Could it really be this easy?

I just gave Alex his bath, read him a story, swaddled him, and put him in his crib. I left him in the bedroom, planning to come back in 5 minutes if he was crying. He was quiet for a few minutes, then cried for a two to three minutes, then fell asleep. I just went to check on him, and there he is, sleeping like a baby. That's the first time that expression has made sense to me! I still can't believe he's asleep. Let's hope this lasts!

Here's one from earlier today. What a pose!

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Later

And the answer is: no, it wasn't that easy. He slept for an hour, then woke up. I let him cry for a few minutes, hoping he'd soothe himself back to sleep. Nope. So I fed him, which calmed him down enough to sleep. I put him back in the crib. He woke again a few minutes later, and started to cry again. I waited a few minutes, then went in to calm him. Back in the crib, then again he started to cry. We repeated that a few times in five minute intervals. Then I decided to stay in the room with him. I held him, but he still cried intermittently. So I fed him again, and he fell asleep. I put him into the crib, but jostled him enough that he will hopefully remember being put there.

I hope he doesn't wake up again for a few hours, because it's now past the time that I want to put our neighbors through the crying spells. They have been very patient and understanding, so I'd rather not make it harder on them by letting him cry too late. That's one thing that makes sleep training hard--there's no way I want to let him cry himself to sleep when he wakes up at 4 am. It would be rude to our neighbors, and since we sleep in the same room, it would be too difficult for us as well.

I'm hoping that as he gets used to falling asleep in his crib that he will be able to soothe himself back to sleep much easier when he wakes in the middle of the night. Right now, once he wakes up the first time (whether it's at 1:30 or 4:30), he wakes up every two hours after that. He eats plenty each time, so I know he's not just pacifying himself. But it's not an easy schedule on me. I would really like to sleep for longer stretches at a time.