stuff i swear i'll do this year

I hate making New Year's Resolutions, because like most of you, I don't stick to them. I start out full of good intentions and then midway through February I have let them all go. I convince myself that I was unrealistic. Or that I didn't really want to do those things in the first place. This year is different. Seriously, it is! I have already gotten the ball rolling on some of this stuff. So, here is my list:

1. Take a digital photography course. I am preregistered for this one and start in February so I won't be backing out of this.

2. Get my daughter out of pull-ups and into panties. Oh wait, she did that herself during the holiday break! I guess I can cross that off my list and give myself extra points for having accomplished this before the New Year.

3. More dates with the husband. Our lovely sitter gets back in town in mid January and I plan to book her up ASAP. My sister has also vowed to assist me in this area.

4. Sleep more. Yes, he is sleeping through the night, however, our daughter now climbs into bed with us around 2am and sleeps with us until 7:00am. It's cute, but my sleep is still interrupted. I vow to correct this and get at least a couple nights a week of solid, deep, rejuvenate sleep.

5. Have Gratitude. As much as I complain, my life is pretty damn good. I have a gorgeous, healthy and happy family. I am starting a new career in photography. I have a home with all the "stuff" that so many others in the world aren't able to enjoy. When I get tired and cranky I am going to step back and count my blessings. Corny, I know, but it just might make for a better year.

he's sleeping through the night!

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enjoying his birthday cake

After a solid year of waking up and nursing my son back to sleep every two to three hours, I decided enough was enough. With gentle nagging from my husband I gave in and let him try his hand at "sleep training". I took my tempurpedic pillow and drove up the street to my sister's house. I knew if I was home I would not be able to let him cry for more than a few minutes. That night was not easy for any of us. My boobs, used to producing the most milk in the wee hours, filled up by 2am and and woke me up. I couldn't get comfortable and didn't want to pump because with the sleep training comes the long dreaded weaning process. My husband was up about every 45 minutes listening to little dude cry and then eventually fall back asleep after about 10 minutes. My daughter sleep quite well that night. I guess siblings can tune each other out no matter what the decibel level. When I arrived home at 7:00am everyone was at the breakfast table. My daughter greeted me with, "Mommy, I peed on the potty!" She took me over to her fourth potty, the Musical Throne, and showed me her pee. This was huge because although she has made number two several times now on the potty, she has refused to go number one there.

I was dreading the next night, since I would be home for night two. My son went to bed around 6:30pm and woke up crying around midnight. Then, after only about a minute he was quite again. And that was it. He didn't wake up again until 6:30am. Night three, he was down at 7:00pm and up at 7:00am. Now here we are, almost two weeks later and he is still sleeping through the night. He even cut two new teeth last week and didn't wake up. I cannot believe how easy this was. And my boobs are fine now, too. That only took a couple of nights and now I am down to nursing him three times a day.

The first week I was still waking up every few hours. My sleep pattern needed to be rewired, too. I sleep pretty well now and I feel like a different person. I still feel tired at times, but I have the kind of energy and clarity of mind that I have not had for over a year. I think most of my post partum blues were a result of not sleeping. My immune system was shot from it and my sex drive was non existent.

So, all you Mommies out there, hear this: let your baby cry it out and learn to sleep on his own. Do not fall asleep with them, Do not share a bed with them, Do not nurse them to sleep. Put them to sleep at the same time every night, sleepy but awake, and walk away! Your quality of life will be so much better. I don't feel this strongly about much, but this has really made a difference in my life.