What is happening here?
Since the big girl bed..which we all happen to adore by the way! Naps are harder to come by. Fa came across this new found freedom that she never new she had, up until just recently. I put her in her bed for a nap and then I leave her room. I peek through her key hole (this OLD house has those old-fashioned keys and keyholes) and she pops right out of bed to commence playing. It's truly hysterical. She lays in bed all nice and snugly and as soon as I click the door closed...she's off..How does she know to sneak like that? I didn't teach her that. Do girls just have this automatic gene that sneaks them out of bed without the parents looking? I'm in for it when she's a teenager, huh?
Well, when Fa doesn't nap she's "Godzilly". (that's what we used to call her when she was learning how to walk) She stomps and screams, whines and cries and spits fire throughout the house...Alright maybe not the fire thing, but you get the point. And when she naps, she goes down so late because she was too busy playing alone, in her room without Mom hovering overhead. I'm sure she loves that. But then, I have to wake her from her nap and soon after, get her ready for bath and bed. It's terrible. She's pissed if she naps and I have to wake her and she's pissed if she doesn't nap.
But hot Jesus in a snow suit, do I need a break. I need just an hour. Even day laborers get a lunch break, yes? I'm not complaining. Just trying to work out a system where we all benefit here.
So, I have been allowing her her 'quiet time' in her room. To play, read, relax, catch some z's. Whatever. It seems to work but she still has some issues at bed time. Can we all say 'Pissy Pants'?
How did you deal with losing the nap, when the time came? And then, how do you deal with the bedtime stall later at night?
8 comments:
I cannot imagine no naptime. I definitely would in theory insist upon quiet time. I know of parents that although not huge tv fans, allow an hour of tv in the afternoon so they in turn get that relax, rejuvenate time.'
Good luck!
(oh when Becca first got her bed it was the same deal, but I would go right back in and retuck her in and she would then be defeated, she was younger then and had less fight in her though!)
I think if you keep up the "quiet time" and not put any emphasis on a nap, she will either decide to nap, or not, but either way, you'll have some quiet time to yourself. Just be clear that this is "Stinkfoot's Quiet Time AND Mommy's Quiet Time"
Just my 2 cents. We all need a break, otherwise we will SNAP!
Chelle & Marmite Breath: you are both so right. "Quiet time" is what has gottn me through these past few weeks...She keeps to it too...
Thank you.
We are going through the end of the naps here as well. (my daughter has had her "big bed" for over a year now, but as soon as she got it the sneaking out of it started...it must be a girl thing)
Anyway, she resists the napping, but like you I have instituted that she still has to stay in her room for quiet time. Some days her quiet time actully becomes a nap and somedays it doesn't, but I have to have that break during the day to stay "happy mommy".
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for lighting a candle!
Yikes! Ry is only 6 months and already shuns the nap quite often. I think I'm in for a fight...
My daughter, Jennifer who is almost 3, started shunning the nap when I tried to chuck her little brother in with her due to lack of bedrooms. After about three months of never having any time for myself and constantly snapping at hubby, something had to change, so I made up a Jenny box. I put a whole bunch of stuff in it that she can only play with when Davey's having a nap. Old makeup, empty juice bottles, stuff you'd normally put in the recycling, sometimes candy, fingerpaints, and she just has at it for about 45 minutes on the back patio. When she's done, she can come in and she usually get a quick rinse off in the bath or flops onto the couch for some princess movie. Meanwhile, I've got a little time to de-mommy. As for the stalling @ bedtime, I can only suggest consistency. Realizing that it sounds harsh and inhumane, letting her stay in peed on pants overnight will convince her that you mean business when you say it's bedtime. Or you could just add another story to the line-up. Sometimes a little more time to wind down time is just what the doctor ordered. Hope this... incredibly log... comment helps.
My kids lose their nap way too early! Like around two. The bright side is they then go to bed at 7pm at least until their 4 or 5. I never did master the "quiet time". I would just put them in my bed with snacks and a movie. I remember that was a really hard adjustment with my first. Now I'm just used to having no time to myself during the day. My oldest trained me well.
I lost nap time as well, but "quiet time" is a must keep!
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