Never, ever declare STTN after just one day of STTN

You'd think I'd know this by now. It's like saying, "Thank goodness it hasn't rained yet," and then the sky opens up. Or, "My this traffic is going so smoothly for 4:30 p.m. on Friday," and then there's a 5-mile back-up.
The same is true for prematurely declaring that your 8-month-old twin boys who had once been wonderful sleepers, but were derailed by illnesses and unavoidable developmental stuff, were now sleeping through the night (STTN). As soon as I did that yesterday, both Cary and Dean woke up not once but twice each last night! Twice. EACH. And despite our desire to let them "work it out" (which we like better than "cry it out"), I totally caved after an hour and gave them both bottles around 3 a.m.
Bad, bad Mommy!!
We'd changed their diapers and their little jammies because both were super-wet and that didn't calm them. I rocked Dean; Lester patted Cary's little back. Nothing was working. I was desperate.
And then, to make matters worse, I kept hearing the sitter's voice in my head as she told me that neither boy had much interest in formula all day yesterday. So my Mommy-anxiety made me think that perhaps they were hungry. Poor little wriggly worms! Crying of starvation!! Wasting away in their cribs! Stomach acid churning, eating mercilessly at their tiny tummies!
Now you see why I had to do it! I was murdering my children!
(Sidenote: My cousin, Nicole, who has a gorgeous 5-year-old daughter, told me long ago that she was not prepared for the sheer anxiety that parenting brought. I had no idea how bad it could be until Cary and Dean came along. In fact, most days, I go back and forth between anxiety and guilt -- and on really bad days, they both team up against me. Nicole says this does not get better as they get older. Seeing as how she was right the first time, I'm inclined to believe her.)

Anyway, I'll never know if they really were hungry, or if I just gave them another hash mark in the "Two crying babies at 3 a.m. = WIN; sleepy and anxious Mommy = LOSE" column.
But at the end of the day (literally), Mommies have to do what Mommies have to do.
Because this is not a sprint, folks, but a long, long cross-country marathon. And in the end, Mommies who love, love, love their babies always win.

Another sidenote: Lest you think my babies are non-STTN tyrants, I need to report that this morning, after they were changed and fed, I put Cary in Dean's crib with a bunch of toys and the two of them played together!! Beautifully! It was so awesome, I couldn't believe it. Lester was able to go out and shovel our front walk and cars, and I was able to shower, make breakfast, and get dressed for work -- all while they played. Together! This is my consolation prize for last night, I know it. And it's a pretty darn good one, if you ask me!

Here they are in the crib together!