"We Made It"

We survived.  As I told my Husband "only by the skin of our teeth", nonetheless we persevered. 

Sleeping. Through. The. Night.  Amen!  

I do not boast advice, or outline the details of our triumph; I do not profess to have such wisdom.  I merely want to share in the bliss that comes with the first solid uninterrupted night (week, month, ahhh!) of sleep after X amount of nights (weeks, months...) without.  Loss of sleep may be the worst parental obligation, at least among the top 3.  We waited until Levi was ready, and then until we (I) were ready.  I think that desperate, magic time varies widely from parent to parent and everyone gets there at their own pace.  My Husband and I have our bed back, and our Son has learned to sleep independently in his own room; yesssssssss!

If you were blessed with a baby that falls asleep and stays asleep, bless you!  I have heard these mythical creatures exist and I hope to cross paths with one, perhaps for #2?  But for now I will give thanks for mercy, in our case, at 9 months.  For those still roughing it I offer a knowing and somewhat obligatory well wish of "it does get better, hang in there!"  Family and friends have told us that since Levi was born and I DID really try to believe them.  It did give me a glimmer of hope for the sliver of light at the end of the tunnel and made the 24/7 zombie haze moderately tolerable.

This sleeping business is most likely a phase that will pass quickly (possibly tonight) or perhaps I have just jinxed myself hardcore.  Either way I am sure I will be back to not sleeping before I know it.  Its okay though.  I will treasure these weeks we have had and tell myself to hang in there, ultimately it will get better.  It just has to, right?

Nine Months

Levi Everett, today you are NINE months old!

Busy, happy, lovey boy!  Boy oh boy, you are ALL BOY!  This past month has been a flurry of exciting changes as you have really started to move out into the world around you.  With your crawling skills mastered you have decided you can get where you want to be and manipulate your environment, a thrilling milestone to watch!  I laugh when you rediscover a toy you haven't played with in a few months and have your way with it.  You love your new toys too!  A current favorite is your shapes box, I cannot wait to see you master putting the shapes in the right slot.  For now you have decided it is much easier to pull the lid off; my sweet, smart boy!  Through all your developments, your personality remains constant.  You are happy, but sensitive; laid-back, but particular; you are smart and inquisitive; outgoing and shy at the same time.  Our biggest accomplishment is that over the past month you have started sleeping through the night, IN YOUR OWN BED!  HALLELUJAH!  It took me nine months but we finally reached the point where we were ready to sleep train you.  Yes, we 'cried it out'.  It actually was not as bad as we anticipated.  Since you have never been a great napper, I knew we were doing you a disservice when we were not allowing you to learn how to self sooth.  After three long nights you started sleeping through the night and learned how to put yourself back to sleep.  It is touch and go, but we have all gotten more sleep in the last two weeks than in all the months before!  It makes me happy that you are learning to be an independent sleeper and I hope you learn to love sleep as much as your Dad and I do.  I am positive you will have this mastered by age 14, wherefore I am plotting my revenge, ha!  Another thing that has picked up momentum is your appetite. You have a hearty appetite lately, and an adventurous palate.  You will eat ANYTHING!  I can hardly get a bite in during a meal, you want everything on Mom's plate.  We recently started you in ISR swimming lessons, I am positive this has contributed to you increased hunger and improved sleep.  To be honest, you hate lessons.  Despite the disdain you are making great progress and it reassures me to have that extra layer of protection from the pool as you learn to walk. Walking is right around the corner, though I am not in a hurry.  You are already into everything and walking will only complicate matters, oye-vey!   I anticipate we will have to be on our toes indefinitely; what a crazy, beautiful life.  You are our sunshine baby boy.  We cannot wait to enjoy all of the exciting things to come.

Today you are nine months old.