Whew!

It was beyond wonderful to have Rich home this weekend. Last week was so disorienting and upsetting for so many reasons, and just having Rich there was rejuvenating. But, being the amazing husband he is, Rich took the late night feedings on Friday and Saturday nights and I ended up getting two nights of six hour stretches! That may sound like painfully little sleep to those of you without little ones, but, trust me, it's sleeping like Rip Van Winkle for the new parent set. Then, miracle of all miracles, Declan slept from 12:45 to...wait for it...6:25 today!

I feel like a new woman! My house may get clean. Hell, I may get clean! I'm thinking of activities I can do with him today instead of plotting ways to get him in his swing so I can get a nap! This is why I start fantasizing about "cry it out". It does seem counterintuitive: let your baby cry even though it will rip your heart out, but at what point do the benefits outweigh the costs? If I take that dreaded leap, it may hurt in the short run, but in the long run, Declan will get a more motivated, happy mommy. So what's more important, the nighttime parenting or the daytime interaction? I don't want Declan to become less trusting of me or distant, which is what anti-cry it out people proclaim. But my intuition tells me that the love and support I'll give him during the day will outweigh his relatively few nights of angst. I'll keep you posted on the final decision. Whatever it is, I'd like to wait until six months to do it. That gives me one more month to ponder.

Yesterday I did something I thought I'd never do: I dressed my little one like his daddy. Or I should say, Rich did the dressing. But, I didn't think it was cheesy. In fact, I LOVED it. It made me smile all day that they were so cute together. They already look just alike and the matching outfits just made my day. What's next, Christmas sweaters? Seriously, I never thought I'd be condoning, much less encouraging behavior like this. Watch out the next time you see me, I might be wearing mom jeans and a sweatshirt with some sort of cat on it...embroidered. Even this morning, when I looked at the pictures I took, it made me proud. My two gorgeous boys.