Sleepytime Sans Boobie

In gearing up for my trip next week, I've been so nervous about leaving Jonah for 4 days and 3 nights. It's not that I worry about the quality of care he'll get. He's staying with his Nana, who takes exceptional care, and they've got a strong bond, since she keeps him during the week. But, Jonah's still nursing, and at night, in particular, he really prefers to nurse right before going to bed. We have been blessed in the fact that Jonah takes a bottle very well, but the other night Jeremy tried to give him a bottle at bedtime, and he freaked OUT! He was soooo mad!! So, I went in and nursed him. We are also blessed in the fact that Jonah is able to put himself to sleep (with the aid of a bedside sound/light soother) if he's still awake after his last feeding of the night. However, he really prefers that last feeding -- not for nourishment sake, but just for the sake of comfort, I think, which is why he actually rejects the bottle at that time -- he isn't really hungry.

All that being said, I've been worried about how he's going to do without Mommy at bedtime while I'm gone. So, I decided I'm going to have to show some tough love and start putting him down for bed at night without the boob. Last night was the first attempt, and was I ever SURPRISED! I fed Jonah his cereal, and he played in my lap for a minute, and then I took him to his room, turned on his sound/light soother, and lay him in bed -- wide awake. Much to my astonishment, Jonah did not make one peep or fuss! He watched his bedside soother and went to sleep after only 2 cylces of the music!! What a BLESSING! Of course, then he DID wake up in the middle of the night for the first time in weeks, and needed to be nursed to go back to sleep. But, that's a rarity, so I'm not terribly concerned about it. I'm praying this trend sticks around, at least until I get back from Lubbock. And, I'm praying that I have the tough love wherewithal on the nights that it's NOT as easy over the next week. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to tackle this new task that I like to call "sleepytime sans boobie."