I can't believe it.....

Well, last night went remarkably well. I put her down at 7:30, her new official bed time, she cried for 20 minutes and was out. She slept all the way until 2 (really 3 am with the time change) and woke and cried for about 6-7 minutes, more whined really, and was out again. She woke up at 4 (really 5) and I nursed her, lied her down awake, she protested for about a minute and went to sleep. She was still lying down when I went into the room though, and so she may very well have gone back to sleep. Then I took her into bed with me at 6 and we snuggled until 7. I'm not ready to give up the morning snuggles yet. Today she went down for nap time in a matter of minutes. My mother in law graciously offered to let me move Leila into the guest room so that she can have her own room and I was very nervous. You'd think I'd be fine since I first moved her into her own room at 3.5 months old, but still....she's my baby and I've grown used to having her close. We did her bed time routine and I lied her down awake, she cried for 4....FOUR minutes and seems to be asleep. I don't dare hold out hope that this will continue, it's simply too good to be true.

If this keeps up, I'll have to eat my words. For being 100% against crying it out, it looks like it may be exactly what my baby girl needs. It does NOT mean I don't love her, or that I'm ignoring her, or that she's going to be insecure or feel like I've abandoned her. She's old enough now that I feel she understands it's bed time, and I'll be there when it's time to get up. People who are anti CIO (cry it out) are VERY anti CIO and I used to be one of them. I've learned now not to judge and it's not as cut and dried as "if you leave your baby to cry, you're a horrible neglectful parent." Sleep is so important, Leila was much happier and pleasant today and I think that is in large part due to her sleeping well. Here's to hoping it continues to go this well.