posted by KWiz on Parenting

Baby books giving advice to new mothers abound.  There are books which tell you what gender your baby will be depending on the position in the womb.  There are books which attempt to show you how to get your baby on a feeding schedule.  Some of these books explain how to breastfeed, how to interpret your baby’s cries, what to do with a colicky baby.  Many of these books also give advice on how to put your child to bed with the least fuss.  You’d think that with the plethora of books on my shelves about how to raise a baby I’d be an expert by now.

Yet when it came to bedtime, I was completely wet behind the ears and stayed that way until just this evening.  It took over 2-1/2 years!  Yet, tonite, when I put my daughter to bed, she accepted it and didn’t cry at all.  No screaming and hollering as she shouts, “Come back Mommy!” or “I need you Mommy!”  Just a calm, “See you in the morning.  I love you.” 

As I walked out of her bedroom, I felt like I had really accomplished something with her.  For so long, when she’d cry, I’d go into her room and sit down with her so that she could “feel my muscle,” where she rubs on the “muscle” part of my arm (it seems to serve the same function as carrying a blanket; for some reason it provides some sort of security for her).  She’d fall asleep caressing my arm, but each time I gave in to her cries, I felt like a failure. 

Finally, during the past week or two, I decided that I was going to let her “cry it out” a little.  When she got in the bed, she’d say, “Sit down with me.”  But I determined I wouldn’t.  So she hollered like the world was going to end.  I resisted going into her room, but sometimes I would stand outside it and let her know that her mommy and daddy were here and not going anywhere.  The screaming seemed to have gone on forever and a day. 

And now – silence. 

Success!  How good it feels!

Now if we could only get that potty thing going…