STTN

Sleep Through The Night. Dirty little words. A coveted goal, if unreached by a certain age (usually at only a couple months old parents start this brag), your a Parent Fail. I used to fess up how he didn't STTN, and how he took hours to put down some nights, and yes, I am a firm believer in parenting to sleep. Then I'd receive a litany of advice focusing around letting him cry, ignoring xyz, etc. Now, especially at a year, I just lie... "he sleeps soundly. All the way, every night."

The truth is that he wakes, usually 1-2 times now, and half the time, he has fallen back asleep before I poke my head in to see why he's crying. That is a fabulous transition from waking every two hours, not much more than two months ago. Once we moved away from co-sleeping, we were both able to get more solid hours of sleep. I'll brag about how that transition occurred in a future post. Some nights, he doesn't wake at all until the early morning. Most mornings, if it's light out when he's up, I coax him into bed with me for the feeding and squeeze an hour or two more sleep out of him: it's beautiful! The best part, even better than STTN, is that for about 3 nights in a row, plus a few more prior, but not consecutively, he has gone to bed with NO, I repeat NO fussing. Please don't let that jinx me!

A wise friend, who happens to be a colleague and my boss says, "It's not who they are, it's where they are." It's so amazing that where they are changes over night. I'll never get over that!

Have a Good Laugh

"Baby's first laugh may erupt around 4 months of age in response to a pleasant sensation or physical exhilaration. Around 9 months of age, baby begins to develop a sense of anticipation; therefore he is ready to be surprised and tickled by the unexpected. By 1 year of age, baby may be ready to appreciate wordplay humor. Laughter is wonderful exercise, increasing circulation and raising the heart rate. It can help relieve both stress and frustration. Isn't it amazing what a little laughter can do?" Kindermusik International

This morning when Stefan decided to be the 7:30 am alarm clock, we all sat in bed and enjoyed pokes, jabs, smiles, and peals of laughter. Our room dark, shades drawn; was it raining, snowing, or sunny? Who knows, right then, nothing else mattered. I discovered Monster's whole body is ticklish when I use my head, and he can now find Daddy's nose while looking at Mommy, in the dark. Many people speak out against co-sleeping, but there are far too many precious memories it has created in our household. I can't imagine it any other way.