The Ground Shifts (or, He Sleeps)

So, dear reader, you may be one of those who has expressed concern over young Peter's poor sleeping, or perhaps you've ventured a suggestion or two. Let me give you an update; so much has happened in the putting-Peter-down department that it's hard to know where to start.

Actually, that's not true: it all started a week ago Saturday. I was rocking a very fussy Peter in the nursery, covered in spit-up, as is my habit. Mark was taking longer than expected picking up some tiles for our bathroom reno, and we were late for a barbecue at my parents' place. To cut a long story short, dear reader, I was fed up. I decided to apply the classic, time-tested advice for such situations, and put Peter down in his crib for a moment whether he liked it or not, so that I could change my shirt, pee, and take a deep breath or three. Moments later, I found myself rushing back in to the nursery, certain that something was wrong: Peter had stopped crying. When I came in, I found him lying on his back, gazing contentedly at the black-and-white mobile that Mark and I had been sure was a complete dud, such was Peter's lack of interest in it. Mesmerized, Peter held that posture for the next twenty minutes or so, until Mark finally returned.

Then something else happened. Mark and I packed Master Peter into his car seat for the trip over to Mom and Dad's. Peter fell asleep during the trip over, as he is wont to do. As he is not wont to do, however, he stayed asleep for the next hour or so, while Mark and I had our dinner. Together. Without Peter in our arms. Here is the proof:

And here are Uncle Joe and Auntie Esti's reactions to Peter's behaviour (Esti, Joe's lovely and charming fiancee, is impressed but Joe, being a skeptic, is suspicious):

It didn't stop there. For one thing, Mark continued to be able to put Peter down in the Amby Bed for one 2-hour stretch or so at night (my strategy of using CBC talk radio podcasts as white noise was less successful, despite being scientifically justifiable). For another, last Monday, I was able to sit Peter down in the vibrating chair for an hour-long nap, with a bonus half-hour of contented quiet time:

And then, dear reader, something truly magical happened. Last Tuesday night, Peter slept in the Amby Bed, in our room, for 4.5 hours. In a row. I have never felt so refreshed (actually, I was initially mostly terrified, so sure was I that the young lad had stopped breathing, and I continued to feel a bit rattled for the rest of the night). I was full of hope that our sleep problems had been solved. Until, that is, the doom-and-gloom team at the developmental follow-up clinic stepped in. Not only did they pronounce the Amby Bed to be unsafe for a preemie (this, an interesting development, given that I had encountered the hammock in Dr. Sears's The Premature Baby Book, in which he specifically endorses it for such a babe), but they also made us feel like pretty much The Worst Parents In The World for not having gotten Peter into a Healthy Sleep Pattern. For those who are wondering, a Healthy Sleep Pattern involves placing your still-awake infant, unswaddled, flat on his back in a crib, with no blankets, pillows, or sleep positioners of any kind, in which position said infant, if properly parented, will promptly soothe himself to sleep (actual parents, or actual human beings who have ever tried to get yourselves to sleep, you can stop laughing now).

Since then, with hopes dashed and egos crushed, we have been doggedly trying to put Peter down to sleep at night in a play yard bassinet next to our bed. We have realized a couple of things. First, Peter doesn't actually have to be sleeping when we put him down, so long as he is sleepy. With his beloved pacifier in mouth (a rather high-maintenance prop, since he isn't awesome at keeping it there for prolonged periods), he very often does doze off on his own under the right circumstances. Second, the lad seems to be getting a little more comfortable in his own skin, and doesn't flail about and lose his mind when placed on his back in quite the same way as he did when we first brought him home. All of which is to say, Peter has in fact been sleeping, though sporadically, in his own bed for the last several days. Last night, he even managed to do so for a 3.5 hour stretch ... no, not quite continuously (I had to reach over and replace the pacifier a few times), but it's a good start.