A month ago Caleb moved to his own crib at night. (Up until then, he had been sleeping with Scott and me.) The transition meant two key things: 1) I could sleep MUCH more deeply at night because I was no longer being kicked constantly by my wiggly boy; 2) Scott and I once again have time to ourselves in the evening because Caleb can go to bed before us. These changes were wonderful and Caleb was sleeping just as soundly as before.
And then things changed.
About 2.5 weeks ago, Caleb began waking up at night. Some nights it was only once or twice and some nights it was more. Now, he wasn't completely waking up and he wasn't needing to eat or be rocked or held, but he was making enough noise for me to wake up and go check on him, only to find that he had an appendage (usually his arm but occasionally a leg) stuck out of the crib or down the side between the mattress and the slats. I would simply move him back into the center of the crib, typically stick a pacifier in his mouth, and he'd be back asleep immediately (this was also true at nap time). It wasn't a huge deal because his room/crib is about 8 steps away from the bed and I could always go straight back to sleep, but it was still frustrating because he's been sleeping soundly through the night since he was 8 weeks old.
As a mother, I find it exciting when Caleb learns new things, such as rolling. I am equally excited about his attempts to crawl (which will eventually be successful). However, I didn't realise what I was getting myself into. I have been prepared that the house will need to be baby proofed (which will take a while) and that I'll need to figure out some way to gate the stairs (which will be a bit annoying). I did not realise that Caleb's new limited mobility would cause problems when he was sleeping because he would move so much in his sleep and then be unable to move back.
Anyhow, I began to notice a pattern with Caleb's movements when he was sleeping. Every time Caleb was stuck hanging out of the crib, he seemed to be reaching for his pacifier, which had found its way to the floor. Was it possible that he was trying to get it on his own and then had gotten stuck? Maybe. But I wasn't convinced. After all, he was only 4 months old and that seemed a little ahead of the game.
A few days ago, however, my suspicions were confirmed. Every night, we leave a couple extra pacifiers at the head of the crib, in case his gets lost in the dark and he wants it at night (it's much easier than me feeling around on the floor and in the crib in the dark, trying to find the lost pacifier). Apparently Caleb recently realised that we were making these extra pacifiers available. Instead of moving to the side of the crib and reaching through the slats (which had proven unsuccessful for the past couple of weeks), he began moving himself to the front of the crib to get another pacifier! Not even kidding. Now, I have NO IDEA how he is doing this because he does not crawl yet (that I know of) and I have never seen him move himself forward more than an inch or two. He's pretty good at moving side to side or in circles, but front to back is a completely different story. However, in order to reach his pacifier, he's moving a good 12-18 inches forward.
It took a couple of days to get this new manuever down because he would get himself moved forward but then end up on top of the pacifiers, unable to get one in his hand and then on into his mouth (which is a skill he's had for about 2.5 months now).
But last night he succeeded. I heard him in the crib, grunting and talking (which is the first step before he starts to get upset) and I knew he was working his way to the front of the crib. I waited a few minutes and then heard the inevitable wimper (he never cries very loudly unless I just completely ignore him). I tried waiting it out in hopes that he might succeed, but then I heard two pacifiers hit the floor simultaneously and he began to get a bit louder so I put on my glasses and headed to his room. Remember: it's only about 8 steps.
By the time I got to his room there was nothing but silence. I looked in the crib and Caleb was sound asleep in the front corner of the crib with a third pacifier successfully in his mouth! Hooray!
I still have no idea how he's moving forward. This morning when he woke up and was playing in his crib, I snuck in and took away the pacifier that was laying beside in hopes that he'd move toward the front. I then hid behind the crib so he would not see me. However, he was not at all interested in his pacifier, thus my plan was thwarted and he just continued playing.
Now he just needs to learn how to move himself backward or turn around so that he doesn't get stuck in the corner of the crib, hitting his head on the front (which I forsee as the next sleeping problem he will be tackling). Still, I'm so proud of my little problem solver! That's a CIA or CTU future, I do believe. :)
Labels: Caleb