Naps: Evil Nemesis or Best Friend? You Decide.
Before Ella was born, a fellow nap aficionado told me that it would feel like I was always putting someone down for a nap. Turns out that I am always putting someone down for a nap.
Ella has finally begun to take naps, which is spectacular on one hand and a colossal pain in the ass on the other. Her royal highness is quite finicky about her napping location, temperature, swaddle success, and sound level. This means she won't nap in the car, in her swing, or anywhere except for her bed. As much as I wanted to mold Ella into a baby that sleeps wherever and is easily portable, that just isn't the case. It looks like we'll be spending the next several months at home, so little miss priss can get her beauty sleep.
With the plethora of naps Ella takes, it would be lovely if I could get my children to nap at the same time. However, it seems that every single day it works out the as soon as I get Carson down for a nap, Ella wakes. And soon after getting Ella down for a nap again, Carson wakes. (This is drastically cutting out the great majority of my blogging time, dammit.)
Carson. He has always been good for taking a nap, but has never been good for taking a LONG nap. At most, he'll take a one and fifteen minute nap in the afternoon. Since he wakes up grumpy more times than not, it would be my dream for him to nap for at least three hours. I've read about kids who are good nappers. I covet their napping abilities.
The nap has been given protection that rivals that of the Secret Service. For the past 21 months, every single activity, meal, vacuuming attempt, toilet flushing, lawn mowing, and attic retrieval mission has been carefully coordinated around the nap. Errands have been cut short to make it home before ruining the afternoon nap with an accidental nod-off in the car, the most evil of all nap killers. If in fact a "nap" occurs in the car, it becomes necessary to drive around for the entire duration to insure that at the very least, a thirty minute nap can occur. Screw high gas prices and reducing emissions, SAVE THE NAP!!
As much as I love for my kids to nap, it's rather inconvenient. Too many naps, not long enough naps, picky about nap location, fear of outgrowing naps, anticipating the days when all activities aren't planned to preserve the precious nap. It's a never ending contradiction.
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27 People are even more brilliant:
I so miss naptime some days! Other days I am glad to get up and go without worrying about who needs to sleep. But I do miss the hour to myself.
Babyhead naps occasionally. And usually for at least 1.5 hours. The key word here is OCCASIONALLY. He may not nap for a month...then nap on a regular basis for 2 months.
I have to say I am lucky...he will nap anywhere and everywhere no matter what as long as he has his moo cow and a blanket type covering.
Don't worry...it won't be this way forever...at least that it what I keep telling myself.
Little A, too, is an amazing sleeper, in her bed only.
Otherwise, my statements of, "She'll take a two hour nap for you" usually have me greeted at the sitters doorstep, daggers in her eyes.
But, oh, the thought of "Nap Time" for adults....savoring that one.
Emma was a "sleep only in my bed" kind of kid. Road trips were HORRIBLE! I feel your pain... but really, why do we need to see anything more than the four walls we live in? The garbage man better not be judging me when he loudly clanks all of the wine bottles into his recycling truck every week.
Oh I used to dream of getting my girls to nap at the same time. Now if it happens it's in the car at five o'clock and then they're up 'til midnight. Naps are just sort of unconquerable like that I guess.
As much as I've been fighting it like the plague the twins will not nap anymore. Or at least not for me. Aah I miss the days of regular naps
Napping ruled our lives for the first couple of years.
Year 1: Sweet Boy slept only 2-3 hours at a time NIGHT or DAY so his next nap was always just around the corner. And I needed a few hours of sleep myself just to continue semi-functioning.
Years 1-4: Thankfully he continued his 2-3 hour Power Naps after he started sleeping for longer chunks of time at night. But he always woke up disoriented and VERY unhappy. I had to make sure to allow a good 45 minutes of calming and soothing before we could venture out. The more irregular his naps became, the harder it was to plan a social life for either one of us.
Years 2 - present: Should he fall asleep in the car, he MUST stay in the car. My neighbors got used to me sitting in my driveway for 2 hours reading a magazine (thinking about all the things inside I needed to be doing). I never felt comfortable leaving him in the car alone (say, in the garage) since he was always in freak-out mode when he woke up.
So YES I do miss MY naps but I don't really miss all the drama of naps. I just hope to G-d that if I have another, s/he can be more of a go-with-the-flow kind of kid.
Good luck getting them on the same schedule!
DV is actually pretty good about naps- he must be in a bed but if he has his blanky he'll nap right after lunch (full tummy?)
I've also found that if I leave a selection of soft toys in his crib and he has patterned sheets he'll play happily in there for 15 minutes to ONE HOUR!!!! after waking and when I get him he'll be happy!!
Good luck!
BTW, we do rush home for his nap so as not to mess it up with an evil car nap.
and yet, the people who REALLY need the naps rarely get one.....
