Am I Doing the Right Thing?

Our desktop isn't connecting to the Internet for some reason and that is where all of our pictures are (I still have catching up to do!), so instead I'm going to write about a dilemma I've been having this morning.

We moved Gage out of our room and into his own room last Monday. Since then he's had some rough nights and some VERY short naps. When he was sleeping in our room, we would sleep and nap pretty well. I gave him a week to try to adjust to his own room and his BIG BOY crib. Things continued to go down hill! So on Monday, I decided to start a new sleeping regimen that we used for Maisey when she was 10 months old. (And it worked like a charm!)

In this book, the chapters are divided up into age groups, so Shaun and I read the appropriate chapter for Gage for FHE Monday night, and we agreed on a plan of action. The first step was to get him to stop sleeping with his paci and to put him down drowsy but awake (which we tried to do since he was just a few weeks old).

The proposed schedule was:
7:30 pm - bath, lotion, jammies, bottle, songs
8:00 pm - bed
10:00 - 11:00 pm (dream feed) - wake him to feed him right before we go to bed
6:00 - 7:00 am - feed him upon awakening

We are not supposed to feed him between his "dream feed" and 6:00 am!

Night one went pretty well. He woke up at 4:00 am and cried for like 20 min. as I sat by his crib and patted him every once in a while. He fell back asleep until 6:45 am. (All with out a Paci) Naps weren't very good. . . the longest one last 4o min.

Night two (last night) - A COMPLETE DISASTER!!!!! We put him in bed at 8. He cried FOREVER as Shaun and I took turns going in to pat him and calm him down. He finally fell asleep sometime around 10. I went in to feed him at 11 then I went to bed. He woke up at 2 am and I went in and patted him and reassured him, then I laid on the bed in his room until he fell asleep again at 2:45 am. He woke up again at 3:45 am and SCREAMED until 5:59 am. I picked him up every once in a while when the patting wouldn't calm him down. I put him back in his crib at 5:57 so I could go make a bottle and feed him at 6:00 am. I made the bottle and when I went back in the room, he was asleep! I crawled back in to bed with Shaun as I told him about our HORRIBLE night only to be awakened again at 6:45 for the day!

He's had 2 naps today that were both VERY short.

So my problem is. . . I read Shaun's friend from High School's (Tammy) blog this morning about her son choking on a banana and she had a link to this BLOG. I sat and read it this morning with tears running down my face and then I ROCKED Gage to sleep WITH his paci.

Life is so precious and can be so short. We never know when our time is coming or when our loved ones will be departing this earthly life.

So my dilemma is:

Do I continue with this sleep program

-OR-

Do I savour every moment with my 3 1/2 month old but continue to have sleepless nights and short naps, and start the sleep program at a later age?

-OR-

Is there a HAPPY MEDIUM out there?

All I know is that I will hold my kids a little bit tighter, give them more hugs and more kisses, and try to be a more understanding and patient mother.