Lex has stopped napping. This has been
\n exhausting and stressful (mentally, physically, and
\n emotionally) for both of us. For awhile now he’s fallen asleep
\n only after Alan or I physically restrain him by wrapping him in
\n our arms in our bed and holding him still until he falls
\n asleep. We call this “cuddling him to sleep” and he hates it
\n worse than anything. And when he screams, we sing. So we sing
\n and cuddle him until he falls asleep. Mean parenting, huh? But
\n lately this hasn’t even worked and Eve’s nap schedule has made
\n it difficult for me to lay down with Lex every day. So this
\n week I decided to try “mommy quiet time” instead. Lex doesn’t
\n have to nap, but he does have to give me one hour of quiet time
\n where he sits in the living room and reads books and doesn’t
\n talk to me. This makes him pretty happy and he’s pretty good at
\n it, but unfortunately it’s not as restful as a nap so he’s
\n still exhausted by bedtime. We’ve been putting him to bed by
\n 7pm and he usually goes down in a screaming fury. :( Then wakes
\n up at 6:30am, still tired. This morning he was rubbing his eyes
\n at 6:30am, fussing and crying by 7am, and telling me he was too
\n tired and needs a nap by 7:30am. “Are you tired? Are you tired
\n and need a nap?” (“you” = “I” or “me” in Lex’s world). So I
\n tried to get him to lay down on the couch (Eve and Alan were
\n occupying both bedrooms), but he wouldn’t, so we started our
\n day (every day, all week) very tired, which results in more
\n meltdown, more rebellion, and more “wanna just do nothing”
\n days.<\/p>\n
On top of his issues, Eve has
\n decided that the best, and only, place to sleep at night is in
\n my arms. Not my just bed, but my arms. I love her dearly, but I
\n don’t sleep well with babies in my arms. She won’t sleep long
\n in her bed and she won’t sleep with Alan, just with me. She’s
\n become quite the momma’s girl. It’s hard to complain about that
\n :) I guess we’re going to have to do some sleep training soon,
\n and hope it doesn’t disturb Lex’s desperately needed sleep.
\n Alan’s idea is to bring Lex in the bed with us instead and
\n letting Eve CIO (cry it out) in the crib. We did a modified
\n version of that with Lex around this age and it worked well. It
\n was emotionally tough, but worth it.<\/p>\n
So, Ok, I’m done with my Lex has stopped napping. This has been exhausting and stressful (mentally, physically, and emotionally) for both of us. For awhile now he’s fallen asleep only after Alan or I physically restrain him by wrapping him in our arms in our … Continue reading
\n ready for my tired rant? I haven’t had a good one of these in
\n awhile. I’m also struggling because it’s coming up on Christmas
\n and I LOVE CHRISTMAS but we are so broke. My daycare business
\n isn’t exactly picking up as quickly as I’d hoped. The baby got
\n pushed back two weeks and everyone else I’ve spoken with either
\n has an infant (I can’t take any more infants) or is looking for
\n work. I’ve got several people with two year olds who say that
\n as soon as they find work they’ll sign up with me. But that
\n still leaves me broke and somewhat in limbo for the holiday
\n season :( It’s Eve’s first Christmas and Lex’s first that he’s
\n old enough to understand. It’s also the first year we will be
\n at our house Christmas morning. I really want to buy them fun
\n things (not a lot, just a few) so they can have a wonderful
\n Christmas morning, but we are so broke :( Alan keeps reminding
\n me that they will never remember this and they’ll get plenty of
\n presents from everyone else that evening and over the next few
\n days, but it’s not the same. It’s more about me, I guess :)
\n Selfish, but oh well. I also really like shopping for others
\n and wrapping presents and all that jazz. I wanted to take them
\n to the mall to see Santa and help me pick out presents (they
\n are both great at shopping), but we won’t be doing that this
\n year. I just love Christmas! Anyway, that’s just a rant and if
\n anyone is looking for a gift for Eve, she (hehe… ok, I)
\n really wants a pair of gingerbread Robeez<\/a>. Alan pointed
\n out, rightfully, that since they are holiday shoes she’ll only
\n be able to wear them for a month or two, but I say they are
\n just so cute! <\/p>\n
\n tired rant and Lex is reminding me that “mommy quiet time” is
\n over so I’m outta here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"