Seriously RIVER! GO, TO, SLEEP!

I am a completely different mother with River. I don't really know how it happened, but I believe it's a mix of him, life with two children instead of one, and of course the fact that I've never really separated from the boy for more than 4-5 hours. We are connected.
So really, the goal of healthy attachment is...an independent self, or detachment.
This my friends is our current struggle, all focused in on that big thing we call SLEEP!
River has always slept great...all nestled up next to Mommy. When Mommy's not curled up next to him, well that's a different story. Some days supporting this transition seems easy, other days it seems impossible.
The truth is, mothers I need breaks. Zac and I need time to be with each other, and time away from our babies. We need our sanity.
We have certainly made progress, which is probably good to reflect on.
River takes two naps a day in his crib. Sometimes he needs minimal support (5 minutes), sometimes he needs more (30+ minutes). On the days he needs lots of support...well lets just say those days end up being my more trying days of mothering.
River goes to sleep every night in his crib. Just last week Zac started stepping in with putting River to bed. Somehow we had gotten to the point where we each had our assigned child, and we only put that child to bed each night...some nights mine took a lot more work!
We've found that most of the time River is able to calm down and get himself to sleep in his crib much easier with Daddy's support. Daddy doesn't make milk, and I'm not kidding myself that breastfeeding isn't playing a gigantic role in this whole sleep dilemma.
River is falling in love with his blanket, and as soon as he has it, he snuggles into it and will usually rub his eyes. I'm hopeful it's becoming a bit of a transition object for him.

So...where are we at now??? Well, it's a bit of a River/Mommy boot camp I guess. River breastfeeds during the bedtime routine, or before his nap, then goes to his crib, and I leave the room.
What's happened after that has ranged from quiet fussing to full blown hysteria, but slowly, very slowly we're  getting less full blown hysteria and more quiet fussing (also to include more sanity and more sleep).
And just to add...Yes. Mommy and Daddy do step in to help when he is hysteric.

Not all families share the same view of sleep, my views have even differed between my two children, or even from day to day depending on how our little family system is functioning. But for now, getting River to sleep on his own, is the plan.

Here's some pictures of Brother and Sissy right after his nap. He loves a little cuddle time and some shared reading before he's ready to play...and so do we.

(side note: THIS book is the first favorite book!)