Test

Okay, last night was a test. And we failed. I went to help a friend out at 5pm last night. I put Dorian to bed before I left, like I normally do around 5pm. He cried, but he normally cries for about a half hour before falling to sleep. I left my parents in charge with instructions to let him cry for an hour, then go in and comfort him if he cried for more than an hour. Dorian must have sensed I was out of the house because apparently, he did cry for an hour. I returned home around 6:30pm or so and he was upstairs chilling with the grandparents. I took him back downstairs, nursed him and put him to bed and it took him another 1.25 hours to fall asleep. And then? He woke up every hour, like old times, crying. Screaming at times. There were THREE 30-45 minutes crying stints last night and loads of 5-10 minutes stints. And then he woke up at 5am, even earlier than normal, ready to start his day. Yet cranky of course.

Even though I am so exhausted I feel like I may die, I am really glad last night happened because:

1. It is confirmation that what we're doing is working (when we're consistent and home and doing everything "right," it works)
2. It proves Grandma and Grandpa wrong - yesterday, they told me they've decided his bedtime is going to be 7-7:30 (not the first time they've informed me of my son's intended bedtime) and once again, I told them "Um NO, James and I decide Dorian's bedtime!" It's always good to prove one's parents wrong. :)
3. Hopefully when other people criticize us for putting our son down so early, it won't bug me as much because I will know that what we're doing is right. You have no idea how many other parents try to tell us we're wrong that we put Dorian down at 5pm. Even though all the sleep literature says that if a little guy isn't sleeping and doesn't nap and is EXHAUSTED come 4pm, then by all means, put them to bed earlier! He goes to bed earlier, he sleeps better and later the next morning. Go figure. "Sleep begets sleep" is what one of my sleep training advocate friends keeps telling me, and that has turned into my mantra at the moment.
4. I know that I can't leave Dorian for evenings yet. My parents did nothing wrong (they did everything I asked them to), it's just that had I been home and he cried for an hour, I would have gone in, cuddled him and nursed him a bit in the dark, warm nursery and then put him back down. I had been wondering if it was time for me to go out for an evening yet, but the answer is obviously no. Good to know as well since I start school in a few weeks. I was planning on making it home for bedtime most nights, but now I will definitely make it home for all nights.

So it was a good test all around and I'm actually very thankful we did it. I just wish James was here so I could get some sleep this morning. Hopefully, Dorian will take a nap in a couple hours (yeah right, wishful thinking, I know!) so we can sleep together.