Of course Miss Briana had to help Daddy blow out his candles and help him open his gifts! Tonight, Doug and I are having a night out ALONE! We are going to a sushi restaurant and then we are going to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza. As you know, Doug and I are big Cirque fans, so we are very excited about seeing this one. This is part of Doug's birthday celebration - even if it is one day late. :)And here is a picture of Miss Briana last night. The minute her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light...
Ok, BTDT moms...
The reason Briana zonked so quickly before 8PM was due to the fact that she didn't take a nap yesterday. And then she slept for 12 hours straight without a peep. She is skipping a lot of naps lately. I really think she might be trying to give them up. When I put her in her crib, she will talk and play for over an hour sometimes - wide awake. Now I don't mind her not napping if she is getting rest time, but the problem I am having is that she wants to fall asleep in her dinner at 5:30-6PM when she doesn't take a nap.
Ok, BTDT moms...The reason Briana zonked so quickly before 8PM was due to the fact that she didn't take a nap yesterday. And then she slept for 12 hours straight without a peep. She is skipping a lot of naps lately. I really think she might be trying to give them up. When I put her in her crib, she will talk and play for over an hour sometimes - wide awake. Now I don't mind her not napping if she is getting rest time, but the problem I am having is that she wants to fall asleep in her dinner at 5:30-6PM when she doesn't take a nap.
Should I let her give up her naps (unless she is really tired)? How soon did your kids give up naps? Briana is almost two and a half. Gosh that seems too soon for me. I really love having some "me" time in the afternoon, but if she isn't wanting them - I don't want to force her to sleep. Hmmm, quite the dilemma, huh?
19 Kind Words:
Lisa, Jazzie gave up taking a nap when she was barely 2. Way before I was ready ;-) I think Tahlia stopped when she was 3.
It sounds to me that Briana might be ready go give up her nap as well. The tricky part is (like you said) dinner time. By then she is tired (and hungry). I remember trying to keep Jazzie up so that she wouldn't fall asleep at 6, because otherwise she wouldn't go to bed at night. I guess you have to figure out what you can do to keep Briana awake until an earlier bed time if she doesn't nap.
One thing that worked for me was to give Tahlia her bath when she seemed she was getting tired. It always perked her up enough for dinner and a little bit of play time before going to bed around 7.
Good luck. Figuring out this motherhood thing is not easy sometimes!
That period where your child is transitioning to no nap is definitely a challenge!
Emma napped until she was almost four, but not consistently. We did go through a long period where she didn't want to nap, but would almost always fall asleep if we were in the car in the late afternoon. I would try to keep her from nodding off, but usually unsuccessfully.
I don't have any great advice. You just have to get through it!
Happy Birthday Doug!
My kids started dropping their naps at different stages. Jack was older when he stopped taking 2 naps a day, probably around 12 months. Then he was about 3.5 when he started not napping in the afternoon. I was pregnant with Kate at the time and wanted nothing more than A NAP!
Kate was earlier in her 'no nap' development. By 14 months she was only taking one, 45 min to 1 hour nap a day. But she woke frequently at night, and still wakes once a night. And when she was 2, I was lucky if she'd nap. And when she did, it was only about 30 minutes. By 2.5 she wasn't napping at all. (She is almost 3.5)
My best advice is go with the flow. Even after a year of not napping, sometimes I catch Kate sitting with her eyes closing while she's chewing. I try to make sure she still takes a 'time out' and rests, especially on busy days, and she is less likely to fall asleep before 7:30.
Some days she will need to nap, and it will be painfully obvious. Take advantage of it, but expect a slightly later bedtime that night. Other days, like you said, she'll just lay in there and play. And that's ok too. While adjusting we read books or watched a movie, making the room as dark as possible
You'll get through it :)
Happy Birthday Doug!! Your cupcakes look deeeeelicious!
Naps. Urgh. Mikayla wouldn't have them. She stopped around 18 months - I just started putting her to bed a little earlier (6pm!)
Harry would still nap, now if he could!!! (he's 7!!!) Gauge it by the child, I reckon. If they're not getting tired til dinner time - then I'd skip the naps, give an early dinner, and put her to bed early. If she's grumpy early afternoon... I'd give her a nap. There's no hard and fast rules (unfortunately!!)
Happy Birthday, Doug.
Good luck with the nap dilemma :0)
Looks like a great evening for Doug..
I hope you get Briana to take some naps..
I would still make her lay down and just REST HER EYES..
Hugs..
I hope Doug enjoyed his special birthday cupcakes...they looked delicious!!
