Just who are we weaning here??

I decided shortly after Sophi was born that I couldn't be the parent who let her child cry herself to sleep. I just didn't have it in me. So I nursed her to sleep until she was almost 18 months old, when she weaned, and then for a couple of months after that, I rocked her to sleep. This probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but hey, I stay at home with her and I have that time so why make her suffer and scream herself to sleep. We did try the CIO {Cry It Out} method for about 4 days{?} Know what happened? She screamed at the top of her lungs for over an hour each night. It never got better...and it never got easier for us. We have a seriously stubborn child. Don't know who she gets that from! Couldn't be either on of us....right. Anyway, after I stopped rocking her to sleep, I would put her in the crib and lay just outside of the crib, on her floor. This lasted for several months. Then, I decided to move outside of her door, thinking that if she didn't see me, she would realize that she doesn't need me right there for her to fall asleep. She's 26 months old now. We still lay outside her door every night for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour waiting for her to fall asleep so we can slip away and have some Mitch and Kammi time.

Last night, Mitch suggested that maybe we should try leaving her door open and walking away but staying close enough that if she calls, we could say "we're right here, honey!" and keep her from wigging out and scaling the crib. I agreed. So we put her to bed about 30 minutes ago and guess where I am? About 4 feet away from where I usually am. Waiting for her to fall asleep. And guess how many times she has called for me in the last 30 minutes? Twice. TWICE. In THIRTY minutes. Maybe she isn't the only one who needs weaning. It takes away a part of the "my baby needs me" fantasy and it freaks me out. I didn't realize this until about 8:00 tonight. This is something that I am going to have to work on, as much as she will. Goodnight, my sweet girl. Tomorrow you will be my baby again. Mommy and Daddy love you.

Am I the only one who has this issue? I'd love to hear stories of how you got your little ones {and yourself} adjusted to a healthy sleep pattern. Good night!