The end of MISERY!

Two weeks of utter MISERY later, and I am one happy girl! Apparently I have been living under a rock. But now, I can proudly say that 19 months later, my little one is finally an independent sleeper, NO BOTTLES, NO BINKY'S, NO ROCKING, and NO BOOB! and NO MORE CRYING! (the best part). Please excuse my over excitement, as this is probably normal to most of you, but not in my house. My kids have both been SPOILED to death as far as sleeping goes. I can discipline all day long with zero guilt, but something about when the sun goes down, I morph into a freakin' doormat for my baby to walk all over. And don't even get me started on Jer, total WUSS! So I had heard about the horrifying "Cry it Out" methods before, and I would just scoff at the idea. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I would nor could do it. I thought it was so cruel. But oh no. After a full week of Kosty partying till basically midnight, it did me in. I knew something needed to happen or I was off to the insane asylum. And since I couldn't think of any around here, I did the next best thing. I went to Barnes and Noble and literally had about 8 different books in a pile, I narrowed it down and took my 2 selections to the counter, where even the clerk had her own advice for me, "you might as well put them both back if you can't be tough!" But the straw had already broken the camel's back, and I was on a mission. I laid him down for a nap when we got home, and tried to speed read through the book, but I couldn't even concentrate. He screamed for almost 2 hrs straight. The first week I was an emotional wreck. It was probably the hardest thing I've had to do. I dreaded nap and bed time. But I was DESPERATE. Once he started getting the sleep he needed, he instantly became a happier boy, he started eating better, his attention span grew, and he was way less irritable. (Which, DUH! evidently he was showing all signs of an overtired child, hello!) Wow, hard lesson learned, and I WILL NOT make the same mistake with my third! (if that ever happens,eek) FREEDOM! Now I can actually enjoy my evenings with my husband, my shows, and my computer. :)