a good week

It's been a really miraculous week and I thought I'd jot it down. It all started last Monday. A day every mom dreads- we had to make Hazel 'cry it out' again. You would think doing this once would be enough but because of our traveling, the holiday's and a lack of any kind of a normal schedule the last couple months, she was back to needing a bottle to go to sleep. And waking up 2 or 3 times a night for that bottle. I felt like I had a newborn again. So we decided it was time for a remedy, but we needed to wait until all chaos was over. Thus, January. I was terrified to start though because I knew how hard it was going to be- especially now that's she's older, wiser and a lot louder. And plus, I'm a total wuss when it comes to Hazel- that sad face can get me to do anything. But for all of our sanity, I knew it had to be done. So we did it and it was hard- she cried for an hour and a half. But then she went to sleep- something I wasn't sure she'd ever be able to do again without a bottle; it had become such a routine for us. Since then, she has only cried at most ten minutes and usually by the time I close her door she has stopped crying. She sometimes doesn't even make a peep- Hazel Henderson doesn't make a peep when being forced to do something she doesn't want to do. Miracle #1. And it gets even better- she has not woken up ONCE in the middle of the night since last Monday. She went from a minimum of waking up 2-3 times a night to sleeping for 12+ solid hours without one noise. All this from an hour and a half of crying. This is Miracle #2. So it seems things couldn't be better, right? Just you wait. With a lot of mind-shifting for me AND Hazel, I decided it was time to give up the beloved bottle that has been Hazel's constant companion since she was 1 month old. The thing I knew could always calm her down, keep her quiet in the car, put her to sleep, and as of late, fill her little tummy when I was worried she wasn't eating enough solid foods. So this was going to be a struggle for both of us. I am proud to say Hazel has been off the bottle for almost a week now and is doing great. She really misses it in the car (she yells at me the whole time we're driving now), but other than that she seems to be totally content with her sippy cup and is doing great with eating enough (some may say more than enough, but I personally enjoy watching that beer belly grow). :) This presents miracle #3. Then to top it all off, we have stopped formula (this went along with the bottle) and she totally digs drinking real milk. Doesn't seem to notice the difference. This is especially sweet for my hard working husband; there's $200 a month we'll get back. Miracle #4.
So that's just a little update on the simple miracle's we've had at our house the last week. Things I thought would make this month- and Hazel- miserable have gone so much smoother than expected. And as a mom, that's priceless. It's amazing how big of a difference your child's happiness makes in your life. All I can say is thank heaven for prayers- and for the little miracles we see every day in our lives. Things are so great right now and I'm so proud of Hazel and the big girl she's becoming.



*above picture taken by Amy Little Photography 2007