Victory!!!

We have succeeded in a battle of wills with our 9 1/2 month old son. He is FINALLY sleeping through the night! Last night he went to sleep by 8:00 and slept until 3:00, nursed, went right back to sleep until 6:30, nursed, and slept until 7:30. This has been going on 3 nights in a row now! AWESOME. SO much better than him waking up every 45 minutes!! We are happy happy people around here.

We realized the problem with our method was that we weren't doing it right! Instead of laying him down in his crib, leaving, and checking on him/briefly soothing every few minutes, we were staying in there until he went back to sleep, then sneaking out. BIG no no. So we started doing it the right way, and he slept through the night the first night! Granted he fought pretty hard the first night (we were checking on him for an hour) but it worked! He slept 5 straight hours the first night.

The method is this: Half hour bedtime routine, EXACT same every night. Then we lay him down in his crib awake. We give him 5 minutes of crying then go in (when we go in, we simply lay him back down in his crib and tell him we love him and it's time to go to sleep.) then we give him 10 minutes, then we give him 15, and then we go in every 15 minutes after that until he's asleep. He rarely makes it through the first 15 minute interval before he's passed out. And he also takes much better naps because of sleeping through the night. Usually between 1 and 2 hours. He used to sleep for only 35 or 40 minutes for his naps. Also, since he started sleeping better, he eats A LOT more food during the day. Our little guy is growing up.

We are the happiest people alive. I feel like I have my life back. I'm a new person, and so is our little guy! I would encourage everybody to at least try this method. Every kid is different I know, but I know a lot of moms who this has worked for. And if my kid can do it, your kid most likely can, too. It took a lot of patience and commitment, but it was so worth it.

Good luck to everybody who is dealing with some battle of wills with your kids. I feel for you!

Puppy Love

I know that I must be completely insane for thinking of getting a dog when I have a 9 month old son who doesn't sleep. BUT someday, I would LOVE one of these babies. I grew up with dogs from the time I was a baby. We had many many breeds come and go in our house. Some I can't really stand, some I'm indifferent to, and some I LOVED. While this is not the time in our lives for a dog, someday we'll be ready to bring one of these gorgeous guys home and make him part of the family. I think dogs teach kids about responsibility, how to be kind to animals, and lots of other good stuff. But I don't think I'll be bringing home a puppy until my last child is sleeping through the night and can walk without being run over completely. So maybe like two or something. And also, the oldest has to be able to scoop up poop and take the dog on walks, etc. Anyways. I've been daydreaming about these beautiful dogs. A Blue Weimereiner. They're great with kids, great guard/watch dogs, very loyal. And smart. What more could you ask for?