I think I've been in denial.
My once awesome napper, has been resisting his only nap since end of November. I originally found the solution of rocking him to sleep (hello 26 lbs!) worked, and swore I would only do it for a week, and then it would be back to our routine of two songs, a hug, kiss and bed. Well, that didn't happen.
I rocked him well into my 38th week of pregnancy. Big belly and all.
He needed sleep. Hell, I needed sleep.
And now, since the arrival of his little sister, we've had a grand total of five naps in ten days. That's not a very good average. Those naps came at the price of listening to a child scream like he's on fire for over an hour. Both NZ and I have attempted to go calm him down (NZ was successful, I was not) enough to sleep.
I'm beside myself. I feel like two is too young to give up naptime. Everything I read says that two year olds need naps (or at least benefit from them). He is still in a crib, but from the looks of things today, he is one leg away from getting over it (I found him straddled and perched on top this afternoon).
I succeeded in giving him a book and telling him he didn't need to sleep but did need to sit quiet in his crib and read until I come to get him. It seems to be working. Ten minutes so far and not a peep, but I do hear pages turning.
The tough part is knowing if he is just going through a phase because the family dynamic has changed, or if he is legitimately not tired. He seems to operate okay on his napless days, although evenings get a bit sloppy and delirious.
I'm tending to think he is just growing out of them, and that's the cold hard truth.
Anyone have any tips, advice, magic potions?
Both my kids gave up naps at two. We always had amazing sleepers with super easy bedtime routines. Then it seemed that we had either semi-cranky babies who were happily in bed by 7:00 or SUPER HAPPY babies who were asleep at 11:00. YEEKS! Jeffrey had to do "book rests" each afternoon. Either quietly on his bed or on the couch with me. When Juliet came along, I allowed him to do his book rests on the couch with me and the baby and we would all end up asleep for a bit - enough to me through the afternoon but not enough to keep him up too late. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteJeffrey moved out of his crib 4 months after he turned two. Juliet is still happily sleeping in her crib at 4 months shy of three. We have allowed books in bed for both of the kids with a light lamp on. Both have been successful falling asleep like this. Sometimes Jeffrey has had to be told to turn the light off. Even now, Juliet will tell us if she wants her light on or off.
Plus, dropping the nap has Juliet sleeping 13-14 hours at night. So. Good.
Sal, you cannot give up naps... give your mama a little break, would you?
ReplyDelete