Well, the bouncy seat is no more.

Let us take a moment to review the stages of bouncy seat with Simon. The first pic is of the first bouncy seat we used - the one that he very quickly outgrew in height, and I had to buy a new one, because he loved it so much!

I am happy - no - relieved - to announce that Simon has not fallen asleep in his bouncy seat for the past 4 nights. I decided, after finding him kneeling in the thing and using it as a bucking bronko, that he was way too big for it. So, 4 night ago, we started some modified sleep training. Basically using the "timed response" technique. Which is not nearly as easy for me now as it was with Jacob. As I may have mentioned, the boys share a bedroom. Jacob was NOT happy about my decision to allow Simon to go to bed at the same time as him....much less that I *gasp* walked out of the room and let Simon cry for a few minutes. That first night was aweful. Like, so bad that I was seriously questioning whether this was a good idea. Simon never cried by himself for more than 3 or 4 mintues, but I still felt aweful. That night, it took 1 1/2 hours to get both boys to go to sleep.

The 2nd night was a bit better, but still not stellar. It was 45 minutes of back and forth for me. Last night, much, much better. Only 15-20 minutes and both boys were asleep.

Now, tonight. Oh my goodness. The difference a few days makes! We've stuck to the same bedtime routine since we started this (I had to deviate a little bit tonight, but I'll get to that in a minute). Around 8:10, I put both boys in the bath. After getting washed off, they were allowed to play with the tub toys in the water for about 15 minutes (tonight I did double duty and folded clothes while they played - that worked nicely). Immediately after that, it was straight to the living room, where I had already dimmed all the lights and turned on soft sleepy time music. After getting PJ's on, Jacob sat on a blanket and did puzzles and looked at books quietly (all by himself! I was so proud), while Simon nursed. I did *not* nurse Simon to sleep, and due to our new routine, he was well aware that he would not be nursing that long. When he was finished, he just sat up and said "done!" and grinned. (This was where we deviated tonight. Brian has been reading to Jacob while Simon nurses, but Brian wasn't home tonight). Then both boys went to the bathroom and brushed teeth, or rather, I brushed their teeth, right before they headed to their room and climbed up on Jacob's bed. We read one book, sang one song, and then it was lights out. Hugs and kisses all around, and a short back rub for Simon to settle him down.

Now, I did have to go back in his room once to tell him to lay back down and give another quick back rub to calm him down. But - I left the room with him still awake and babbling to himself. He fell asleep on his own! I was SO happy. And Jacob was relatively quiet during all of that, which is also just great.

I've been enjoying my evening sans kids, which is so amazing for me. Until very recently, Simon was up way too late, giving me virtually no time for myself. With Brian gone tonight, I've been very happily lounging, talking on the phone and spending a bit of time on the computer all while listening to soft jazz music. It's been heavenly.

Of course, after writing this, I have probably jinxed myself. I have a feeling tomorrow night won't be nearly as smooth, as we will have quite a routine upset because of a late birthday party with out of town family. But that's ok. I am well on my way to having a real bedtime for my kids!