[Flint]

To clarify: I didn't want him to develop the habit of sleeping 6 inches away from mama because I thought...well, that this is exactly what would happen. That it would be even more difficult to get him sleeping in his own bed, the longer we waited. Or, conversely, he might never learn to sleep on his own and be one of those kids that sleeps with their parents until they are 10-15 years old.

Our daughter, by comparison, never could sleep well in our bed, or even in the same room, and although there were difficult times when we had to settle her multiple times, she never had this thought that her goal was to wear you down until you just brought her back to bed with you. Our son, he expects that, because that is, in his experience thus far, the way things should be done.

I also feel like I should somehow be able to contribute more in this endeavor, but I literally fall asleep at the wheel multiple times every morning (during my hour-long drive down rural highways) and snap back to attention when I hit the bumps on the side of the road. Luckily for me, there is a center median, or I would probably have drifted headfirst into an 18-wheeler by now. And that really doesn't help the family.