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Marcus was with us from his first day out of the hospital, so he was pretty much like any other newborn and had "normal" newborn sleep habits and patterns. He was a blissfully good (easy) baby.

Mercy and Des came to us at ages 9 and 6. They were not adopted internationally, but their lives were not turned upside down much less than our kids that were adopted internationally. The one benefit that they had was language, and that we could talk about things.

They had always slept together (often even in the same bed) so we set them up a room together (bunk beds). Although they were way too big to fit two of them in one bed, we often found them crawled into the same bed in those early months, as they just needed that extra security.

I found that while the girls were often happy, busy and doing well during the day, that it was at nighttime that things tended to “catch up with them”. I started “girl chit chat” at bedtime, where I would tuck everyone in, and then go into the girls’ room and lay on the floor so we could chat. In the early days it was always about adoption, their birth family, the things that they were homesick for, their feelings, etc. We had a good amount of tears in those early days too. Gradually I noticed that we were talking less and less about adoption stuff and more and more about tv shows, school, boys, etc, and that they were milking it for a later bedtime.  That is when I started cutting it back (although it lasted for a good 4-6 months).

That extra security of having me in their room at bedtime and being able to talk about the things on their mind helped them clear their heads and get a good sleep, and now both girls sleep alone and are great sleepers.

Benjamin came home at age 5 ½ and was used to sleeping in a crowded room with lots of other kids. We quickly came to find that Ben sleeps like a rock, no matter what is going on around him. A hug and a kiss and a “good night” and the boy is out in minutes, and he sleeps all night long like a LOG. We put him in the bedroom right off of ours which he shares with Marcus, and there are nights I go in there and Marcus is crying or yelling or doing something else like a 2 year old, and Ben never even flinches.

Ben adjusted so easily and smoothly to our family and his new life, and his sleep patterns were no exception.

Like with just about everything else, Ben was an easy sleeper from the very beginning and continues to be great about going to bed and sleeping. He now runs down stairs with me and says goodnight to all of his siblings, and then runs upstairs before me and the little ones and “hides” so he can scare us. Marcus and Belane make a huge deal out of “finding Ben” and then letting him scare them.

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