Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe

Recently I accidentally started some Facebook drama by making a comment about how we had finally resorted to letting Maddox "cry it out" to go to sleep.  One reason I have always hated having to do this method is because I always feel bad when my baby cries.  And it always seems that no matter how long I do it, the baby always cries for at least a couple of minutes before settling down to sleep.  However, sleep deprivation and the need to have a daily routine finally drove me to it.

Little did I know that the secret to a painless bedtime and sleeping through the night was in my grasp.  It has to do with this little devil:

This is my baby monitor.

This past Tuesday morning I didn't get to go running with my friend because I had only gotten 4 1/2 hours of sleep by 5:15, which is when I would have had to get up for the day.  So I rescheduled for Wednesday morning.  Then Tuesday night I took the plunge: I turned off the baby monitor.  Not only is Maddox now over 10 months old, but he shares a room with his older brother.  I knew that if Maddox woke up and was really fussing, Connor would wake up and come into our room.  I dreaded having both boys awake in the middle of the night, but I really did need to get my sleep.

And an amazing thing happened.  I slept through the night.  And even more amazing, Connor slept through the night, which tells me that if Maddox woke up at all (and I'm pretty sure he did), then he didn't really need anything and went back to sleep without help.

That was Tuesday night.  I have left the monitor off every night since.  Both Wednesday night and Thursday night Connor came in and got me and I fed Maddox around 3:30 or 4:00.  Since then?  Nada.  Zilch.  Zip.  He has slept like a dream till way past 6am.  Surprisingly, this has also carried over into laying him down for naps and at bedtimes.  If I know he's tired, I can take him in to his room, snuggle with him a little, lay him down in the crib, and walk out.  No crying, no screaming - for either of us.  Just some jabbering and then sleep, blessed sleep.

I wish I had known about this secret years ago...