I'ts Called The Cry It Out Sleep Method

I don't do it. Well, I don't intentionally do it.
Maddie is a night owl and there is no denying it. She loves playing late into the night and sleeping in once the sun rises. I am not. I am a morning person. I enjoy early bed times and workouts before the birds are even up.
We definitely differ on our sleep style. 
I've tried to work with her. My theory is - you wake up early, you'll go to bed early. So, when you go to bed late, we must wake up early, and eventually will turn back the clock, and change our sleep time.
Now, back to crying it out, I don't particularly care for this method. I tried it with my first son and it was heartbreaking. My kids and I typically end up cosleeping. I don't really mind but I do feel pressured from those around me to raise my children to be more independent and sleep alone.
So, for the last two nights, I've informed Maddie that we're going to bed {I admit we don't have a great bed time routine}, we turn off the tv at 10:00 pm and we begin the "lay down" time. I lay with her and we sing a few songs and then I remind her it's time for sleep. She starts crying. She cries for 30 minutes. I stay calm. She stops and tries to chat. I remind her it's time for bed. She cries, for another hour, and it's then that I realize my kid is Crying It Out while I lay there next to her. No, I can't leave her, she'd just get up and wander, and remember, I don't particularly like the idea of the crying it out.
So what do we do? I go back to my earlier idea, wake up early, go to bed early. But I'll let ya in on another little secret, the baby in my belly, wakes up around 10:00 pm and "plays" all night long. *sighs* I am worried that I will never sleep again. Never.
Like this post? Vote for me!

Just Call Me: "The Terrible Napping-Baby Momma"

So, I was just reading my American Baby mag. when I quickly learned that I'm the worse Napping-Baby Momma around. It seems people actually lay their babies down while they are AWAKE and then the child quickly and sweetly falls asleep without a fuss. Why didn't anyone ever ask me if I was doing this type of sleep parenting when I was just a newbie mom? How come napping just doesn't seem to be the number one question you get when you're out and about with your adorable newborn? Seriously, let's talk about what's important rather than if I squatted or had an episiotomy during my kid's birth. Nah, I totally love birth stories so I wouldn't want to give that one up, but still, I would have loved some sleep advice as a new mother.

I've given birth to three kids, as of now, two with drugs and one without, oh and on the third, yep, I did squat. :) Alright then, now to sleeping. All three of my children have in some way ended up in my bed. I don't regret my decision to co-sleep, I mean come on, we are one of the few societies that actually don't do it. I wouldn't want to sleep alone if I was a baby, how can you blame them for thinking you're a crazy parent for laying them down in that cold, big, empty baby bed by themselves? I'd cry, too. But, again, going back, I would have liked for my kids to be independent sleepers, I just didn't realize rocking them to sleep could have been playing such a huge part in my battle.

This article actually didn't bash parents who co-slept, it simply mentioned that you lay your child down, awake, at certain intervals based on age. It was then that I got that happy, "awe" moment, shook my head, and realized where I'd gone wrong. :)

What about you? Do you co-sleep? Do you semi-co-sleep, where the little one climbs in bed with you early in the morning and you haven't even realized he/she is there until you get kicked the head or something? Or, does your kid independently sleep alone?