Crying it out :(

So I know it's very controversial in the baby world on whether or not is ok to let a baby "cry it out" when doing sleep training.  Before we (ok, I) decided on the tact we wanted to take when we had Gracey and were desperate to get her out of our bed after co-sleeping for 12 months, I pretty much read about every type of sleep training method known to man-kind.  After trying several that did not work, I decided to let her cry it out.  With Gracey and Thayne, Chris was out of town when I did it, so by the time he got home- surprise! They were sleeping "like babies" (really, the person who came up with that misused phrase obviously did NOT have kids!).

Well, Chris is not out of town. And as I type this, Lissie is "crying it out".  And I guess I should confess that she did not start crying until I went in to check on her because she WASNT crying---that is until I left and shut the door....I know, I know.  But I was just positve she was sticking her nana blanket down her little throat, but of course it was laying at the other end of the bed!

I tried the method with the first two when you go in every 5 minutes and then lengthen the time out until the baby gradually falls asleep. This never worked for me.  I literally let them cry themselves to sleep.  Sounds harsh, cruel, right? Well, it's all worth it after 3 days when you lay your little one down and she sleeps 12 hours straight and still gives you that sweet baby smile in the morning- loving you nonetheless! 

While I do not do the "go in every so often and reassure them" thing, I do do the establish a routine and stick to it thing.  Here is what has worked in the past for us, so we are trying it on our third, precious bonus baby Lissie:

First, we do a bath.  This is actually her first sink bath- why? I have no idea. It just slipped my brain that she is still able to fit in the sink.  Let's blame it on it's-the-third-baby mommy brain.....

We then moved on to the bottle and her breathing treatments.....

Isn't he such a sweet daddy? :) And yes, her arms are restrained or she tries to "help"!  Daddy did a quick diaper check while I took pics of her lonely crib that have been privy to all of my beautiful babies tears, dreams, and yes, all forms of bodily functions!

Lissie's Nana blanket- she made one for all of my babies, and they all sleep with their special blankets

It really is the softest thing I've ever held- one of those you-have-to-rub-it-on-your-cheek kind of soft.

We traded Lissie's crib for Gracey's mattress in our bedroom until Lissie gets used to sleeping in her own room.  Lissie and Gracey share a room, and we didn't want Gracey to have to listen to Lissie's crying, so she gets to camp out on our floor for a while.

(She thinks this is the greatest idea E V E R and she told me she wouldn't mind sleeping on our bedroom floor forever.  I introduced the word temporary to her tonight)

                                                       
                                                           Monitors were set up and ready

The cd I searched for for a good 15 minutes that has sung Gracey and Thayne to sleep.  It is MIA.....

so we settled for Chris Tomlin's Hello Love

One last picture- sleepy eyes and all.  Sweet baby has no idea...

Well, as I end this post 30 minutes after I had begun, Lissie is sound asleep gripping her nana blanket with her little legs tucked underneath and her bottom stuck up in the air.  I thought about sneaking in for one last picture of her asleep....nah. So not worth it!