Sleep Training- Night 1

I have not slept through the night for 6 months. Yea, yea. I know. Corinne's only 4 1/2 months old, but for about 2 months before she was born Taylor went through a phase of waking up twice a night and getting up at the butt crack of dawn. Hence, I repeat. I am totally and utterly, sleep deprived. It was the hell of me when Tay was born and it's slowly taking a toll on me now. When Taylor was about the age that Corinne is now, I took her to our pediatrician (Dr. Nathanson, who I love), I told him how tired I was and demanded that he "fix her." I was serious. I wasn't leaving until he gave me a sure fire way of getting her to sleep through the night. The answer: I just had to let her cry it out. She'd cry and we'd go in there every 10 minutes to soothe her without picking her up. "We," meaning me. Wes' job was to soothe me after I came back from soothing Taylor. It took a little over a week before her sleeping habits improved and I gradually started to feel like a human again instead of like a zombie walking around in a daze, sticking the remote control in the refrigerator and losing my keys immediately after stepping out of the car. Now we're at that point with Corinne where I just have to let her figure out how to sleep on her own. She's WAY too big for the bassinet and I no longer want to share my side of the bed with her. It's impossible to sleep soundly when I'm constantly making sure that Wes doesn't roll over on her or that I don't elbow her in the nose or something. So tonight's the night. No more excuses. She pooped, she's been fed, she's well above the average weight for a 4 month old and she has a really beautiful bedroom that she needs to start making use of......This will be brutal. I can already tell.



(Corinne's unoccupied room)

Totally unrelated....I went to Disneyland again yesterday for my Mom's birthday with my sister, Tay and Corinne. It was a blast and both girls were complete gems. Corinne has proved herself to be a great little traveler. She just goes with the flow of things. She sits in her little pack on my chest and smiles at everyone. Taylor had a great time, of course, but she really had us in stitches by the end of the day. She had seen one little girl at Disneyland dressed in an Ariel costume, from "The Little Mermaid." While standing in three different lines, this little girl was infront of us all dolled up and little Ms. Tay said, "I want an Ariel costume!" We thought she'd drop it and forget about it by the end of the day, but no dice. So Nana splurged on an Ariel costume and it was the absolute best part of the day. Taylor put it on outside of the store and was immediately in character. She even drove home in it with her orange hair and all. She kept on saying, "I'm the Little Mermaid." This morning when she woke up, it was the first thing she asked for and she insisted I call her Ariel and not Taylor. I was supposidly Scuttle the seagull. She just kept looking in the mirror with this silly grin on her face. She even asked me, "Do you want to take a picture with Ariel," and handed me the camera. Too funny. I just love her to bits.

(If you lose a sock, gloves are the next best thing)

The next day..

Wish me luck on the sleep training. Any and all advice is acceptable.