Nap Time

Let me just toot my own horn here because I realize that I might be one of the luckier chicks I know: my toddler and my newborn nap together! It is the most special time of my day.

We all load up in our bed and all three of us (well, sometimes I just lay there watching them) sleep and it is beautiful. I am making memories with these two little ones that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Everyday at noon, Noah says "I'm tired." And I tell him that it is nap time. His response is always the same: "In Mama's bed?" Then I respond, "OF COURSE!" He then says "Yay!" Our routine never varies on the days that he's home from Mother's Day Out.

Ellyotte is catching on beautifully: she takes 3-4 naps in the day still and I coordinate the 2nd one to be when Noah takes his. What a blessing nap time is turning out to be - in so many ways.

Lesson in Napping #2,053

Parenting is a constant source of education - sometimes painful and mostly joyful. However, an education from day 1 of conception and on.

I wrote about a week ago of our struggles with this toddler who has inhabited my sweet baby's body and his boycotting of naps. So, I took my friend Anne's advice and it has worked like a charm since (continuing thanks, Anne!). But I wanted to do some of my own deeper research so I purchased the book "The No-Cry Nap Solution: Guaranteed Gentle Ways to Solve All Your Naptime Problems" by Elizabeth Pantley. I am learning quite a bit about why my child needs to nap and how much he needs to sleep during the day.

So often when talking to other moms, I have heard them say that their children just aren't nappers and will go all day without napping on a regular basis. I can't help but pity them! I am learning that every baby and child to the age of 4 or 5 NEEDS that extra sleep so they sleep better at night and they don't reach the "volcanic" stage of overstimulation. Also, the majority of brain and hormonal development occurs while a child is napping during the day so that uninterrupted, consistent and daily down-time for a child is vital for their growing brains/bodies.

I also have been told that at age 1, all children need to start consolidating their 2 naps a day into 1 long one. How untrue that actually is... 50% of all children take 1 long one a day but that leaves the other 50% who need 2 shorter naps. I struggled for weeks to try to consolidate Noah's naps into one long one and finally am learning why my child wouldn't cooperate. It would get to the point that by 10 a.m. he would go put his head down on the floor or on the dog's bed and try to sleep there. So thankfully, that book has come to my rescue! (And to Noah's rescue as well).

So, as of now at 14 months old, Noah will go to bed at exactly 7 pm with no fight, will sleep straight through till 7 am or 7:30 am (sometimes a bit later) and then is begging to go back to bed by 9 am at the latest. He will then nap for 1-1.5 hours, be awake for 3 or so hours, then back down post-lunch at about 1:30 pm for another 1.5-2 hours. Once I started reading the book, I was relieved to know that that schedule is OKAY and actually is the preferred method of 50% of all toddlers Noah's age. This schedule means that he's getting the necessary 14-15 hours of sleep that babies his age require.

For all of those mommies who are struggling the majority of the time to get their babies or children to nap well, then this book is highly recommended. It is a great resource for understanding why children need to nap and for how long and it also provides several different sample nap and daytime schedules.

Another 2 thumbs up from this Mom.

Back on Track

Wow, that didn't take long at all! Noah is back to two naps a day - each one lasting at least an hour to an hour and a half. This morning, he woke up after 12 hours of straight sleep, ate breakfast and with the rainy morning we were having, wanted to go right back to bed. He is just waking up now after 2.5 hours. HALLELUJAH!

My girl friend Anne Rieger gave me some good advice. She told me that what worked for her was deciding a nap time and sticking to it. But making sure that Noah knows I mean business when it is time to nap. So, I did what she said. The first day was a little tough but he's back on schedule and knows that when he gets put into his crib, it isn't time to play but is strictly time to sleep. And I have decided that no matter what time he wakes up, if it is before the time I decide for him to get up, then he stays in his crib.

We were somewhat doing the above tactics but traveling threw us off quite a bit and it has been a struggle since to regain the freedom that naptime affords me. So, once I lay Noah down, if he pops up again in protest, I go right back in and put him back on his back. The first day, it took 20 times and a couple of flicks on the leg (not spankings, but a snap or two to get his attention) and he finally protested himself to sleep. Same thing for each nap since then. But today, he went down without any peep.

I will keep you all posted on how things continue but so far, so good! I ordered two books this week that I am anxious to read (I know, that takes my list to 10!). The first is "No-Cry Method: Nap" and "The Happiest Toddler on the Corner." Both books boast about being the go-to texts on child and toddler napping help. I am looking forward to reading about how much I DON'T KNOW about making my child happy :) Just kidding... not really.

Days Gone By?

This is just a short blurb to vent my frustrations.... Previous to our trip to Alabama at then end of February, Noah had been a fabulous napper. Taking 2-3 naps a day that extended well into 1.5 - 2 hour timeframe. However, since our trip and then since our return to Hawaii, napping seems to be a thing of the past.

His molars STILL haven't popped through. 3 of the 4 1 year molars are sitting just below the surface underneath painful looking blood blisters. But I refuse to give my child - and his tiny liver - Motrin everyday. And I am tired of rocking... and rocking... and rocking a 14 month old. No, I don't coddle him but sometimes I am so desparate for some time alone that I will do anything to get him to nap!

He's sleeping 12-13 hours at night and maybe sleeps a total of 1 hour in the daytime despite sheer exhaustion. He lays down on the dog bed to show me how sleepy he is, for crying out loud! Another thing we deal with constantly is that everytime he's in his crib (exception is the nighttime), he poops. I am so tired of reporting my child's pooping habits but it seriously is a nap-hindrance. Even if he's in a dead sleep, if he poops, he will become wide awake and naptime is over. Sometimes that means he gets 10 minute naps a day!!!!

Anyone else go through something similar at this age with their little ones? If so, I need some guidance. I hate to say it, but at this point, I am counting down till we can get moved and Noah is enrolled in a Mother's Day Out program so I can have some downtime to do the other things in my life that have been ignored for so long (i.e., bills, housecleaning, a SHOWER!).

Advice is greatly welcomed and appreciated here!