He's Out!

In honor of this fantastic development, I have uploaded this picture from my phone... It was taken in Illinois one night when Tagg fell asleep while clutching a cob of corn!

Go ahead... laugh out loud! I know you want to!

This is Taggert after sleeping for 11 1/2 hours last night without waking up once!

First of all, notice that he somehow removed his right arm from his shirt through the neck hole! How??? :) Pretty cute!

Second of all, this is quite a momentous occasion, because he has been waking up 2-3 times every night to nurse for about 4 or 5 months now. Poor little guy couldn't have been getting enough sleep! And poor little us weren't either! So one night about a week ago, Jed made the call that something had to be done. The next day, Taggert and I took a trip to the library to check out some books on sleep training! One of the books I checked out was called "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" by Tracy Hogg. It is the most amazing childrearing book I have ever laid eyes upon!!!! Her techniques are so middle-of-the-road; they're not too extreme in either direction, they take into account the needs of the parents as well as the needs of the child, and they are so gentle and loving.

Per Tracy's philosophy, I have structured Taggert's days in a predictable (but not rigid and by-the-clock) way, and I have begun to really pay attention to when he gets tired. The root of our problem in the middle of the night was that Tagg didn't know how to put himself to sleep, so of course he was going to cry for me to come in and nurse him when he woke up in the middle of the night, as most of us do--to him, that was THE way to go to sleep! So putting himself to sleep was a skill he needed to learn! So when he gets tired, we immediately go up to his room and have a quiet routine: low lights, a soft lullaby cd and vicks rub on his chest. Then we sit together with his special blanket on his lap and we read books until he is ready to fall asleep. After our book time, I take him over to his crib, give him a kiss and tell him that it's time for a nap or bed. Then I lay him down and put a hand on his back while I talk to him. If he stands up or sits up, I pick him up and lay him back down, put my hand on his back and continue to talk to him softly, explaining what I'm doing and why it's so important. We repeat this until he falls asleep, so he can learn that the way to go to sleep is to lay down in his crib and close his eyes.

The first time we did this, it took about an hour of picking him up and putting him down over and over (and over :). The second time was about half an hour. Now, about 5 or 6 days later, it fluctuates between 2 minutes and half an hour.

It has been such a beautiful experience for me; watching my tiny son overcome a bad habit and let me help him train himself to do what's best for him is inspiring to say the least. I watched him struggle for a long time during the first few attempts and now I am watching him surmount this bad habit. I am humbled by how willing he has been to let me teach him and to let me help him perservere. I have bad habits that I have tried for years to overcome, but I have allowed myself to fail time and time again. But my baby boy is already improving himself, even though it's frustrating, time-consuming and difficult.

If he can do it, I can do it!

Motherhood is definitely divine.