There's been a lot going on in the sleep arena chez nous.

My favorite online purveyor of baby-care advice, Moxie, taught me recently about the two-hour nap rule: in short, young babies should be put down for naps every two hours.

Nobody told me this before. Everyone just said that babies sleep a lot. Mine didn't fall asleep a lot on his own during the day, and I figured there was nothing I could do about it. Then last week I started putting the baby down to nap about every two hours, when he was yawning or fussing a little but before he actually started crying from exhaustion. Voila, a less fussy baby!

So now I listen to Moxie. She has this to say about sleep habits:

... in the first 12-14 weeks of parenthood you should take your lead from Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary ... If your baby only sleeps in the swing or sling or Amby hammock thing or car seat or car or front carrier or laundry basket or between you in bed or holding onto the cat's tail or on the bathroom floor or in a tent in your backyard, do it ... Whatever gets the maximum number of hours of sleep for the maximum number of people in your household, that's what you should do.

Amen, sister. We lived by that advice for the first 12 weeks.

Once you're past that initial period, figure out what's happening, and what you wish was happening. Pick the thing that bugs you the most, think about what you could do to change that thing, and try it for a week. You'll either fix it, be on your way to fixing it, or realize your kid simply won't do that.

Coming up on 13 weeks, we decided to work on changing certain of our baby's sleep habits and routines:

First was the Unswaddling, suggested by E (after I'd just sung the praises of swaddling!). Without any ado, we put him down one night last week sans swaddle. I expected some difficulty but if anything, he seemed happier, his arms flung out carelessly to the sides. (We still do use the swaddle when he is upset and can't calm down.)

Encouraged by that success, I suggested that he was ready to move from the bassinet, where he sleeps at night, to his crib. At 23 1/2 inches (as of February 2) he is almost as long as the bassinet, so long that it is difficult to gracefully lay him down in it without bumping his head or feet against the sides.

So again, without ado, we made the switch, and the Great Crib Transition went as smoothly as the Unswaddling. He seems happy to have more room; I often find him turned 90 degrees from where I laid him down. Plus, he's learned to roll over on his side! He curls his legs up and tips over to the right, an adorable feat not possible when swaddled in the little bassinet. (Of course this is problematic for the whole back-to-sleep SIDS prevention thing. Any suggestions?)

Feeling cocky, we decided to make another change. He only naps in the swing in the middle of the living room and I'm sick of it. We decided that he should sleep in the crib at naptime too. This is our most ambitious dream yet ... and is yet to be realized. I think it will have to be accomplished in baby steps. Right now he's napping in the bedroom ... in the swing. But he's next to his crib!

One thing at a time, as Moxie said. One thing at a time.