, leave light on and leave the room.
4:00 a.m. back to sleep. AAAHHHH sleep!
5:45 a.m. - Troops wake! TOO EARLY, please, no! NEEEEEDDD MORE SLEEP! Haven't been this desperate since around 12 weeks old! Let them play, they are safe!
6:00 a.m. - Dad goes in and gets the kids! YAY GRAMPY!! SAVES THE DAY!!! They go out and play with Grampy and come back and forth, forcing me to not really go back to sleep - but hey, I'm not tending to the children - pillows are a "good thing"!
6:45 a.m. - force myself to extricate from the bed. Ok, fine I'm up. Better than yesterday! Things are looking up!

12:30 p.m. - naptime. Kids are actually excited to get in their beds. Talking and coaxing, but no screaming or crying.
12:40 p.m. - it's QUIET! Can it really be?
3:30 p.m. - Hubby's here now and we have had lunch, hit the grocery and I have written this exhaustively long thread that NO ONE will get to the bottom of!

8) DECLARE VICTORY! For now...we'll see how night two goes! :good:

What? You're still reading this?! I can't believe it! (Thanks!) Now, go get your life back!

 

OH my gosh...here I am planning on traveling with my twins next summer....I might just rethink that! LOL I am on bed rest...I will read anything!


I hope the rest of your trip is a little more restful.

Missy

 

:rotflmbo: :rotflmbo: :rotflmbo:


I got to the bottom of it, and as MUCH as I feel sorry for you, I am laughing my A$$ off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck the rest of the trip!! I hope they sleep for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HUGS!

 

That was by far the best book I have read in a while. :laughing: Seriously - I felt your exhaustion, frustration and joy. Believe it or not, I read the WHOLE entire thing. Diane, I hope they get used to the beds and you get a lot more sleep!!! :hug99:

 

:laughing: :hug99: Diane, that was hilarious!! I hope you all get some rest!

 

I made it to the bottom also. I thoroughly enjoyed it after a long day myself!

 

QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Aug 31 2007, 10:40 PM) [snapback]388282[/snapback]
[/color][/b]What? You're still reading this?! I can't believe it! (Thanks!) Now, go get your life back!




I admit, I skipped to the end pretty much, but your title cracked me right up!!
:rotflmbo: Sorry you're having a hard time!

 

better print that one off and save it for their high school graduation party, or some other time when everyone needs a good laugh. THAT was soo funny to read, but not funny to live. Hope they get some good sleep for you tonight and all is better soon! I did read the whole thing outloud to DH. We both loved the story.

 

:rofl: that is HILARIOUS!!! ok, well, i'm sure you didn't find it hilarious in the moment, but you can see the humor now, right? right?

so - is the plan to put them in beds when you get home? enjoy the rest of your vacation!

 

OMG Diane, I feel so bad for you, but your post was absolutely hilarious. :rotflmbo: And I did read the whole thing!!!

I hope things improve for you! :hug99:

 

OMG that was so so so funny! :rotflmbo: :rotflmbo: :rotflmbo: I hope it gets better for you, but if not tell us all about it! I was seriously almost crying with the mexican music thing!

 

I read the whole thing too. Hilarious! I am impressed that you can have a sense of humor about it already. :rotflmbo: Here's hoping the next day goes a lot better. (And I'm also hoping Amy doesn't decide to climb out of her PNP for the first time when we're on vacation next week!)

 

We went on vacation last month with the ILs and aside from them actually climbing out of the PNPs, the week (10 days) was pretty much the same for me. I had to keep them quiet b/c the ILs & DH were trying to sleep. They were up at 4:30am EVERY DAY (after waking between 10pm-1am and coming to bed with me for lack of any other options). It was the most miserable vacation I have ever been on.

I totally empathize with you. Hope it all improves!

 

Well, they are in there right now bouncing off the walls..... we'll see what happens! At least DH is here tonight and can do middle of the night duty! :blink:

The plan when we get home is to put them in their toddler beds that I bought at the MOMS sale last weekend, but I might have to bust my buns to get them in separate rooms! They are feeding off of each other and I'm thinking that if they didn't have each other they might sleep better! (BUT....that brings the question of whether they will get on different schedules and same schedules has been a saving grace for me!) I have some time to think about it, but it's not looking good for them staying together for very long! :diablo:

Thanks for reading my saga. Trying to paste it into my blog, but can't remember my password! Time to create one on TS I guess!

 

i didn't read it all, but my kids ended up in the bed with me and dh every night on vacation...yes, EVERYNIGHT...so much for a vacation anyways, when we got home, they settled right back in like we'd never been gone.

 

That wore me out Diane! I hope things go well on day 2! Good luck

 

8:34 p.m. - quiet (declare small victory)

New question, will they be IN their beds or out?

 

Oh my! That was hysterical :rotflmbo:

*note to self: buy pnp crib tents for week at beach with in-laws!

 

Oh.. sorry to laugh.. but this is good humor in the morning! I hope it gets better!

 

So how did it go? We had a rough go of things at my brother's house last weekend. NO SLEEP (early mornings, late late nights, and catnaps in the car). We are finally back on schedule. So I feel your pain. And 5:45am wakings are normal in this house. Stinks huh?

As for getting the kids into separate bedrooms, if you can, go for it. B&H are in separate bedrooms and so we don't have that issue of them feeding off of each other. And they are still on the same schedule, which is nice, so that part has never been an issue.

 

Well, it just took an hour and 20 min. to get them down for naps!

I left them to their devices for a while - so we could eat lunch in peace. Well, they figured out how to get the door open to the closets! It looks like a big styrofoam monster threw up in there. They grabbed a piece of styrofoam and just went to town. Thankfully, they didn't pull all the clothes off the hangers etc. Could have been much worse! PHEW! Dodged a bullet there!