PARENTS!!!!
This post cracked me up because I so get it! It will get better - or you just learn to blog over all the commotion you should be attending to. :)
I have no kids but I appreciate a good nap like most people appreciate a good glass of wine. I hope that you can figure something out so the angels will begin to see the delights in 3 hour naps.
I find this funny since I just put Cara down for a nap and she's squawking about it as I type.
When she was younger, say three months, she would only nap on me. If I tried to move her to her crib or swing she would wake up and scream at me. Also, she was notorius about taking one 15 minute nap a day.
And, since she was not getting enough nap time in, she was a heinous child by the end of the day.
Now, I have her on some semblance of a schedule and she takes two hour long naps a day and her mood has vastly improved.
I know it sucks, but things will get better...I promise.
Oh, we are JUST getting out of that never ending stage of absolutely having to make it home in time for naps. And God help them if they nodded off in the car. Good Lord, that would ruin my whole day...
The one thing that scares me most about having kids is the thought of a non-sleeper. I was and still am a non-sleeper. I wonder if I apoligize for the next year every day to my mother, can I please have a good sleeper? Probably not.
Try foil on the windows in Carsons room. Maybe if it's darker, he'll sleep longer.
Hi there, I've been lurking here for a while. i got your addy from my friend Dawn over at Coming to a Nursery Near You. I tagged you for a meme if you want to play.
Kat was the worst sleeper. She would only sleep if you were holding her. The minute you put her down her little eyes would open. I feel your pain. Good luck!
One of my greatest fears about having another baby! I can't lose naptime.
Hang in there.
i can't even discuss NAPS anymore, I am just burnt out by every gosh darn different strategic plan i have tried. i feel your pain, if you find a solution let me know. my solution is usually a car ride through dunkin donuts, i get the peanut butter chip cookie and a water, i scarf it down while they sleep and admire the mansions in my area. nice life huh
Ok, here's the thing, the only nap that really counts is yours.
That's why God created TV, play pens and, when all else fails, Benadryl.
Yes, there's baby benedryl and whiskey...oh did I say that out loud?! Ooops! Just kidding. My kids both stopped napping sooooo early. I am still bitter. Now if either takes a nap it's a deathwish. The kids will be up til midnight and the hubby and I will be passed out.
Ugh. Naps are a bitch, my friend. Especially when, despite the careful routines, you child decides to stop taking them at the age of one. If I'm lucky and she's insanely tired I can get her to sleep in the car. And you better believe I drive around while she's sleeping. It is worth avoiding the wrath that is her Grumpy Highness when she is sleep deprived.
Oh, I'm currently in a nap quandary. My 3-year old could take a nap everyday (so could my four-year old, and if I'm really pushing it my 6-year old just might fall asleep with them). But then I have the late nights. So I'm trying to go napless. But there are consequences (awe-inspiring meltdowns, late-afternoon naps taken in random parts of the house, etc.). So I'm currently weighing my options. Do I want the peace of afternoon naps or the chance to unwind and relax after bedtime? *sigh*
The Poo gave up her nap at 27 months - cold turkey - and I almost died.
Seriously. I was thisclose to the mental ward.
I'd give my eye teeth for a nap.
Oh, naps. Why have thou forsaken me?
Then today she naps for four hours - 4 to 8 p.m.
Terrrrrrrrific.
I love the nap!!! Sadly, my kids are old and don't nap anymore:(
I'm not claiming to have wonderful sleepers. They'll only sleep in their beds, which makes hotels a nightmare!
But my daughter, who will be 2 next month will still take 2 naps SOME days. When I mention this to friends with kids, they say "STILL taking 2 naps??" as if there is something horribly wrong with my child..as if she's somehow delayed. For a while it made me upset, but now I realize it's just jealousy!
I figure, as a SAHM, the least I can do is try to provide good naps for my kids. Most of the time, it's at the expense of getting anything else done, but that's ok.
I need a nap.
First time visitor...
Your Ella and her naps sound like my youngest 2 kids. My son (now 5) would not sleep anyplace except his bed. AND...he was a thumbsucker and belly sleeper, so on long car trips he didn't know how to suck his thumb since he was not on his belly. Oy. But he has always loved his bed.
My youngest also loves her bed. She is 14 months and she snuggles right down into her crib.
I guess we should just be happy we have nappers huh? Cannot imagine a life without naps. Speaking of which...maybe I will go lie down. :)
Jamie in MS
Ella sounds like Eilidh with her naps and its now only at almost 9 months is she getting better at sleeping out and about - but never for very long. There was times i would be in tears at the frustration of it all as Rebecca would sleep anywhere.
I would keep trying the same naptime routine, it took us about 4-5 months to get it 100% but my girls both nap at the same time and its wonderful - around 2 whole hours to myself
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