He's flown the coup

After a night out at my crazy hip hop class last night I came home to a frazzled Jenni. It seems as though Austin did not want to do his bedtime routine and instead decided to scream. She finally got him to go down, but his bottle went untouched. Around 10pm I went in and took him out of the crib as I knew he would be awake and pretty hungry soon. He nursed and took half a bottle as well. I was rocking him and thought about how he has had a rough couple of days. I almost didn't go to my class because he has been so grumpy lately, but who wouldn't be when you have sharp teeth poking at your gums all day long?

We rocked for a long time, mostly for my benefit, but I think he was enjoying it as well by the way he curled into me. There are times when this feeling of complete love for him washes over me. I know I always love him, but there are these moments when it is just so powerful. Last night was one of those moments. I watched him smack his lips together as he closed his eyes. He pulled his little shoulders up in a ball and had his face looking up at me and he just looked like the most perfect little creature I have ever seen.

Chris was out of town, so I knew that if Austin came to bed with me I could cuddle him all night and also have the room to spread out. It is absolutely crazy how much room a 9 month old can take up in a king size bed! I brought him in and lied (lied or layed? that is one that always gets me...) down next to him and his crying began. I brought him back to his crib and he curled over, grabbed his blanket, and went to sleep.

It was funny to realize that this goal we have been working towards has been achieved. He slept through the night and smiled as I walked in to get him in the morning. I am 100% certain that there will be times in the future when he wants to sleep with us again. I wasn't sad last night to not have him with me as I was feeling kind of selfish in the first place to chance messing with his new found schedule. I was actually pretty proud of the little guy. He knew what he wanted, and he could communicate that. He is growing up, and it is so much fun to get to know him.