Sadie's growing up

Every once in a while we will put Sadie in bed, kiss her lovingly and gently on the forehead and then walk away. And she will put herself to sleep. On those nights we lay in bed and talk about what a big girl Sadie is and how far she's come. Then we roll over, and if we're lucky, we stay there all night and don't go back into Sadie's room until the morning.

Sometimes, if we're super lucky, this will go on for 4 or 5 days. We enjoy our evenings together as adults, we get full nights of sleep, we may even get to have sex. And we blissfully and ignorantly bask in the glow that is big-girl Sadie.

But Sadie is smart. She knows that we can't sustain late nights of screaming forever, so she gives us these breaks... for 4 or 5 days. And then it starts all over again. Each time we approach this late-night screaming, lay in bed with Sadie until she falls asleep, with less and less patience.

I am convinced that eventually this will reverse itself and the screaming herself to sleep will be fewer and fewer and the falling asleep on her own will be more and more.