Sleep training, take 2

Everyone agrees with my husband that we need to let Charlie cry it out in the middle of the night. All that sleep training we did a year or so ago that got him sleeping so well is failing, so we need to try again. Last night was night 1 of Operation Ignore, and Charlie alternately moaned, cried, and SCREAMED for about 45 minutes beginning at 3 a.m. George and I had a whispered conversation around 3:30 that involved me trying to convince him that I needed to go calm Charlie down and George insisting that he was going to give up and go back to sleep soon. I vaguely recall being near tears and saying, He's NEVER going to fall asleep - and then about 15 minutes later, he finally did, as did we. When I went in this morning to check on him before I left for work, he was all curled up against the bars at the head of his crib, and his three "loveys" were lined up on the floor in front of the crib, where I'm sure he'd tossed them in anger. Poor little guy. Hopefully he's tired enough that he'll sleep through the night tonight! He was winding down by listening to his They Might Be Giants childrens CD, and I think I hear him snoring over the music already. Side note - anyone in need of some kids' music should consider this one. Can't remember what it's called, but it's all number themed, and they're some pretty catchy tunes. We now walk around the house singing, "Zero, ZERO, zero means so much" on a regular basis.

This afternoon, Charlie had PT, and since George has been on vacation this week (well, semi-vacation, semi-home repair/broken tree removal), he attended most of the session with Charlie so that I didn't have to leave work early. When I got home, Charlie was red-faced and sobbing. I think George might have thought I was exaggerating about Charlie's reaction to PT - until he saw it for himself. Even through his tears, Charlie gets better and better at his exercises. We've just got to force him to practice so it will continue to get easier for him.

Charlie hasn't added any words to his extensive vocabulary of "hi" yet, but now he growls whenever we ask him what a lion says. It's so cute. and he thinks it is really funny.

We're looking forward to a great weekend - the weather is so spring-y and beautiful! I'm so excited to get outside with the family! We also get to meet the new Rosengren baby on Sunday - yay!