Memorial Day...but still no sleep

We had a lovely Memorial Day today! It's really hot and humid here right now, but Max still wanted to try making ribs on his smoker. He spent the early afternoon doing that and we took them over to a neighbor's house to enjoy. The neighbors have 2 daughters that are 3 and 1 and I swear Bear gets worn out just watching them play. He got so worn out, he had to take a short nap in the 1 year old's crib. He woke up after just a little bit, though, and we got out their doorway jumper and he went to town jumping and dancing in it. I still wouldn't feel safe not supervising him in one of those, so I'm glad we have the horsie one that sits on the floor, but he appeared to be having a good time.

I hate where we are with the sleeping thing right now. I have exhausted all my energy trying to do the right thing for my son, and I just don't know what to do anymore. He was sleeping for a good part of the night in his crib and then waking at about 6 am to sleep with me on the couch for a couple more hours. I was fine with this arrangement, but the time that he woke up and wouldn't accept the crib just kept getting earlier and earlier. He changed it to 4 am for a few days and then last night, he decided 1 am was the time to sleep with Momma. This is not good. Not good at all. So now, we are trying letting him cry it out. Actually, we are trying this as I write, which is not making for a very relaxing post, but anyhow, we are trying. I just don't know if this is going to work. I don't know if I have the strength to let him keep this up for hours, which is how long people tell me it could take. He seems miserable, but is he? I know he doesn't understand what we're trying to accomplish, but something has got to change soon or I will go nuts. I already hurt my back trying to accommodate him on the couch. I just can't do that anymore. I don't care right now how many times he gets up per night, but darn it, he just has to sleep in his crib. We did this a little earlier this evening and he stopped crying after about 20 minutes. From what I understand, if I go and get him after a certain amount of time, I ruin the entire thing and confuse him. We'll see if I or Max can wait it out with him without feeling like horrible parents. Right now I feel like a very mean Momma! If anyone has any suggestions or even if you just want to tell me to deal with it for a while, feel free. Wish us a good night!