OK my fellow mommies. I want to know your thoughts. Naps, or no naps?
I get that kids need and like to nap. But, how important is it? See, my two little ones like to nap in the afternoon now. I am not talking 12-12:30ish. I am saying like between 2 and 3ish. AND they nap from 1-3 hours at a time.
My first thought is usually: Let them nap, they need it. My next thought: Ahhhh a moment to myself. And then: I am bored. Not that this whole nap issue is about me....well not completely.
Back to the controversy. When they nap they then do not go to bed until 9-9:30ish. Which greatly hinders my true down time, and a little quiet time with my husband. When they don't nap then from 4-5 becomes the hour from hell and I have to find JUST the right time to feed them so they will actually eat. I have also learned (especially with Hailey) that if they don't eat well before bed they are up and down all night.
I try to get them to take naps earlier in the day. I have played with lunch hour and our playtime schedule. It doesn't seem to matter what I do, they want to nap in the late afternoon. My general rule is if they do not nap before 2pm then no naps for the day. At that point its crafts or outdoor fun to keep them up, happy and awake until dinner. Which is sometimes earlier than Daddy coming home, so we don't necessarily have a family dinner, although I make every effort to have a family dinner...BUT have to admit, having a dinner with just my husband and actually enjoying a hot meal is kinda nice =) Is that fair? I have also tried to limit their actual nap to an hour but that does not seem to make a difference. 1.) It is almost impossible to actually wake them up. 2.) Whether they sleep for one hour or three hours, they are up (what feels like) all night.
I want to know Mommies. What would you do? Please remember that every mom needs a little down time to herself, and this one does not get much time alone at all. I eat with them, sleep with them, they come everywhere with me, yup peeing and everything they are with me. So what do I do? Let them nap, or not? and Don't say Nap when they nap!!!
Emma and I did the nap thing until she was 2.5 then naps left :( however at noon I had her lay down, if she naped great... if not, well the day got painful. However after awhile she got used to the time and it worked great!
ReplyDelete-Michelle
Oh my gosh. I don't know what I would do if Connor didn't nap! They do greatly need naps. It helps rest their minds and bodies, BUT...I do understand your need for downtime at night. It's a tough situation. As I was reading, I was thinking that you should wake them up after an hour, but I guess you have tried that. Have you been ademant about putting them down at 1 or 1:30? Maybe you just need to tweak your routine and start downtime (books, milk, etc.)around 1 and then put them down at 1:30. Connor usually goes in his bed at 1 or 1:30, but might not fall asleep until 1:45/2, and sleeps until 3 or 3:30. Then, he is in bed for the night again at 7:30. I don't know if that helps, but I think naps are great!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Girls,
ReplyDeleteI think I am going to tweak the routine and try milk/blanket/book just after lunch (or what I hope would be lunch-they sometimes don't eat it) AND limit nap time to an hour. Hopefully that will help. Although with spring around the corner and them being outside I am sure once I find SOME routine they will switch it up on me. Ahh the life of a MOM. Gotta love it =)
Gosh, what time do you guys get up? My kids are up at 6:30 but they're asleep (or quietly in their rooms) at 7 pm. Jackson takes a nap about half the time now, but he still plays quietly in his room for an hour and a half. I would go insane. Granted, he's not in a big boy bed--we'll see how that goes! Just try to get a routine that works for you and build in some quiet time for everyone in the afternoon--even if it's just an hour, it's a blessing!
ReplyDeleteThey are up about 6am. and Go ALL DAY! I'm trying. When it gets warm things will be a lot different =) I HOPE
ReplyDelete