What this post's title is referring to is Soren's nap. The formerly blissful, 2 hour chunk of my afternoon where the house was deliciously still and quiet, save for some fussing from Jude (which is peanuts compared to the tete-a-tetes with my 3 year old).
| The look of a child desperately in need of a nap but refusing to take one. |
The final straw for Chris early this evening was when he kept calling "Chris" not "Daddy". Isn't he too young for that? :). We made it yet another early bedtime.
"Quiet Time" in his bedroom works sometimes, but now with a baby also trying to nap in the adjoining room, I sometimes need to cut quiet time short. Like when things are being thrown and high-pitched scream-complaints are being hurled at me down the stairs. Along with little feet sneaking back down the stairs too.
I've tried the TV too, but S just isn't able to sit and watch a movie for long. I'm hoping that might change, and am not willing to give up on that just yet.
I know it's selfish, but I just need a break from this supernova! His energy level is full-blast from pre-sunup (he gets up before 6am) until he crashes at night, which is hard to endure day after day. Chris and I try to set up activities for him, like playing with dough...
but it's just never enough. Thank goodness for the 2 mornings a week at preschool.
It's been a tiresome week, both at night and by day for me. Any suggestions on how things worked for you when your child gave up naps?
There was a time that I thought Charlie was done with naps too... But they made a comeback. And then again they vanished. Last week she only napped once which was especially rough because Mat worked very late shifts and got home after she was in bed. It's a tough thing to adjust to. We do quiet time, but that's hit and miss too. Protests, tantrums, tears, the works.
ReplyDeleteCharlie is fiercely independent, but I tell ya sometimes she just doesn't want to be in her room, playing or reading quietly. That's usually when I "need" that quiet time too and my eye starts to twitch. :)
Last night I woke at 1am to a croupy cough coming from her room. Today she's snot-tastic and we've relaxed, but she's still found energy to protest a nap. I'm hoping that she gives in and sleeps.
Do you make Soren's bedtime earlier if he doesn't nap that day?
I think we just have to keep rolling with the punches and trying to find new ways to deal.
Is he still getting his ten hour minimum without naps? That seems to help the grumpiness around here...now if only I could get that kind of sleep!
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes. You have such a kind way of describing this. I think Kidoodle has napped three days out of the last seven, and those days have SAVED me. Otherwise I find myself acting out in precisely the kind of anger and frustration I don't want him to act out in. *sigh* I'm working on getting as much sleep as I can, feeling patient, spending more time playing with him, and formalizing away time as a consistent consequence when he hits or throws things. (Our parenting style is for us to leave him alone and award no attention to him when he acts out, but I simply do not have the energy or inventiveness to move myself and my breastfeeding baby to a new, safer place.)
ReplyDeleteAll of this is to say that, as barely comforting as this may be, you aren't alone. I do hope TV starts working for you and that daily naps might make a comeback. One of my friends--a mother of five--said her three year old started taking naps again after his older siblings went back to school. Maybe when your life stabilizes or normalizes more, S will be interested in naps again.