I have to tell you about something and it's going to take more than 30 words. But it's important. Like, MY BRAIN IS GOING TO MELT IMPORTANT.
Here's the thing: my child, the light and sweetness of my life, my dear dear cutie pie Alice is a wee bit on the, uh, strange side when it comes to naps. They're like, barely naps. They're snappers. They're napettes. They're the N without anything else. And they last, at best, THIRTY MINUTES. And she takes A LOT OF THEM. Like, FIVE. Yes, five naps a day. It's ridiculous. It's crazy. And it's sort-of, um, killing me softly (or not so softly, as the case may be). I found myself telling Chip the other day that I'm running on a hamster wheel that barely has time to reset itself: wake, play, feed, play, sleep - repeat repeat repeat five times. In the day.
So here's what I'm going to do, dear internets. I'm going to try to reset the whole darn thing and melt the 30-minute N's into full blown NAAAAAPS. Two of them, maybe three.
How am I going to do this, you ask? HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA!!! (That's the universe laughing at me.) I'm going to try to just sort-of keep her awake for a couple of days. Okay - that sounds like I'm going to keep her awake continuously! But no! I mean, instead of putting her to sleep at her usual 3-hour intervals, I'm going to keep her awake past the 3-hour intervals for a couple of days, hoping her body will sleep longer when she does get a nap, and thereby get us onto a more normal system of 2 (or 3) naps each day.
I know that the next couple of days promise to be somewhat challenging, shall we say. And I know - WHY AM I DOING THIS INSANITY IN AN ADMITTEDLY ALREADY STRESSED OUT WEEK? Because I really need to get this settled. It's making me crazy. And Chip isn't doing any business travel this week, which means he's here for an extra set of Sane in the evening. And I hope that in the end we'll get little Alice Bean to invest in some nice chunky full-blown NAPPAGE.
What do you think? Any thoughts (besides CRAZY, cuz I know that already)? Has anyone out there ever tried to do something like this?
In the words of The Wife, pray for us sinners.
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12 comments:
My only thoughts are to wish you well. You have to do it b/c 5 mini naps is enough to make anyone certifiably insane.
May the force be with you.
That would make me crazy! Good luck keeping her up.
well, at least we'll be having crappy weeks together!
I understand. When madame S. was a baby I decided what time I wanted her to nap at. Then at the said time I'd put her to bed. Needless to say, I wish I had invested in some earplugs! You may want to buy some! Sometimes you just have to let them cry it out! It won't be horrible forever; I promise!
It just takes time...I hope it works now, but even if it doesn't SOMEday, she'll be taking longer naps etc. Josh sleeps beautifully through the night and is excited to take naps, and I didn't even notice when it started happening..I just know he wasn't always that way.
Good luck!
GOOD LUCK. I don't know how you get things done with such short naps. My kids would take at least hour to 2 hour naps but it seems like the babies today are taking less. I've noticed it with grandkids. One thing is true, she will cry. DON"T pick her up, soothe her and then walk away. Again good luck and hang in there.
i wonder if i could incorporate 5 naps into MY day? that would be awesome.
uh, good luck, though.
I am completely with you on this one. I am glad you are feeling the same way as I am. Although for the past couple of days, Rilynn has managed to take at least a 2 hour nap. I am hoping it sticks. I will probably pay for it later, but I have her sleeping in my bed and I turn the bathroom fan on. Whatever works at this point. My life has become so repetitive and unorganized that I am going crazy! Let me know details if your situation works! Good Luck.
oOOoh, Josiah does the same thing. He is younger than yours but still, it sucks! I would say your plan is a good idea except that it will probably take a few weeks to really reset her schedule. Even when she does start taking longer naps, she'll still be cranky for awhile. Good luck
Oh good luck!
I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Weissbluth and thought that it was amazing. It made a WORLD of difference when it came to getting on a good napping schedule.
My fingers will be crossed for you -- I hope that Miss Alice is sleeping soundly and for multiple hours at a time by the end of the week!
I think you've come up with a wise approach (attack?) for the situation at hand. I will be thinking happy, sleepy thoughts for you in the upcoming days!
I did this recently when switching my son from 2 to 1 naps a day. it took his body a couple of days to get use to it. Now he naps once for 2 1/2-3 hours rather than the 30-45 minute naps. We both are happier now.
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