I am a believer

When you become a parent you are given a lot of advice from everyone, and some of it you just don't want to believe, or you think you will do things differently, therefore said advice doesn't apply.
Rob and I have been really blessed with Quinn. He is easy-going, hardly ever cries, likes to eat, is a little bit of a character, smiles and laughs lots, and has always been a good sleeper (anywhere, anytime etc).
Some parents don't like to hear how great our Quinny is, especially if their baby is a little fussy. And I have to admit Rob and I sometimes feel guilty telling them about our pride and joy.
Anyway, sometimes these bitter parents will tell us not to count our chickens yet, because things change. Rob and I merely laughed this suggestion off, that is until a couple of weeks ago.
Our Quinny is still all of the great things I described, with the exception of "a good sleeper".
Rob and I readily admit that we have been spoiled in the sleep department. I think Quinn stopped waking up every two hours at night after the first couple of weeks, and from there he quickly went to every three, then every four hours, then around the three month mark I was usually only up with him about once a night, and sometimes not even that. Up until about two weeks ago, it was rare for Quinn not to sleep about 10 hours straight.
And not only would Quinn sleep through the night, but would also give me a couple two-hour naps during the day, thanks to the swing, and he would sleep anywhere, in the car, in the stroller while out shopping, at grandma's in Toronto etc.
Rob and I naively thought we had it made, and we are the first to admit, we were wrong.
A couple of weeks ago we were in Toronto for a few days and Quinn had a few bad nights of sleep, to the point where bringing him into our bed was the only way we could all get a few zzz's, and a nap during the day was out of the question until we took him out for a car ride.
We figured Quinn was over-stimulated and thought once we returned home we would all fall back into our normal sleep routine. Quinn had other ideas about that.
Quinn decided that the magic sleep machine (aka the swing) would no longer do, and we had to revert back to rocking him to sleep for naps, except whenever we tried to put him down he would wake up. And then at night, he did the same thing. It would take us literally hours to get him to sleep at night and usually by about midnight he would give in and sleep until morning. This worked for a while, and then he started waking up in the night and we would have to bring him into bed with us. And while this solution works for many families, it is one of the "rules" Rob and I refuse to break. We were desparate, and out of steam.
Anyway, I cracked open one of the baby care books I have and after a quick call to Rob's sister Karen for some advice, we introduced Quinn to our friend Dr. Ferber.
The Ferber Sleep Method is where you actually let your little one cry themselves to sleep, with you checking on them during certain time increments to calm them down etc. We decided to try the time increments of 2, 4, 6, and 8 minutes.
The first night was hell for Rob and I. I'm not sure, but I think there were just as many tears on our side of the bedroom door. Rob and I agreed that if Quinn wasn't asleep by the end of the 8 minute check, we would pick him up and cuddle him, which apparently is a no-no for hardcore Ferber believers. Some parents like there kids cry forever and until they puke. We are not those parents.
Anyway, we ended up picking Quinny up and he fell asleep in my arms and slept through the night. The second night, Quinn fell asleep at the six minute mark, and the third night he didn't cry at all. We have so far won the battle in getting to sleep and staying asleep at night, but by no means have we won the war.
Turns out Quinn doesn't like to nap very much now, and is too nosey to sleep while we are out shopping. We are working on the naps, and are very thankful that while Quinn won't sleep when we are at the mall, the car ride still works like magic.
It is a work in progress, and as I sit down to write this entry, Quinny is asleep, Ferber is our new god, and yes, I am a believer, about some of the advice anyway.