My Pair of Hooters: He is Risen! And I'm doing something about it.

Happy Easter (Monday), ya'll. The fact that I just wrote that and it sounded normal in my head means I've been in the South too long!

We had a great time celebrating Christ's Resurrection this weekend with Eric's family in Newton. However, there is another person in my life who is rising...frequently...and at night, and it's not worth celebrating. What better time to put the kibosh on those night-time wake-ups than Easter? Last night was our first attempt at sleep training. I've given up on the dream that Brady will just figure things out on his own. I think that if I maintain that philosophy, he will be enrolling in kindergarten when I (and he) finally get a full night's sleep.

The last month or so, we've traveled a lot and sleep training in a hotel or someone else's house wasn't going to work. But I've used up that excuse and there's no traveling in our near future, so Easter was the beginning of a new age in our household! Don't I sound tough?! Sleep training, for those who haven't had the pleasure of participating, is basically the process of getting baby's to sleep through the night. Letting them "cry-it-out" is a popular method and one I've hoped to avoid. But my baby has hit double-digits...and it's time.

I'm not trying to go cold turkey, so my plan was to cut out the first feeding (by letting him cry) and feed him the next time he woke up. So last night, Brady woke up at 11:45. I shut his door and our door so Eric could sleep (although if I'm honest, he might have been able to sleep regardless) and I cuddled up with my book in the guest room. It wasn't so bad, and after 30 minutes of on-and-off crying, Brady put himself back to sleep. So I went back to bed. Then he woke up at 1:45. I fed him. Then he woke up at 3:45. I fed him. Then he woke up at 6 am. I fed him, handed him to his dad, and slept an hour in the guest room.

Clearly, my plan needs a little tweaking, and I'm not looking forward to it. Tonight, I'll repeat last night's plan, but I'm only going to feed him once. Which will probably mean he'll have to "cry-it-out" twice tonight. I'm starting to wonder if sleeping in the basement and "accidentally" forgetting to turn on the monitor wouldn't be the best strategy.

Supposedly, the longer you wait, the harder this is. So reassuring! Should be a good week. Thankfully, the Easter bunny dropped a Starbucks card in my basket which might get some use this week. Below are some Easter pictures to remind me why I'm not really even mad that I haven't slept through the night in 10 months! For a girl who loves her sleep, that's saying something.