One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

Before we left for Charleston, Iain was basically sleeping through the night. He'd fall asleep around 11:30 and sleep until about 6. Some mornings it was 5:50, other mornings 6:30, and on one memorable occasion he slept until 7:50.

He'd been doing this for 1.5 weeks, which doesn't sound like much until you consider that a week and a half was about 1/6 of his life. Also, he was totally consistent. Once he started sleeping all night, he did it every single night.

Obviously, I was spoiled. When people leaned in, brought their eyebrows together, and asked me "are you getting any sleep?" I'd reply, "Oh, yeah! He sleeps from midnight 'till dawn every night!" Smug, smug, oh so smug.

I guess I needed a set-down, and who better to deliver it than Iain? When we got to Charleston, he rejected the crib Aunt Barbara loaned Mother. He rejected his bouncy seat (purchased especially for him! It even vibrated!). He refused to sleep for more than 2.5 hours anywhere, and he fussed and fussed. I returned to Snippyville, Population: 1.

Finally, after 3 nights of misery, I decided to lay him down in my bed (on a towel - I'm not an idiot) (ok, I tried it without and he projectile vomited on the sheets at 4:23am, so I slept on the top sheet with the [handmade by me] quilt as covers. But at least I learned my lesson.). There was no reason to think he'd sleep any better on the bed than in the crib or bouncy seat.

He's never slept flat on his back because he's always had nasal congestion. It's apparently very common in newborns, and he made noises the likes of which would shock Archie Bunker. He sat up to sleep because he sat up to breathe. So I figured sleeping in the bed would never work, but I was willing to try it. At the very least, I'd sleep a little laying next to him or I could retrieve his pacifier without getting up.

But, lo and behold, he slept five hours. The next night, six. Fascinating.

Normally, he kicks off anything on his feet, then his feet get cold, then he wakes up. Bad times. He's so huge that I can't put him in sleepers anymore (outfits with feet built in), because he's too long - his legs can't fully extend in a sleeper that fits the rest of his body. So it's a cycle: cold feet, wake up, cover feet, fall asleep, kick off blanket, cold feet, wake up...

So I laid him down on his towel, tucked the heavy quilt over his feet, and prepared for failure. But the quilt was warm and heavy enough to stay on and thus he remained asleep and All God's Children rejoiced.

But the gift kept giving. We returned from Charleston Monday night and I wondered whether he would consent to sleep in his own bed. So last night we tried him out. Amazingly, he laid flat on the crib mattress and drifted off...11:30 until 6:45. Whee!!! He ate, fell asleep until 9:20, ate, and slept again until 10:45.

So: sleeping on his back in his crib. Next stop: college admission.