For those of you who caught the New York Times' article on SIDS and Stomach Sleeping--I thought some of you might be interested to know Oliver’s sleeping technique:

At birth the nurses put Oliver slightly on his side by tucking a folded receiving blanket under one side. We continued to prop him to the side until we got home and put him in his crib with no propping. He slept on his back for the first four/five months. And he did so with a pacifier, aka, the cork. (His choice, more than ours.) Oliver always hated tummy time and every since his circumcision he has used the pacifier. When you hear that kind of scream you’ll give him whatever he wants. (Yes, I just told the world our kid is cut.)

Around 6 months he began rolling over and digging tummy time only in the middle of the night. We put him on his back only to find him later face down, pacifier in mouth, with his butt in the air and forcing his head into the corner of the crib and the bumper pads. When I find him in this position (often), I think to myself, “So this is how SIDS happens”.

Still The Kid is the world’s happiest sleeper. For the most part he has slept through the night (8pm-7am-ish) since he was 2 months old. We have our pediatrician to thank for that since it was he who told us to stop feeding him in the middle of the night.

I know that we are lucky to have such a good sleeper, and I hope that this post does not jinx that, but so far the kid is still alive and kicking. We’ve been told that he’s a good sleeper because he is such a big baby. We’ve also been told that his size plays no part in his sleeping pattern.

There seems to be so much to be worried about these days: terrorist attacks; War; bird flu; monster hurricanes; Harriet Ellan Miers; etc. I understand that the doctor’s must inform their patients of the statistics, however, my thought is just do whatever works. Truth is, SIDS happens and even if parents do all the things they are supposed to, SIDS still happens. What do any of us really know?

That said, even though I put The Kid down every night on his back (with or without a cork), I inevitably wake up around 3am, drag him out of the corner of the crib, push his butt down, lay him flat on his stomach, and cover him with his blanket. I still have the bumper pads up. I still use however many blankets it takes. I still try to keep the pacifier out of his mouth as often as possible. Maybe I am tempting fate, maybe not, whatever, The Kid definitely gets his sleep.