Milestone

I have a lot I need to write down that will probably never happen... but the biggest thing that has happened that I've yet to blog about is....

Levi is sleeping in a crib. He is 18 months and most accomplish this long before now. But as most of you know, I don't do things like most people :) That's why I don't complain (very often) about the lack of sleep. I chose to parent this way, and with it comes many inconveniences. But, I'm not trying to raise a good baby. I'm trying to raise a good adult. And for me and mine, that means I miss out on a lot of things while they are babies. I could count the number of times I've been out at night without him on one hand... and I've been back by 10 in order to put him to bed. This during a time when David has been gone all the time. I could have gone with him to much of those things had I had a baby who would go to bed without me. But... that's ok. I chose to do it this way. And it didn't bother me til recently. I used to be able to lay down with him and then when he was out, I could have a couple of hours. But lately he wouldn't stay asleep. I'd have to lay down with him at 8 and I'd be trapped. Now, I lost weight because of it. I like to snack after the kids go to bed... and I couldn't :) I was reading a lot on my phone with the Kindle app trapped in my room. Naptime was awful too.
I had tried to put him in his crib starting at around a year. I don't give much solid food until then, so nursing round the clock means he sleeps with me or I don't get any sleep. And I like my babies near me. That's what I did with all the other boys and it worked fine with them. But Levi would have none of it. I'd try... he'd scream. And since I don't "let him cry it out" either... that didn't work for me. But all of a sudden, he was willing. Very quickly he even started preferring it. I would try to rock him for a bit, but he'd grunt and pull on my neck to put him in his crib! No tears, just a happy little guy going down for a nap or bed.
And now I can come downstairs and snack and gain back all the weight I lost.
If you are wondering, it has worked well for us thus far. I do not have overly attached older children. They are confident and independent. We'll see what happens with Levi :)