Breakthrough!!!!

After 2 weeks of sleep training, I feel confident in saying that we all made it through "boot camp." It was a really tough road. REALLY TOUGH. We (and Ben) suffered through a whole lot of crying in efforts to help him self-soothe. Many times I cried right along with him. "Crying it out" was not our preferred method of teaching Ben to sleep, in fact, it was quite the opposite. But, after quite literally trying everything else, it was our last resort. Our sleep "bible" has been the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." I love this book as it has a very balanced approach to sleep training, and is very non-judgmental in dealing with your lifestyle, philosophy, and baby's temperament. Our goal was to help Benjamin to self-soothe, as we were spending an hour or more attempting to get him down for each nap or bedtime, only to have him wake up as soon as we laid him down. For the past 5 days, he is not protesting sleep and is on somewhat of a schedule, napping at approximately 9am and 1pm, and sleeping essentially through the night. I feel like a huge load has been lifted off of me. God is so good.
Last Sunday, I was about at the end of my rope. We were over a week into sleep training, and all three of us were frustrated and very sleep deprived. Steven graciously watched Ben so I could attend church alone, without distraction. It was an excellent service, and just what I needed. One of our pastors (a woman) spoke about being joyful despite challenges in our life. I was reminded about how much I have for which to be thankful, and how much I can trust God to meet all of my needs. I'm so thankful that God does not give us more than we can bear...Just when all seemed hopeless in relation to Ben's sleep, he made a breakthrough. I truly believe this is not coincidence. This first of many parenting challenges is shaping my character, hopefully making me more fully into who God has created me to be. I know for sure that I often respond very poorly when I am cranky, sleep deprived, and want to shut down. This is normal. But, somehow I hope to learn from these experiences by becoming more patient, gracious, and loving. I know I can only do this through God's intervention because it sure doesn't come naturally. I'm so thankful for so many of my friends who have also been such a support to me these last several months!! I'm sure we're not completely out of the woods, but I am so full of joy that things are improving...thanks be to God!