So what about "Dear Mr. Ferber"?

My intentions were good, but I have not updated because my results were not as stellar as I hoped.  I was sure that sleeping through the night and potty training just required simple focus and determination. How unsubmissive could children really be? Oh, they can break your spirit without even trying.

So, day one ended with Caroline not taking naps and being incredibly tired, Maddox urinating on the carpet three times, breaking our computer screen with a scrub brush, no naps, consuming a ton of processed sugar (aka. mini M&Ms), not getting dinner cooked, no workout for me, and throwing in the towel (pardon the run on sentence). That is right, I was broken by a 6 month old and 2 and a half year old. So, ten pairs of wet underwear and one swaddled baby later we fell asleep to try again another day.

My anti-potty training has since improved. He does, now, ask to sit on the potty a few times a day. We have more dry diapers than before. However, the child is content to be in diapers half the time. Caroline is a laid back kiddo with a desire to be just like her older brother. It has caused her to develop her gross motor skills at a fast pace. So, I suspect that she will continue to follow suit and indeed potty train when he does. I can truly see him being three and a half and her being 18 months and conquering it in one swoop. Only God knows the timing. However, I can not loose my sanity over it. My Type A personality is learning to take a back seat with two little ones. As for Ferber...

He came and went and came back again. This time, he is here to stay. We began swaddling again and then realized that Caroline was waking up with no way to self-soothe. So, we decided to really bite the bullet and take her arms out of her "convertible Woombie" (we love them) and endure more frequent wakings with more opportunity to learn self-soothing. We decided to implement this five nights ago.  Just in time for my mother to arrive from Pennsylvania. She endured it well. Caroline, however, has a new edition. A precious pink bunny blanket that she sleeps with. I love finding cute transitional objects.  Of course, Maddox got one too. He is a gray bunny named Rascal.

So, a month or so later, we have two new bunnies, a better night time sleeper, and a toddler who still prefers a diaper to "unnawear." However, sanity is returning, and for that, I am grateful.

P.S. We miss you already Gigi!!!