A tale of getting a baby, who used to sleep through the night, to sleep through the night again

Well, I dont know exactly where to file this one, but the huge news is as huge here as it is on any of my other blogs, and that is:

Charlie is sleeping at night again.

It took 3 nights and we should have done it along time ago. What was going on was he would go to bed around 8ish and proceed to wake crying at 11, 2, 4, 5:30 and by then it was sunny so I was so afraid of him waking Casey that I was taking him out into the front room where I shook and had delerious visions and yes, shed a few tears that my "night" was over again when it never even happened.

Ok so that was not cool. Been doing that for about, oh, 6 months now? So for anyone who ever wondered why I never heal from colds, never remember jack squat, seem confused/ amotivational/moody...

So, starting Wednesday night, when Charlie cried in his crib at 11, he did not get what he wanted, and what he has been accustomed to. He got Daddy. Daddy did not pick him up, did not take him into our room, and did not nurse him :)

Daddy smoothed his hair without even so much as picking him up and said "Its sleeping time, baby. Lay down and go back to sleep. I love you. Shhhhhhhh"

And walked out of the room and closed the door.

BOY was Charlie mad! M-A-D. He screamed and cried and even though this is our 4th baby that has had to have such a treatment, it still is hard on me the first night:

My baby! He thinks we hate him now! His world is turned upside down! What did he do so wrong? He thinks we don't understand what he wants! Hes going to bust his throat crying that hard! this is cruel! Inhumane! this goes against everything else we stand for! Why are we doing this? Do you hear him? He NEEDS us! Oh wait...I think he stopped crying....I guess I'll go to sleep then....what if he died? Im serious! Like from sadness or something? Go check him! No? Ok...

3 am, same scenario. But this time he only cried for like 2 minutes.

6:30 am, he cries and Casey comes in to tell us "Charlie's cryin". I already feel so good from having so much sleep that I bound into their room and say GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE! To baby Charlie, and he seems 100% undamaged whatsoever. Like it didnt even happen. Like nothing happened. But for me, everything has happened. I can think. I can see. I am patient(er) already. I am capable of laughing.

The next night, we put him to bed around 8 again, and he slept until 2. Right there that was interesting, sleeping 6 hours. Steve went in and did the whole "Its sleeping time, sweetie, lay down, we'll see you in the morning, we love you, lay down" bit again, and he cried a little, less than a minute. I slept like some kind of cement log. He woke at 6 and, for the first time in his life, instead of just wahh wahh he instead called out a very grown- up boy sounding: "Da-da!? Da-da?!"

So cool!

So as not to confuse, Dada went in and got him and brought him in to our room. He was all sunshiney and happy, again. Now it is occuring to me that Charlie was suffering as well as I was from the bad nighttime habits. He was tired, too! Little new babies need to nurse all night, and wake every hour or two, not 20 month olds.

Last night, I am ecstatic to report, he was put to bed around 8:30, and slept till 6:30!

Yes, you heard it folks, all night.

Just more good news on the trail to our super school year 2007-2008.

Charlie gets a gold star! So does Steve! I get sleep! We all get nice mommy! WHooppee!!!!!!

Number one priority, handled.

Awesome.