I should count my blessings and not complain, but that would defeat the purpose of having a blog. Viv really hates to nap. I've said it before, but I thought things were going better. It's not that she's napping any longer than she did before, but putting her in her own room made a huge difference in merely getting her to go to sleep. Her naps are still brief, 20-45 minutes at most, and maybe twice a day, but at least they were reliable. I could shower during the first nap and put in laundry or check email without having her press the power button on the laptop or slam it shut on my fingers. She really dislikes the laptop. Anyway, she napped a little. Now, she doesn't seem to want to nap at all. For the past week, I've been fighting with her at least twice a day in an attempt to get her to nap even a little. She will lie down with her binky and behave just as before the battle began. Five minutes later, when I'm downstairs cleaning or making calls or checking email, I'll hear the first howl. I'll let it go for the next ten minutes and then she'll escalate. So, I'll go upstairs, put her binky back in, lay her back down and leave. She'll be silent and then the wailing will turn into shrieking and then hysterical tears. So, after a half hour of all of this, I'll get her up, feed her and play with her for another two hours or so until she is fairly dropping to the floor with exhaustion. I'll put her down again, and, if I'm lucky, she'll sleep. However, I haven't been very lucky lately.
I know she's probably adjusting her own schedule to do away with one or both naps, but I don't deal with change as well as she apparently does. I don't want to war with my child over sleep, but I need a few minutes each day to myself. I think I'll get a treadmill with Elmo taped to the handlebars.
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3 comments:
Declan and Kyan both still take a nap nearly every day. After lunch it's nap time...no arguments. That's just the routine. They both sleep 1-2 hours. Sounds like Viv is testing you. Sounds like she's figured out a measure of her life that she thinks SHE can control. Don't give up or think she doesn't NEED a nap or two.
As she slept for over an hour today, I think it's safe to say that she needs a nap, and she'll continue to get one. Like Mom used to say, "Even if you kids didn't need a nap, I did, so down you went."
hey sis! you can read the age-appropriate section of my book on "healthy sleep habits, happy kids" while you're here. You might get some good tips for kids her age. Basically what I remember it says about naps is to let them alone for an hour. DON'T even peek inside. They figure during the day, leaving them longer than an hour messes with timing for the next nap etc. But anyway, you might want to consider leaving her for a full hour, three days in a row. Remember the 3 times rule. If she is testing you, she'll get it. if she's not really tired at that time of day, then you'll have proven it after 3 times. Love you!!! it's all a wonderful challenge, no?
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