Yes, I know she is 3 1/2. Yes I know I am very lucky that she ever takes naps at all these days. But on the said "No-Nap Days", I truly miss the oh so joyous 2 hours of peace.
Jocelyn now takes naps about every 3 days. Here is how the pattern goes:
Day 1 - She sleeps 1 1/2 to 2 hours
Bedtime - She can't fall asleep and we get hounded for up to an hour for drinks of water, snuggles in the rocking chair, hugs, etc. She finally falls asleep around 9:15-9:30.
Day 2 - No matter what we do in the morning that might "tire her out", there will be no napping today
Bedtime - She's tired enough, but we might get a call or two for the usual
Day 3 - Lots of yawning at naptime, just enough to tease me, but no nap today. By dinner time, she is completely in-human, totally irrational. There is no reasoning, no explaining, and no reality. Everything is a world ending crisis and we just barely survive until....
Bedtime - She can't wait to get there and barely keeps her eyes open long enough to get through one book
Day 4 - She naps 1 1/2 to 2 hours...... and the cycle begins again.
I consider myself lucky that she is still in the crib and is (mostly) willing to hang out in there for an hour or so. I get a bit of a break, and at least I don't have to worry about her bounding back downstairs after 5 minutes to tell me "Momma, I all done restin' ".
I'll take what I can get....
B is off-and-on with naps, too. Must be a normal thing! We've definitely noticed that he goes to sleep RIGHT AWAY on the days he doesn't nap, but the pediatrician said kids really do kinda need naps until age 4 so we shouldn't just ditch nap/rest time altogether--especially since he does nap as often as he doesn't So I guess we just keep plugging away!!
ReplyDeleteI remember that pain. I'd say it gets better, but really not right away. Now Jillian plays nice during "quiet time" and if it coincides with the baby's nap, I get some time to chill and read!
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