One of the biggest struggles lately is getting the girls to sleep. More specifically nap. Sometimes it will take them an hour of talking, playing, laughing and bounding around to fall asleep. They sure are not ready to give up nap (and neither am I, it's when I work). I just wonder how long I am going to be able to keep them napping every day. There have been a couple of instance lately where one or both of them doesn't nap. They will go in their rooms and sort of relax (with some intermittent jumping and banging) for a while. The problem is that later on in the day they are exhausted. I guess for now we will keep on plodding along and going with our routine. They have gone through spells of not napping and this could be another case of that. I can't help but wonder though how much longer they will be nappers.
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Its going on here. Not the "not" napping, but the DELAYED napping. Jumping, screaming, bouncing, giggling, talking, ect. And Alex could go without a nap on her good days, but Abs needs her sleep. Its cute that they love to play, but frustrating in the long run.
My daughter's 2 and is on the verge of no naps. Lame. Some kids nap till 3 or even 4. Our pediatrician told us that when she loses the nap there will be a transition period where she is unwilling to sleep but will be exhausted by 3. She suggested some quiet activities until she's adjusted. BUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS INVOLVE ME! Mama needs her afternoon time back. Good luck, but sad to say this may be the beginning of the end for you too.
I'm no expert on napping...but I've been through this with Ava so I can share my experience.
Here are some things to consider that I have discovered make the difference between a napping day and a non-napping day:
-How many hours do they sleep at night?
-What time do they wake up in the morning?
-What time are you putting them down for their nap?
-Did they have an active day?
Ava will be four in March and she still naps, on average, 3 times a week. If we've had an active morning or if she woke up early or if I heard her over the monitor during the night (restless sleep) or if she's under the weather then she's usually ready for a nap by 1 p.m. There have been some days though, when she didn't go down for a nap until 3 p.m. On napless days, Ava goes to bed around 7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. On the days when she naps, she doesn't usually go to bed until 10 p.m.
Also, if I know that we're going to have a productive evening (i.e. company coming over, going out, playing with a friend, etc.) then I make sure she takes a nap so that she's not grumpy. Sometimes, that means waking her up earlier than usual in the morning and/or providing a tiring morning so that she's ready to sleep by 1 p.m.
At some point in their lives, they become more like us and I know I couldn't go to bed at my usual bed time if I just woke up from a nap 3 hours beforehand. I also know that I need a nap if didn't sleep well the night before, etc. etc. Also, a little trick that helped us with sleeping during the day and sleeping in longer in the mornings: we installed those room darkening blinds in her room :-) After we read our book at nap time, I make her room nice and dark...works great! Since the sun rises on the side of the house where her room is, she used to be up at 6 a.m. but now she sleeps in b/c it's dark and cozy in her room until I open the blinds.
And there are some days when I don't think she needs a nap and then 6 p.m. rolls around and she turns to the dark side and I kick myself for letting skip her nap that day. On those days, she's usually ready for bed (PJ's, teeth brushed) before dinner so that she can get to bed ASAP! And then I enjoy a couple extra hours of down time in the evening :-)
I totally sympathize with you b/c there are some days when I wake up and can't wait for nap time to arrive :-/ I'm most productive when they're sleeping...I NEED that time in the day for myself. I rely on it. However, I've learned that I'll still get that time, it'll just be at 7 p.m. rather than 1 p.m.
Obviously, this is a topic that I've given a lot of thought to :-)
Thanks Mich! You got me thinking for sure about our nap schedule and gave me awesome food for thought. I see naps as so black and white. Why I missed the gray area is beyond me but I am glad you posted that. THANKS!!!
Probably b/c as SAHM's we're so desperate to hold onto some sort of schedule!! I understand!! :-)
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