Sleep Disruption

Grass along the road at City Creek

We're having a weird week. Last Friday night, Iain did something he's never, ever, done before.

He slept in our bed.

From the time he was a little baby, this has been impossible. He DOES NOT WANT to be near us, nor will he tolerate the covers, nor does he appreciate the cuddly, parent-child bonding potential of co-sleeping. No way, no how.

Then, last Friday, he refused to go to sleep. Refused. And we finally offered him a spot in our bed. We knew (knew!) he wouldn't do it. But he lay down at the foot of the bed, on top of the covers, and went right to sleep.

I spent the night crammed against the upper right corner of the bed, no covers (he was atop them), listening to him snore and watching to ensure he didn't fall off the end onto his head. Charles spent the night crammed up against the left corner, so squished that he got up around 4 to take Advil for an aching back. Iain spread out across the bed, diagonal and spread-eagled, snoring like a freight train. Sn-O-R-ing.

Saturday night he wailed until 10:30pm. Sunday night he slept in our bed again. This time he decided to cuddle. So he attached himself to my head, then lay right up against me (on my covers), snoring and kneeing me in the throat. ALL NIGHT.

Last night he wailed until 10:15. Charles finally sat in the dark with him until he fell asleep.

The hills at the top of the City Creek walk (or at least as far up as we've gone)

So what's the deal? We know there are times when kids have a cognitive leap (like crawling and walking) and those times tend to coincide with sleep disruptions. So we were thinking maybe he was teething (no, says the ped.) or learning something new.

And it seems he was. This week, suddenly, his language skills made a leap forward. He's routinely speaking in sentences (like, "Where's the truck, Mommy?" and "What's that noise?"), and he's imaginative. What do I mean?

At dinner he said he had a job. What kind of job? Reading. What do you make? I asked. "I don't have any money!" he told me. Who does he work with? Kipper. What does Kipper do? Work on the yard. Who else works with them? Tiger.

Huh. We told him he should ask for a raise. Maybe double what he makes now.

And he sat through an entire original Babar book. With a plot. Then, at bedtime, he sat through the entire Lorax book.

He's thinking, y'all. Thinking hard. So I guess he's not sleeping much.