My Brave Little Boy,
After a few harrowing weeks of trying to get you to sleep on your own, you did it! All by yourself and in your own crib!! I am so proud of you!
It was touch-and-go there for awhile. A few times I thought we were both going to have a breakdown. You are a very strong-willed baby. And I get it. You don't want to go to sleep! There are so many new and amazing things that you're experiencing in the world that you don't want to miss out on anything! But that's not what you need. Research shows that babies do all their growing in their sleep. That's where you are able to process and make sense of everything you've learned throughout the day. What you want is not what you need.
This is the first important lesson that you're going to keep learning throughout the rest of your life. At thirty years old, I'm still reminded daily that what I want may not be what's best for me. And now as a mother, I have to realize that what I want for you may still not be best. Trust me, I didn't want to hear you cry when I put you down to sleep. I wanted to hold you and rock you and let you know that everything was going to be okay. But we both needed to realize that, regardless of whether you were in my arms or in your crib, everything was still going to be alright. You had your blanket, your binkie, and your thumb - you just needed to find them on your own and learn how to use them.
After four months, we're starting to get the hang of this. You're doing an amazing job, little buddy. We're going to meet numerous challenges throughout the days, weeks, and months to come. But always remember Lesson 1:
What you want, may not always be what you need.
Love,
Your very proud Mommy
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