Lucky with sleep training

I've always been jealous of mother's who say any of the following:

• My child nurses AND takes a bottle.
• She started sleeping through the night when she was three months old.
• She lays down for a nap for two hours in the afternoon, and so do I.
• She never cries when I lay her down at night.

That's all I can think of for right now, and although those statements have always been a thorn in my side, I can honestly say, I can take the last two off the list.

Sophia wasn't sleeping well at all when we were staying with my parents and waiting to get in to the new house. I think in the two months that we were there, I got to sleep through the night maybe a half dozen times. Ever since we moved in to the new house, Sophia has been a champion sleeper. I convinced myself that we were going to start some serious sleep training when we moved in because I was not going to deal with rocking and cuddling with an 18-month-old and a newborn every night, let alone waking up in the middle of the night to start the process all over with both of them. And what happens when Brett is gone for 3-4 nights in a row? I was dreading it. In my mind, Sophia WAS going to become a great sleeper in the time between moving in to the house and the arrival of #2.

My wish came true all on its own. I'm absolutely flabbergasted. That word describes it all. Sophia now lays down for naps awake and will sleep for 2 hours at a time. I'm sure I could take a nap while she is asleep, and I will eventually take advantage of that. For now, there's too much to do, and I like the alone time. I'll be exhausted soon enough. Sophia also lays down at night awake. We watch cartoons or, lately, it's been that John & Kate Plus 8 show. (She loves watching the kids.) She sits on my lap for about 15-20 minutes, or less when she's really tired. When we're done watching, I pick her up, she gives me a hug and kiss while we walk to her room. Sophia turns out the light in her room. I lay her down in her crib, cover her with her blanket (or her "blank," as she says), and I tuck her stuffed duck under her arm. We say our "I love you"s, and then I close the door. Silence. Blissful silence. She falls right to sleep and wakes up about 12 hours later.

This is my gift, I think. This is my gift before #2 arrives. It is the biggest and best blessing right now to be able to sleep through the night. I'm no longer jealous of "those mothers" who seem to naturally have it easy because, well, I'm one of them now.