And Let the Crazy Begin...

I love my son. More than anything in the world, I love my son. He's beautiful, and fuzzy, and cuddly, and amazing. He just recently learned to giggle, and has started to get the hang of this amazing thing called rolling over. His smile engulfs his whole face, and he has the most incredible eyes of anyone I've ever met. He makes me feel so complete, and looking into his face, I see every hope and dream I've ever had fall away into meaningless drivel.

HOWEVER, he's a terrible napper. Yes, I'm very blessed that most nights (like 3 out of every 5) he goes 8 hours before waking up hungry, but getting him there is not an easy feat. He eats between 7:30 and 8 pm, then bath, jammies, and what's supposed to be bedtime. But here's the catch. He doesn't "wanna" sleep. So, we rock and cuddle and sing and coo and rock for an hour, sometimes more, and if we lay him down before he's completely passed out, he wakes up mad.

He also doesn't nap unless someone is holding him, or his boppy is wrapped around him. He also won't nap in his crib. So, he's out in the living room, either being held or listening to us. I can't help but think that these living room naps aren't enough. That we're doing him a disservice by holding him.

I really think he'd sleep a lot better during the day if he could sleep in his room, in his crib.

Thus and therefore, I am going to start "training" this little boy to fall asleep on his own. He knows his routine, and he knows when it's naptime. However, he doesn't like to nap, so he cries in my arms anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes before finally falling asleep. Honestly, if he's going to be grumpy anyway, he might as well be grumpy in his bed so I can get something accomplished.

He's ready, D and I are MORE than ready. So, here they come.

The sleep chronicles.

I'm going to keep this blog updated with how easy or hard it is to teach this little boy, complete with details on how we do what we do and the techniques and emotions and everything that happens.

I know many mothers out there believe that sleep training is cruel, but I do not let my baby cry for hours on end. Minutes, yes. He will not go un-acknowledged, ignored, or abused. He will know he's loved. His needs will be met. I promise.