Sorry to bore you all with my constant nap
\n issues, but part of the goal of this blog is to document stuff
\n the first time around, so we can review what worked and didn’t
\n for the second go-round. Right now naps, or the complete lack
\n thereof is the biggest thing going on around here. Lex is such
\n a sweet, friendly, helpful, fun kid — when he’s rested. When
\n he’s not… he’s miserable, defiant, fussy, and a general pain
\n in the butt. I love my sweet little boy and am not ready for
\n him to stop napping, despite his protests. Unfortunately you
\n can’t force a kid to sleep. <\/p>\n
This week
\n we’ve been trying an AM nap instead of his usual PM nap. This
\n came about because he usually seems tired in the late morning,
\n so I was trying to get some lunch in him and put him down in
\n the early PM, but lately it seems like we’ve missed his peak
\n tired window and skipped right into fighting and crazy time. So
\n I’ve started giving him a snack and getting him in bed earlier.
\n So far this week we’ve had two AM car naps and two AM rests,
\n but no sleep in the bed yet. However, both AM nap attempts at
\n home have resulted in an hour of calm, peaceful reading in bed,
\n which is MUCH more than we’ve been getting at his PM nap time.
\n I’m going to try this for another few days and see if we can
\n get some sleep. <\/p>\n
Another thought I had
\n this evening is perhaps he’s missing one-on-one time with me. I
\n know we’re together all day, but he doesn’t get much alone time
\n with me. I’m always busy trying to get stuff done (why the hell
\n won’t the house and bills and stuff take care of themselves??)
\n or tend to Eve or manage play dates or whatever. In the past he
\n never wanted to play with me, but lately he’s been asking me to
\n play with him a lot. He has also been getting more jealous of
\n Eve, pushing her off my lap, taking away her toys, etc.
\n Yesterday, every time I sat down he came over and sat in my lap
\n and called it a nest. At one point when Eve was in my lap, he
\n sat down with her and said “two babies in the nest.” And,
\n yesterday, for the first time ever, he asked to nurse! They say
\n it’s common when a new baby comes along that the first may want
\n to nurse again, but I don’t think they mean 8 months later!! I
\n was sitting on the floor with them and she was getting fussy so
\n I made a comment about having to nurse Eve soon. Lex came right
\n over, cuddled into my lap and said “want me to nurse you”
\n (pronoun confusion boy) I said something about him being a big
\n boy and drinking milk from a cup and he just nuzzled into me
\n and sat there for a minute. Then Eve rolled on the floor over
\n to Lex’s sippy cup and he jumped up to take it away and say “No
\n Eve!” :) Today I had a friend over all afternoon and Lex was
\n his normal no-nap defiant self. When she left and Eve went
\n upstairs for her nap, Lex got really sweet and cuddly and just
\n wanted to sit on the floor with mommy and do nothing. He fell
\n asleep in my lap in the recliner. So, maybe, just maybe he’s
\n feeling like he’s missing mommy time. Does that make sense that
\n it would impact nap time? We may have to start scheduling
\n one-on-one time with Lex. I always just assume my kids are so
\n easy and roll with life, but sometimes I forget their special
\n needs too. <\/p>\n
So, those are my nap time
\n theories. Neither bodes well for my daycare baby starting soon.
\n Hopefully I can get him napping in the mornings this week or
\n next so when she starts full-time the following week I’ll have
\n a happy toddler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sorry to bore you all with my constant nap issues, but part of the goal of this blog is to document stuff the first time around, so we can review what worked and didn’t for the second go-round. Right now … Continue reading