Sleep Training for George

Good news, I finally said "no more mama milk in the middle of the night" (just mama milk when initially going to sleep and nap time). I basically decided to just do it one night with no forethought. Scott said it'd be worth it only if we followed through, and I made up my mind in the middle of the night to follow through from then on. The first night was surprisingly easy, with little resistance. The next night was absolute terror, as well as the next, and finally last night he slept through the night. Our system? We hand him a bottle of  Vitalyte (lemonade Electrolyte powder in water) and a binky (he only wanted the binky the first night). The initial start was letting him come into our bed (literally right next to his) and he and I  traded the bottle and binky back and forth (yes, I sucked on a binky and a bottle! He liked the solidarity and warmed him up to the idea and he cozied right up next to me). The next night took an hour of screaming and Scott and I coaxing him with unwanted cuddling and a bottle. I'm very big on refusing TV and reading a book to him in the middle of the night, so I refused him all those alternatives, as well as the mama milk. The transition was really hard, and we'll still probably have some challenges still, but sticking to your guns (so to speak) is vital. One "give in" and you program him that if he cries long enough, we'll give in, so we're trying to avoid that for our own sanities. I did give in and went out and played with his toy tool box with him, but only because I was literally about to "loose it". Lets face it, screaming at your child never gets you anywhere. You treat a child with respect and calmness (as a individual person), they learn respect (if you don't, where are they going to learn it? They really won't) and you have a much more civilized child. Of all my learnings as a parent, that has been the most valuable. Before, Emilie waking up and needing milk and then George waking up at the same time from her stirring and then needing milk himself, was nightmarish. Now, I'm just happy I can focus on Emilie at night. We still need to help and coax George when he wakes up, but it will get easier for him with practice. George will be a sleep pro in no time, he's a quick learner and such a bright boy (seriously, he's a quick learner!).

More good news is that there have been unforeseen consequences with laying down my foot in the middle of the night. George fell asleep last night to me reading and while he drank a bottle Vitalyte! And this afternoon, he fell asleep for a nap while listening to one of my meditation tracks as he drank a bottle. Very handy since Emilie always seems to start screaming with colic pains the moment George is ready for a nap (and then I can't give him milk. I tell you, having two of your little ones dependent on your boobs at the same time is hard. -And yes, I know medical professionals recommend not falling asleep with a bottle, as written above (because of tooth decay concerns), but George doesn't "sleep" with his bottle, it will fall out of his mouth or he takes it out to sleep better. Teeth heal themselves as long as they have decent break between meals, as a UK dentist site reads (http://www.purelydental.co.uk/top-tips-for-looking-after-your-teeth/). Anyway, I'm not too worried about his baby teeth.

I'm pretty excited George is learning how to fall asleep on his own and I'm so proud of him for doing so great considering how hard it must be for him. I wasn't going to quit milk at night or nap time, but if he's doing fine without it to go to sleep, I won't complain! I don't plan to cut him off completely, but he really doesn't need me suffering at night. Of course parenthood won't become a breeze par se because of all of this, but maybe, just maybe I'll get some sleep if Emilie's colic subsides. I don't blame her for the colic, nor George for the normal challenges of toddlerhood, but I'll still try to find ways that will help us all have a more calm home though. :) Chaos is not bliss for anyone (besides the Goddess of Chaos in the movie Sinbad), so it's good for me to try my best with making our home a calm environment.