MINOR DEFEAT!

So, I put them back in their beds and went to get a bungy to tie the closet shut. Then I sat there and didn't talk to them. Just put them back every time they emerged from their beds. Then Martin flipped over the rail somehow and landed on a soft pallet. STUCK THE LANDING! (Just kidding) Put him back in his bed. The DH heard him wailing and crying and begging so he caved and came in and gave him hugs and tried to get him to lie down and sleep. NO GO. So he finally left and I laid on the floor breathing very steadily (got sleepy! might nap) and they eventually gave up and went to sleep!!

DECLARE VICTORY!

We are going to dinner to celebrate our Anniversary tonight. (6 yrs. today!) so it'll be interesting to see if they are still awake when we get home! We postponed our overnight outing because of the beds and not sleeping etc..... we'll do it in a week when they are settled.

Thanks for reading my saga!! :hug99:

 

Oh Diane I'm sitting here laughing so hard because we just did this on vacation! It was awful I was so exhausted! In three days I slept like 3-4hrs total.
Twice I found Maddox in the bathtub with the water running!! Buck naked from the waist down and Burke was just watching! Thankfully he only turned on the cold. 2 nights I'd gone down stairs and back up 10 ish times. I had no way to lock them in. They got out of the porta cribs over and over again. They tore open drawers. Threw jewelry all over the place. Put ear plugs in their ears. Took diapers off. Climbed in each others cribs. It WAS AWFUL! I was sooo kicking myself for not getting portable crib tents. So we decided if we went away again and they still fit in the portables we'd spend the money on the cribs. I soo hope you get sleep soon. On the drive home they ended up having 103 fevers and cried for 5 hrs. I needed a vacation from my vacation.

 

I was crying from the discription. I think I have taken that vacation, or some variation of it when we went to Crayola. Lots of fun, but too tired to see straight by the end.
OH I have sympathy, empathy and a big hug for you. ") :hug99:

 

Ooooh, you're making me scared for Thanksgiving at my parents' house, which I am already having angst about, 3 months in advance! I am trying to decide whether to drag the PnPs at all because I figure they can climb out of them too easily (they haven't slept in them since last Christmas) and they take up SO much room in the car. But they haven't ever slept in beds, either. Eek! My mom has a trundle bed in there, so I'm considering just going for it and putting them in the trundle together but OMG I am terrified! And your story certainly did NOTHING to ease my fears! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.

Anyway Diane, you have a great sense of humor about the whole thing! Sleep deprivation always makes me punchy, too. :laughing: Good thing those kids are so cute, huh?

 

What a funny OP!!!
the saga with the alarm clock had me LOL!!

I truly believe in times like that, having a sense of humor is the only thing that will get you through it!!!

 

OMG - I'm sorry about your vacation but the saga was too funny!

 

:cray: Diane, you are really frightening me! :cray:

PS - Since this isn't about me - I-hope-you-get-to-sleep-soon-this-brings-new-meaning-to-"So-tired-I-can't-see-straight!"

 

We're leaving on vacation tomorrow -- I am so scared now! Especially after the night we just had (Amy throwing up, I slept about 2 hrs). Fortunately the house has 1 crib, and we're bringing Amy's PNP, which she has never YET climbed out of.

Anyway, it sounds like things are looking up -- hope you're having a nice anniversary dinner!

 

I have enjoyed reading your saga. I hope your Anniversary dinner goes well and that you get some rest during the vacation.

 

Hope your anniversary dinner went well.

 

Read the whole thing and loved your humor. Hoping you have more sleepful days ahead.

Would a night light help?

 

Sorry you are having problems. When the boys were 21 months we went on vacation, and we had a PNP and a crib, since we knew Jon could climb out of a PNP, he got the crib--which until that day had never climbed out of, and guess what--he popped out! So, my parents and I left DH and his parents at the house and we bought a crib tent--the best thing we did!

When the boys were 2 years 5 months, we switched them to beds at home in prep for going to grandmas since we knew they wouldn't stay in the PNP's, so beds were our only other option. The other thing I would try is sleeping bags, for some reason, kids LOVE a sleeping bag!

 

What a horrid start to your holiday, I am so sorry. But I do have tears in my eyes from reading that. :rotflmbo: I so hope they're sleeping perfectly again already.

Although, given that I leave for the airport in 5 hours to go stay, alone, with my parents who have already set up the PnP's ... I have no idea why I'm laughing!

(where's that smiley gone where the little pink thing slaps himself on the head - doh)

 

Well, things are looking up! They've been up a little late the last two nights, so bedtime hasn't been a struggle. Today, I "cozied" them on the floor on the comforter that was folded up for a "soft landing" (worked! Martin tested it once...)

They get a little wild at first, but then when I go back in to the room the next time, they are ready to lie down. Tonight Ali wanted in the bed and Martin the comforter on the floor! To each his own!! Just sleep...thanks!!

They are sleeping through the night so that's good!! PHEW!!

I didn't get PnP tents because we are putting them in beds when we get home, so it wasn't worth the investment. (PS I have a crib tent to sell!)

Also, we are staying for a while so it's all working out in the end! OH! The REALLY GOOD NEWS? I have gotten to play tennis TWICE since I arrived!! WOOO HOOOO!!!

Good night! Sleep tight!!

OH! The night light suggestion. We put a green bulb in the lamp and put foil all around the shade and a towel over that, so that is our night light and they LOVE LOVE LOVE the green light!! Declare VICTORY!!!

 

Diane, thank you for that! You always know how to put a smile on my face! Plus, I have been traveling all summer so I can definitely relate!

I am glad that in the end, even with all the trouble, they seem to have trained themselves into beds! :yahoo:

You give new meaning to "bite the bullet!" :laughing: