Monday, July 12, 2010

One Nap Two Naps Long Naps Short Naps

I have been a very lucky mommy because up until this past week, Jenna (at 15+ months) was still consistently taking two naps a day - morning (the typical 2+ hours after wake up time) and afternoon (usually around 1:00).  Last week, morning nap went away.
Suddenly.
Without warning.
I've been expecting this day to come...I mean most of my friends with kids the same age said goodbbye to the morning nap a few months ago.  But it kinda kicked me in the ass.
My usually wonderful napper literally started refusing the morning nap.  She would do all her typical before nap things, like rub her eyes, tug at her ear, get a little clumsy. She would even walk over to her crib and reach up.  I would put her in, she'd have her pacifier (seriously, we need  to get rid of that shit soon) and she would chill out for a little while. But no nap.
Okay, so she's ready for one nap - no problem - it's time - she's old enough. I just didn't realize that this would be another one of those "transitions" which take some time.
So I did what I'm sure most moms do - I read up on it - I looked in books, online, asked friends to see how I can make this transition as smoothe as possible.
On the days when I was still trying the morning nap, but not getting one, I made a point of getting out of the house immediately. I figure if she's not going to nap, then we may as well have some fun. We went to the park, we took walks, we went to the pool. Basically I took her places where napping was not even an option.  Then I gave her an early lunch (between 11 and 11:30) and put her down for a nap after.  This seems to be working - she goes right down in her crib and falls asleep. 
The only thing we need to work on now is getting her to sleep just a little longer during this nap.  She's never been much of a long napper - has always been pretty good at taking them, but not necessarily for any length of time. I think she needs about an hour and a half to be well rested for the rest of the day, but right now it seems that after an hour she's up.  We haven't had much crankiness, but we have had slightly earlier bedtimes...

The one thing I've been really trying to do is be home for her naptime.  She's always napped best i nher crib and I feel like until we get this consistent, I'd rather her be in the most comfortable place.  And quite honestly, with the heat being so bad, it's nice to be "forced" inside from 12-1:00ish everyday.

So I'm reaching out for some help...Any suggestions on how to make the transition easy?? How can I get her to stay sleeping just a little longer??

2 comments:

  1. girl you ARE the nap whisperer. I should be asking you for advice!

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  2. Syd takes her nap between 11-11:30 until 1. She wakes up and then has lunch. Maybe try nap first then lunch? Not sure if that would make a difference...

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