I get a little tiny bit of flak every now and then for how attached at the shoulder Joy and I are, guys. I’m not talking like a lot of smack talk, but there’s tiny little comments.

There’s not a lot I can do about it – she’s nursing, we’re together 24/7 in the office, I’m always right there when she needs me. Girl just wants her Muhmuh.

She’s gotten a little better about other people in her old age (she turned 6 months today), and is now all smiles when her daddy walks into the room. She’s happy to be held by grandma, and she’ll even do the “I wanna see you up close” lean with others from time to time.

But not for very much time.

Cuz then the crying starts.

Girl just wants her Muhmuh.

While Josh and I are very accommodating to our kids needs, there’s a point where we gotta draw the line and put some limits on things. Things like bedtime. And tonight when Joy thought she was gonna traipse through the evening to her usual 9pm bedtime, I tucked her in at 7pm and let her cry it out.

How do you do the cry it out thing?

It ain’t for the faint of heart. Be ready for lots of screaming over the next couple of days. But then, be ready for results. In terms of Joy’s bedtime, I started a new routine tonight. At least 30 minutes before bedtime, the tv was turned off. Jammies were put on, stories read. Big hugs and kisses, and then I very clearly told Joy goodnight.

She started yelling almost the second I left the room.

I came back in five minutes later to tell her “I love you Joy, it’s nigh-night time.” I gently lay her back down, tucked her back in, and left the room.

We repeated that again five minutes later.

Then ten minutes later.

Then fifteen.

By 8pm, she was asleep. Phil went to bed.

And Muhmuh gets a night off.

But what about tomorrow?

Whenever we’ve let our kids cry it out to change a behavior, it’s usually taken 3 days for them to get the picture and get on board. When we took Phil’s pacifier away, the first night no one got sleep. The next night, he only yelled at us for half the night. The third night, there were a few protests.

The fourth night, he forgot what he was even upset about.

Do you let your kids cry it out?

Why or why not?