Now that I have officially* become a SAHM, my first real challenge, ironically enough, is to sleep/ crib train this baby. He is almost 8.5 months old. Previous attempts have been hit or miss or not accomplished by me. The nanny he was with for two months let him cry it out, the babysitter he had for a few weeks started training him to sleep in his own bed but she didn't watch him daily. My attempts worked once or twice but I always seem to find an excuse not to do it or I gave up if he cried a lot. At this point, with two week vacation for S. having begun, we have really come to the point where it's either cry, or all of us suffer. I can't be alone with the both of them and have one be asleep in my arms for hours. The truth is, listening to him cry is very painful for me, when I know that I can easily relieve it, but as evidenced by the fact that after crying for 23 minutes, he has been peacefully asleep in his own bed for almost two hours, it's best for all of us. My goal right now is one nap per day in the crib, and I will continue to extend it until he is sleeping in there all the time. Night time will be hardest of course, but I am not going to think about that. When I have him napping easily in there, at the very least I will have more confidence going into night time. *I say officially SAHM because until last week I was still trying to find a full time job. At this point we have decided to liquidate some assets so that I can stay at home until L. is two. I never wanted to be a SAHM before, but I have eased into it at this point and know that I can do it. I was with him from April 11- July 31 and lost my job October 4th, so he has been with me most of the time already. I am hoping to consult when I can, but I will be his primary care giver until he goes to school. I will get all of his firsts, rather than a nanny. I will be able to minimize the time my big boy spends at school- only regular day, six hours per day instead of 8-10. I am not pulling him out of Montessori because he is learning and thriving. I know enough to admit that he will learn infinitely more and benefit tremendously from continuing as he is now. As it is I will have to force my lazy ass to make something out of the day... I will take walks, and read to the boy, and try to teach him things. I will take on household projects, make lovely home cooked meals, finish the scrap books. Naps is that crib will be put to good use! It's a whole new day around here, on many levels!

No more sleeping on mommy all the time!