Nighttime changes

Luke had his first ever dental cleaning and exam on Aug. 27th. He was absolutely awesome, which came as a total shock to me. Until recently he would hardly let someone see inside his mouth, let alone actually do some work! What did not come as a surprise was the concern the hygienist and dentist had about his teeth and the roof of his mouth - both of which have been considerably altered by his nighttime thumb sucking. We've tried various methods over the last few months to break the habit, all to no avail. The dentist said that when Luke's a little older we could try a couple of different dental devices in an effort to force him to quit, but we decided not to wait that long. Enter... the ThumbGuards! Far more expensive than the cayenne pepper nail polish (which Luke thought was delicious), but we are having great success with this new device (and we suspect it's far less expensive than anything the dentist -- and later the orthodontist -- would try). Around our house the ThumbGuards are referred to affectionately as "thumbs" or "Super Spidey Web Shooters". Whatever works, right?

Luke loves them!

Another change -- and a MUST -- sleeping through the night! Both boys have been waking up for months around 3am. They're either having nightmares, can't sleep, or just wanting to snuggle. We tried sticker charts and warnings of spankings, but they were still waking up almost every night. Finally an idea hit me three nights ago - the age old incentive of bribery. Stay in your own bed all night and don't get up till after the sun and you get a coin. Get up in the night and you'll owe me a coin - and one for each time you get up! After the first night, Luke owed me two coins (I selected pennies) and Zachary earned one coin (the genius selected a quarter). Luke cried even though he has no idea what a penny can buy (or a million dollars for that matter!). The following two nights both boys have earned coins! Zach even had to get up this morning before the sun to blow his nose, and he took care of it himself without waking me. Evidently Zach is either not greedy or not a genius because he has since chosen one other quarter and a dime. Luke picked two dimes. Even if I paid them both a quarter a day for sleeping all night, it's a worthwhile investment. Little do my sweet boys know, this incentive is for a limited time only. Just long enough to show them that they can survive through the night without Mommy snuggles.

But when I look at these bedtime faces I wonder why... why would I want to go through the night without their snuggles? Oh yes... SLEEP.