Milestones

11 hours! 11 hours folks! Sophia slept 11 hours straight through last night (Friday night)! From 8:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m.! She has NEVER slept 11 hours straight through the night! EVER! And she's 18 months old TODAY!

AND, she is completely weaned! COMPLETELY weaned! She hasn't nursed since last Sunday evening! If she acts as if she wants to nurse, I just get up and pour her a sipee cup full of milk. And that is it!

I'm free! Free at last!!!

Hmmm. Am I supposed to be a little sad that my baby isn't nursing any more? Perhaps I would be if I were convinced she were my last. Or if I hadn't nursed Annabelle for so terribly long! I think I'm kicking the attachment parenting method of child rearing to the side! This is bliss!

I owe her sleepful night to Tracy Hogg, The Baby Whisperer! Her approach is MUCH more gentler than the Ferber method. I followed her method somewhat when Annabelle was a tiny baby. Of course, I messed up on Annabelle by rocking her to sleep every night, but at least she was sleeping through the night (12 hours+) VERY early on.

Actually, I owe Sophia's sleepful night to God, first and foremost. Our Disciple I class has been praying for Sophia and me since I attempted to try the Ferber method a month or so ago. That was a mistake! And then after I prayed one evening, God led me to find a copy of "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" by Tracy Hogg. I read her recommendations for getting an "accidentally parented" toddler to sleep through the night. The first night Sophia only cried 30 minutes! That is unbelievable compared to the 4 hours she did using the Ferber method!

I am planning to keep my Tracy Hogg books to pass down to my girls when they have babies of their own. That is assuming I can find them!

Praise God! Hopefully this will last and I can get that much needed sleep so I can focus a little more on homeschooling Annabelle.