Crying it out

I know this is a topic of debate in the world of parenting right now. I have to say it does have its place, and when I use this technique there are solid boundaries so that it is not taken to an extreme. I am very particular about how I raise my child, given that my mom was ill and passed when I was young, and my dad did the best he could...I spent a lot of time with grandparents, however they have all passed as well. I don't have many traditions, songs, memories, or stories passed down to me about bedtime routines or any other parenting technique...so I have decided to come up with my own and this is one reason for this blog! There is ALOT of information out there about the "best" way to raise your child, it is so easy to get lost in it all, the articles and research and the endless opinions of others that are presented as fact when they obviously are not.... First, any momma out there that can listen to your baby wail and keep a straight face- KUDOS to you! I envy you! This technique has been useful as our young toddler LOVES to stay awake until past 11pm if we let him, the exhaustion sure takes a toll on all of us the following days and weeks. SO, in order to keep him on a schedule we need to let him cry it out if our other normal bedtime routines do not work. I will tell you, two minutes of hearing him cry and I am practically a caged animal, my bones ache, and it seems nothing could stop me from sprinting to my baby and scooping him up...and then I hear my wonderful husband remind me in a calm tone, "he is fine, let it go another minute." These words sound barbaric to me, but somewhere in the back of my mind I remember that he is right....and usually within the next few moments (which feel like hours) our little bundle is out cold. This technique is not full proof, it doesn't always work, which was the case last night for us. This is why it is so important to have solid boundaries, a point at which you tell yourself, this is not working my baby needs me, and I need to try something else. Last night, our babe was happy to cuddle with daddy and fall asleep on his shoulder. As much as I want to encourage Liam to fall asleep in his crib, I know that our little guy is going through a whirlwind of transition right now...between being transitioned into the toddler room at daycare, having at least 5 teeth on the way in, the switchover from formula to milk, as well as him being more aware in general of the world around him it makes complete sense that sometimes he just needs to be coddled to know that everything is still alright. He slept well until about 3am, and then ended up in bed with us. Not sure exactly what was going on with him last night, but he was happy to sleep in between us and we were all happy to get some rest. I am hoping the rest of the week goes better. Until then, here's to hoping you all got a great night of sleep!