When Scorch was born, my sister Red considered herself a bit of a baby guru.  She didn’t have any kids of her own, but she did have a really big hand in helping raise her best friend’s baby.  She and her best friend were military wives and their husband’s were deployed when her friend’s baby came- so Red was the birth coach and the co-parent for the first few months.  Which was awesome- but it also meant that Red had opinions on a lot of things. Some things were really helpful- like, as stupid as it sounds, how to properly pack a diaper bag without bringing everything with you.  But some of the advice I just ignored because while it sounded good, actually using it was a whole different story.

From the day he was born, Scorch wasn’t a great sleeper (not much has actually changed there).  The Hubs and I were at our wits end trying to figure out how to get this child to sleep.  Red and my Mom would always tell me to let him fuss, to let him cry, that it won’t hurt him.  But…but…but…that was my baby! There was no way I could let my poor sweet exhausted gorgeous child cry!!**  We went round and round over that little piece of advice for ever and, at the end of the day, I never let Scorch cry it out.

But now- now the tables are turned! Baby Lala, my sweet niece, is almost 7 months old and sleeps fantastic at night (seriously, I’m jealous), but her napping situation is another story.  I have to say, I take so much enjoyment out of throwing that “just let her fuss” line back into Red’s face that it’s almost criminal.  I love watching her squirm and come up with all the excuses I did when faced with the same advice  because what sounded good in theory seems damn near impossible when it’s your own kid.

**All that said, we did let the Bean cry it out (checking on her every 10 mins, never letting her get too worked up) the day she turned 6 months old. After 2.5 years of not sleeping at all, she and her brother left us no choice. And I never once regretted it.