On the way home from my grandmother's, Meghan conked out in her carseat, so we carried the whole shebang into the apt with us and placed her in the bedroom. I knew she'd wake up at some point, wanting her bedtime bottle and wanting her crib, so I decided I'd let her doze until she was ready to awaken.

Sure enough, she did just that not much later. I got her out of the carseat, changed her, and gave her the customary bedtime formula bottle, but I wanted to try and put her down without the water bottle. I put her into her crib, gave her Binky, turned on music, said the usual good nights, turned out the light, and walked out of the room, pushing the door so that it was open just a crack. And I came out into the living room.

It did not take her very long at all to fall asleep. I remember her "talking" very briefly, then silence. I assume she had drifted off, but at the very least, she was quiet. I did not go in and look, because frankly, I think that would have put a dent in my plans. I never check on her when she's in there being quiet. I will when I go to bed at night, and if I waken to use the bathroom, otherwise, no. And I know that when Tony goes in there to retrieve clothes for work in the morning, he looks in on her. But other than that, our motto is "let sleeping babies lie" And after she was in bed, I did some reading-I'm still reading Firefight-Inside The Battle To Save The Pentagon On 9/11, but to be honest, I'm deliberately reading it slow. My goal is one chapter a night. If I read only one chapter a night, I'm forced to pick it up the next night for another chapter-and this forces me to get off my feet, cause I sometimes forget to do that.

She woke up once, shortly before 0100, and I didn't respond right away, to see if she'd settle on her own. Sometimes she does-sometimes she fusses but never even wakes up. After about 5 minutes, it was evident that she was awake, and needed attention. It crossed my mind to give her some water. But I decided to try and get her back to sleep without it. So I got her up and hugged her close, then I changed her, and wordlessly put her back down, gave her Binky again, turned her music back on, and that was all I did. I had actually awoken a split second before her since I needed to use the restroom, so after I had finished up with her, I snuck out of the room and took care of that. She did not cry more than one whimper. I came back to bed, she babbled for a minute or two, and then she was asleep for the rest of the night. And she remains there now. She's most likely catching up on all the sleep she's missed over the past several days. I'm not going to wake her up. She'll let me know when it's time.

I was up a few minutes before 0800, and for the first time in awhile, I was able to enjoy breakfast and coffee leisurely, without running around like a headless chicken, trying to get Meghan taken care of, while simultaneously shoveling a bagel or a bowl of cereal down my throat. I was able to sit back and eat my cereal and drink my coffee like a human being, reading over email and whatever websites I like to visit in the morning. As I've said before, this morning time is very often the only time I get to myself, so I relish it. Even if I only get 15 minutes, I relish it. Any parent can attest to how important is to even get brief alone time, just to enjoy a cup of coffee, or a good book, a TV show, or just to close your eyes! Especially when you're at home with the child all day long!

I am now just finishing up my second cup of coffee and I've already had my cereal. Her bottle has been made, her oatmeal is ready, but may need to be reheated. All bottles are clean, and two rooms have been dry-swiffered. Now, I'm just biding my time waiting for her.

I realize that I'm not going to have the same success every night as I did last night, and I'm prepared for setbacks. But this alone is a huge accomplishment for both of us. And I'm excited!

Blue Warrior needs caffeine.

Again.