Today is apparently day two of project “You will take a nap, dammit!” In our house. I have to clarify right off that Julie has not heard the newly formal name of this project – I say it only in my head. But, crap. The kid has not been napping since she was just under 2, and she really does need one many or most days. I just didn’t have the strength or energy to force her to nap when we were living in Joe’s parents’ basement and I was pregnant and sick and so tired I needed a nap more than she did. It didn’t help that she would scream for the two hours she was supposed to be napping, and I got the feeling Joe’s parents thoughtI was a horrible mom and they were a little peeved because that was the exact same time of day when they themselves normally nap to accomodate Joe’s mom’s work schedule.
Hang on – I’ve got to go put her back in her bed.
Little stinker. I could hear her running around up there in the hallway, and she heard me coming so she went back in the bedroom. Anyway, since we got back from the trip to LA, and since we had four extra days of Joe being home because of the holiday, discipline has been poor around here, and I realized after lunch yesterday that she was just plain tired and that she wasn’t going to stop yelling at me till she had a nap. So I plunked her down on her bed, told her to take a nap in a very-firm Mommy Voice, and shut the door. She screamed at me for about 15-20 minutes and then fell asleep for over an hour. Then she was much more pleasant for the rest of the evening.
An added benefit of yesterday’s nap was that without Julie running around yelling and thumping and tooting toy horns, Sophie took a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon, then also got back into her normal sleep routine. Which meant that I, for the first time in weeks, had a freakin’ moment to myself.
Can you feel the stress pouring out into this post? Oh, yeah. The worst part of all this is how horrible I feel as a mother of a toddler who’s having tantrums because she’s tired but refus(es/ed) to nap. I finally feel motivated and strong enough to just put my foot down. Today we had a pleasant enough lunch, and I intended to take her to the library afterwards (normally one of her favorite activities). But then the tired meltdown set in and it became clear to me that what worked yesterday just might work again today. So she’s up there screaming at me off and on again, but maybe just maybe if we do this for a few more days in a row, she’ll figure out that the sooner she goes to sleep the sooner she can wake up and have some more fun.
Now, since both kids are out of the way for the moment (Sophie is sleeping in her car seat because she went right out on the way home from lunch and didn’t wake up), I’m going to do a little organizing of the mess in my office.
You have my sympathies, my dear! But, be strong and consistent, and in the end, you both will win! I survived twins, (somehow, but the memory grows dim). My son was a definite napper, and could sleep anywhere, should I not move fast enough to get him to bed. My daughter, on the other hand, was determined NOT to miss ANYTHING, and was my challenging child! We came to an agreement that she didn’t have to nap, as long as she played quietly in her crib/bed with her little books or stuffed animals, for at least 1/2 hour. Most times, she’d fall asleep before the 1/2 hour was up, and I’d actually have a decent hour or so of peace! Children do need rules, and the consistency is important, regardless of how tired you are (and believe me, I understand exhaustion!). It definitely pays off in the end! And just a few minutes of ‘mommy’ time is so important! My ‘babies’ are 23 now, and I just don’t understand where all that time went! Good luck to you!
To get my daughter to nap, I used to caress my daughter’s arm and name all the people who loved her in a slow cadence. She would be fascinated by all the people I named (some cartoon characters, too!) and she would relax while I named them. So it was quiet time and it helped her calm down for a nap. Sometimes she’d do it to me and I got the joy of hearing “and YOU love you (THAT was original on her part…) and I love you!”