Parenting is such a difficult job. We always try to do what's best for Micah, but sometimes what's best is no fun at all. Micah slept through the night at two months old. By the time she was three months old, she slept between 11 and 12 hours every night. Without fail. It was glorious. Then she turned four months old and started getting restless. Then she hit a growth spurt and I nursed her twice during the night. Then she started sleeping again. That lasted for about two weeks. Then she got her first tooth. And the night waking began again. It's not good for those of us who like to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Over the weekend, we began Operation Cry It Out {OCIO}, and it was purely awful. The first night, Micah woke up at 11:32 p.m. and cried until 12:23 a.m. She woke up twice more before 6 a.m. and cried for about 30 minutes each time. The next night, Micah woke up at 1:31 a.m. and cried until just after 2 a.m. Last night, we also began weaning Micah from the swaddle that she loves so dearly. When I wrapped her up for the night, I left one arm out. It's a dangerous move, because she's fully capable of removing the pacifier from her mouth, but she's not yet mastered the art of reinserting it. She fell asleep without any problems, and we rejoiced {silently, of course} in the den. She slept well - only waking up once around 4:30 a.m. But apparently her free hand did some damage during the night; her little eye has a scratch underneath it. Poor thing.

My point in all of this is that I know we're not alone. Parents everywhere finally resort to letting their child cry it out. It's a painful step to take. Heartwrenching, even, when your child cries and you don't answer.

But let me just say this.

My body appreciates the sleep. I think Micah's does too. Everyone needs their beauty sleep, right? And let's face it: everyone has to learn how to put themselves back to sleep sometime. Now is Micah's time. Next step? Releasing her other arm from the swaddle. We'll see how it goes.