Magical Ingredient

We do not yet know what is the magical ingredient that is adding such happiness to our lives, but we are thankful for it. And we worship the Sleep Gods religiously. Last week, we decided it was time to stop this nightly coddling of Rory and her difficult sleep habits. We can be tough. We can handle it. It was time to CRY IT OUT. We figured we could try 5 minutes. Nanny says she goes to sleep just fine at her house, while we spend 60-90 minutes every night rocking, bouncing, singing, reading and walking, until she falls asleep in our arms. Then (and this is the tricky part), we have to lay her in her bassinet WITHOUT waking her, otherwise we start all over. So, geared up to handle the torturous crying, we fed her, bathed her, put on her jammies, and then did what Nanny says she does. Put Rory in her crib, awake, with her banky (bunny blankie) and her binky (pacifier). We kissed her and walked out of the room, prepared for the longest 5 minutes of our lives.

And we waited. And waited. And the pain never began. She was quiet. Not a single sound. In 5 minutes, we finally went to check if she was breathing. She was not just breathing, but breathing the deep breathing of someone in peaceful sleep.

ALAS - there is more! She was still asleep in her crib (in her bedroom, which she had just started taking short naps in) when we went to bed, so we left her in there, figuring we would move her to the bassinet in our room when she woke up. Well, she didn't wake up UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING! Yes, we got about 7 straight hours of sleep! And Rory slept in her bedroom for the first time.

Now, which is the magical ingredient that brought on this beautiful state, we do not know, but we haven't messed with it. It's now about 2 weeks later and we do the same things every night. It's like a ritual an athlete won't mess with before a game. And I'm pretty sure getting more sleep is, at this stage of our lives, better than winning the World Series.