It's naptime, at least for a little while longer. See, the boy hates to take a break from his busy day for a much needed nap. I know he needs it because if he gets a nap he's cheerful and cooperative all evening long. If he doesn't get a nap he's cranky and fussy until bath time. I prefer child #1.
I've scoured the internet for naptime ideas. I pull out all the stops daily. We turn on a CD that would put Richard Simmons to sleep. We bring many books to read. We enlist two, count 'em, two, Elmos for moral support. Most days, he cries when he realizes it's time to go to his room. Once there he settles down and looks at his books but he asks repeatedly to go to the potty. I usually give in and take him to the potty once cuz who wants him to wet the bed? But I suspect its a tactic to get out of bed. Often he cries again after potty when I take him back to bed. Usually it takes 30-75 minutes to get him to sleep. At that point, it's almost too late to nap or he won't want to sleep at night.
So how important, really, are these naps? Do I just deal with it and let him get up if 30-60 minutes of quiet time don't result in sleep? Or do I keep doing whatever it takes to get him to sleep? How late is too late to nap? So many questions.... Any thoughts?
6 comments:
I love the new blog! You raise some great questions that can only be answered by Micah! He certainly is letting you know that he needs a nap by his crankiness when he doesn't get one. But, he also is telling you that he still doesn't feel confident that you will be there when he wakes up. Makes you wonder what happened when he was left??? How important is it that he sleep in his room? Maybe if you tried one of those cute little fold out couches (we have a Dora one) and use that as the "nap" area near you, he might feel more secure? Good luck!
Dude, I love learning from you
I can tell you what we do--we read about 4 or 5 books either on our bed or on the couch (TV off) with blanky. Lily usually falls asleep before the 4th or 5th book. It took months before she would wake up without crying frantically looking for me. Now when she wakes she's not nearly as upset. Sometimes our daily schedule doesn't permit us to be home for a nap--so sometimes we miss (yes~she's a bit cranky those days by dinner time). I don't sweat that. Some people are rigid about it, and that might work for them. I can't be rigid or regimented about anything for myself so I don't expect Lily to be. Naptime is individual--you'll find what works for you guys. Family, friends, and books will all have an opinion (about everything). Take a little from each and combine with your intuition because you can feel what works best for you and Micah.
"We turn on a CD that would put Richard Simmons to sleep." LOL!
Tristan had day/night confusion when he was an infant, and I was so desperate for him to go to sleep at night that I was tempted to withold the naps. Our pediatrician told us that a well-rested child actually sleeps better at ngiht, so I'd stay with your instinct to let him sleep whenever he'll finally go down--even if it's kind of later in the day.
Good luck! You are such a talented writer, and I love hearing about your little guy.
Christina
To much to do in life then to have a nap... take care
haha! i loved the richard simmons reference as well. are you lying down with him? that works good for us...of course i usually fall asleep too, but...bitsy gets her nap in. who by the way is going to freak when she sees all the elmos. this really might be a match made in elmo-heaven. micah can come over for a playdate anytime ANYTIME! but- it will need to be byoe. at the mature age of 3 rachel is good at sharing toys w/ all but her sister - with the one glaring exception of her 2 beloved elmos.
Post a Comment