King size cribs?

It appears that Henry is in need of a more spacious sleeping arrangement. Who would've guessed--given that it wasn't too long ago he was only happy sleeping in the close confines of his car seat. Why the current need for a crib upgrade? Henry is sleep creeping--the infant equivalent of sleep walking. And he creeps his way into the bumper of his crib no matter where we place him. When he manages to find his way into the bumper, Henry awakens himself and his parents, with cries of frustration. So I think if we just found a super-sized crib, maybe the larger creeping area would keep him happy?

Some readers might wonder about the logistics of how Henry is sleep creeping. Afterall, aren't we supposed to be placing him on his back to sleep at night? Well, we were diligently doing so until about two weeks ago. This turn of events coincided with our other dirty little parenting (non) secret of starting him on solids early. On a particularly wakeful night, Brian decided to try placing Henry on his belly to put him back to sleep. The kid rolls back and forth and has excellent head and neck control now, so belly sleeping didn't seem to pose a safety risk for Henry. And it appeared to work at the time, but I'd say results are mixed now. While Henry was settling himself back to sleep more successfully when we first placed him on his belly, he's now taking the opportunity to practice his rolling and creeping/crawling in his sleep at night. Why waste time just practicing new tricks during daylight hours? On one of my many, many trips to his crib last night, I found him rolling around on his back crying to the little animals on his mobile. Other trips to the crib found him scrunched head-first into the corner of the bumper, little butt in the air, desperately pushing off with his legs and trying to break through the barrier. It would be cute, if it weren't 3 am. Or 1 am. Or 5 am. Or all of the above. In one night. So what do you think, would a king size crib work? Or maybe a little baby track around the perimeter of his room, so he could do laps all night long without waking us?

Speaking of laps, Henry and I continue to make our almost daily pilgrimage to the local track, which has become a really nice routine. I definitely appreciate the time outdoors, and I think Henry does, too. It feels great to be exercising again, and to be returning to my pre-pregnancy, pre-baby self in an important way. At a time when there are so many changes to my identity, re-connecting with this part of my self feels especially gratifying. It helps me find my way into this role of a SAHM (stay at home mom) more comfortably. Thank goodness for the innovation of the jogging stroller--a big boost to my quality of life!