My Little Napper

I've been had by a 6 month old.  Apparently my darling daughter knows just what to do to get what she wants... At 6 months old, holy cow!  Today, I went to put Breanna down for her first nap.  Again, with no pacifier and not with me.  I went through our whole nap routine and the second I started to rock her in front of her crib she knew what was coming and started to cry.  I'm not talking about a whimper or a whine, I'm talking about a full our scream.  I thought, "maybe she's already too overtired..." and "maybe if I lay her down and rub her back..."  The second I laid her down she threw a tantrum that could rival any 2 year old going through the terrible twos.  We're talking back arched, throwing her head back tantrum.  I picked her up to try to settle her down, which didn't work.  After holding her for a good 30 minutes she was still crying!  I was feeling awful about taking away her pacifier at this point!  The longer she cried the worse I felt!  I also knew we were getting to the time when she would normally eat.  So, I went ahead and nursed her.  Yes, I semi caved and nursed her but I knew if I didn't she would never sleep because she was so worked up and getting hungry.  Feeding her calmed her right down, so after she was done I began rocking her again.  The tantrum started right back up!  I was frustrated, confused about what the best thing to do was, and feeling like a horrible mommy.  So, I knew I needed to take a step back and gather myself.  I laid her in her crib so I could go into the hall for a second and left the room.  I kid you not within 1 minute she was sound asleep!  What?!  She slept for 1 hour 15 minutes and woke up happy and refreshed! 
So, this afternoon Breanna was ready for her second nap.  I was dreading it!!  I changed her diaper, we read some stories, and then I rocked her.  She did fine until I tried to lay her down.  The tears started instantly.  Thinking back to this morning, I decided to try to tell her it was naptime and step out of the room.  I was peeking in through the cracked door, and what did my darling daughter do?  She INSTANTLY stopped screaming and began happily babbling to herself.  I watched in disbelief!  In a few short minutes she had babbled herself to sleep! 
It's amazing how young they learn just the right way to get what they want!  Either my daughter is incredibly smart or I'm a sucker for her tears... I'm going to go with incredibly smart!

Say a prayer for our family of 3 and healthy sleep habits!