Victorious Parenting... does it exist?

I am beginning to wonder if there is such thing as retribution, you know, what goes around comes around????? All of Caleb's early life was like a ride in the park. He didn't cry, he slept through the night when he was only 12 weeks old (12 hour stretches even), he would wake up cheerful and play in his crib for sometimes a full hour before he wanted to be picked up, and all was well. Other parents would demand to know how I managed to maintain such an easy-going boy when they were battling their little ones for every little thing. I knew it was by nothing I did or didn't do, Caleb just fit the mold of the "perfect little baby". Last night Selah slept through the night for one of the first times in her young life... and hows this for irony???? Caleb got up at least 4 times screaming at the top of his lungs. He no longer sleeps in until 8, even though he is exhausted and not getting near enough sleep, he is battling me on every front he possibly can. He wakes up screaming as though the sky is falling instead of smiling and happy. I suppose this is a normal age and stage in a toddlers young life with teething and simply being contrary to the best of his/her ability. But it doesn't change the fact that I am exhausted and frustrated.

Which brings me to another interesting point, victorious parenting. I use this label for those milestones (sleeping through the night, self-soothing, weaning, potty training, etc.) we all try so hard to help our babies achieve. If there is one thing I have noticed, it is that these little guys are too smart for their own good. My theory? They succumb to your will only until you think that you have won, then they daze and confuse you until you think that you are the one who is in control, when really they are now holding the remote. Take sleeping through the night for example. You finally get this down and they seem to follow along for a week or so, then they rebel. And instead of thinking the worst of your precious baby, you think the worst of yourself. Maybe they are growing and hungry? Maybe they are thirsty? What if they are teething? What if they had a bad dream? and on and on it goes, the second guessing, the guilt... and once again your "little angel" has won. Then there is weaning... what a roller coaster that is. I have been trying to wean Caleb off the bottle for a month now, we used to give it to him at night, then he started waking up in the middle of the night for his "fix" and we would constantly cave thinking he needed it. Realize our stupidity, we cut him off (which was actually easier than we thought). However, every now and then, usually when teething season is in full bloom, in exhaustion and desperation that he is going to wake up his sister, I find myself plodding to the kitchen at 2 in the morning, fixing another bottle. When does it end? It would be really great if they had some sort of electronic monitoring that could tell you what (if anything) was wrong with your child so you knew if you needed to act or if they were just pulling your leg... I am sure one day that device will exist. But until then, I suppose I am stuck with the old fashioned way... one guess after another.

Happy Guessing!