Sarah has been skipping naps more than she takes them.....but unfortunately for us, she doesn't go to bed any earlier if she skips....she is a total night owl....we are lucky if we get her down by 9 some nights....I have no clue where she gets her energy!!
Hope you had fun tonight!!
Lisa
PS. Is that a petunia pickle bottom blanket?? Sarah has one too, the trim is a different color....they are so soft....love them:)
Wow, it seems too young!! Francis napped until he was 5!!
Naomi naps at the daycare and our daycare provider says she is the first to fall asleep every day.
On weekends she doesn't nap as well as at daycare but I suppose I also don't keep her as busy.
Generally, she naps 1.5 hours and sleeps 11 hours at night (8pm - 7am).
Maybe try to increse her activity in the morning ... it works for us!
My kids quite having naps at about 18 months. Jeane doesn't have a nap anymore either. Yep, it sounds kind of crappy, but trust me, the evenings alone with your hubby or yourself are WORTH it! You can put her in her room for a "rest time" if you want, just make it early enough that she doesn't sleep. And do something exciting around dinner time...we used to dance. :-)
I wish you all the best!
i love the sleeping gorgeous beauty photo.
X X will skip nap fr 2 or 3days then has anap....
i hated her giving up her naps but i loved the early nights
xxx
s
Happy Birthday to Doug! Enjoy your night out.
Here's my BTDT advise: I never give up naps. Even when they decide to just 'rest' by reading or being still in their bed, I
make them do it. Weston is 4 1/2 and I still make him lay down...7 out of 10 times he will fall asleep for 1 1/2 hr. He's much more pleasant in the evening if he does sleep. I have never given up nap time for any of my kids, including the 30 foster kids and they all enjoyed their 'quiet' time, even if they didn't sleep.
I love the sleeping picture:)
Abby fights her naps big time lately so I'm interested to see the advice you get.
It is a hard.....SOphia is a few times a week and Daniel is the same....however....everyday they go into their beds for "quiet" time....at a certain point....I just go get them up and usually they are both in bed by 7:45 - 8 if they didn't take naps.
This is the hard stage....good luck! ;) Personally, I wouldn't let her sleep around dinner....I'd just put her to bed earlier.....but that is just me...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOUG!!!!!!
Ok, here's my $.02:
QB is 14 months and takes two naps a day. He has done this since we were in Africa. Each nap averages two hours. HOWEVER, some days he is impossible - he will throw his blankie out of the crib and cry until I come and bring it back to him (I'm a sucker and always fall for this little trick) or somedays he just sits in there and babbles to himself and sings. So, the way I see it is this - he still needs to down time, because he's just too darn little to have a day with no napping. So, even if he chooses to sit there and talk to himself, so be it. He's still getting a rest and so is mom. I'm a better mom when I've had a break and he's much more happy when he's had one. So, I say hang in there and stick to it. Once you give it up, it's awfully hard to go back.
Happy Birthday Doug!
I loved reading all the comments because I have been toying with the idea of skipping a nap here and there. Our problem is that she has no desire to go to sleep at night until 10pm then up at 7am. Lots of good info.
Hey Lisa -
My BTDT advice is... 2 is pretty young to give up naps. It is also a common time for kids to fight sleep. As they hit developmental milestones, they don't want to miss out on anything! Naptimes may change though- look for signs of sleepiness (rubbing eyes, yawning, acting crazy) and put her down for a nap then (if it is workable). I agree that even if she does quiet time with some books in her crib some of the time - still attempt a nap or quiet time every day. I'll bet this is just a stage and she'll go back to napping regularly soon. Mary Lin has been fighting naps about 40% of the time the last week or so - I know that she is too little to give them up - she cannot go from 3 hours to zero. I let her stay up in her crib (as long as she is not crying) for a good long while and usually she zonks out after a hour or so. I think too many moms mistakenly give up naps too soon. Heck, Garrett didn't stop napping til he was 3 and he was the world's worst sleeper. :-)
Good luck!
Amy
UGH! The sheer thought of no nap during the day frightens me. I have had quite a few with Hannah - and she is a bear at night to deal with if she doesn't. (and then sleeps horribly). She's been pretty good - but on occassion skips them. I love Tracy's comment - and I agree with it. Kids need some sort of time on their own to just "rest" even if it isn't sleep. (as do we). Good luck. Maybe it is just a little phase. There's lots of those lately it seems.
don't you wish kids came with an instruction manual.
Have a wonderful Day
Wendy
Post a Comment