Nap Battles
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007If you’re an experienced Mom, this post is for you! Kate has thrown us a curve ball in the last week or so, and I’m asking for tidbits of wisdom. Plus, the server won’t let me upload any new pics, so I figure I’ll use the waiting time to ask for input!
Kate has a well-deserved reputation of being a good sleeper–she sleeps from 8pm to 8am (at least)–so we have been very thankful! She is in the stage where she has been taking 2 naps a day for a while now (usually one around 10 or 10:30am until 11:30 or 12pm) and then an afternoon nap from about 2 or 2:30 until 3:30 or 4pm. However, for the last week or so, she has taken her morning nap, and then (oh joy!) decided to play in her bed for at least an hour, often 2 hours. That’s right, playing, not fussing-not sleeping. So here are some factors:
1. I go in after 45 min. or so to check/change her diaper.
2. She is not crawling yet, so she might be trying to practice her skills.
3. All the toys have been taken out of her crib (for now).
4. She’ll usually work herself up to a fuss by the end of the second hour!
5. She is very fussy for the rest of the evening when she does this…perhaps a sign she’s not ready to drop a nap?! Plus, she’s only 9 months, which seems very early to be dropping a nap?
6. I’ve tried putting her down earlier in the afternoon…she still plays. (yesterday she played from 2-4:30 and then was VERY cranky all evening b/c she didn’t sleep.)
7. I usually go up once to check on her and if I hold her a minute and bounce her I can see her eyes are heavy and she’s very tired…she just won’t sleep!
8. I have not yet tried waking her up early from her morning nap, to see if she’ll sleep better in the afternoon, though this may be my next approach. However, something in me fights against waking up a peacefully sleeping baby!
9. She just had 4 new teeth come through last week.
So, if anyone knows of any magic to get a 9 month old to return to 2 naps-a-day-bliss, by all means, leave a comment!! If something similar has happened to you, letting me know would be very encouraging, so I know I’m not the only one using the trial and error method trying to figure this out. I think I’ve been spoiled with her napping and sleeping being so routine and so predictable, and now we may be entering a phase that isn’t so predictable. For those of you just here to see more cute pics of Kate, stay tuned…they’re coming as soon as the server will let me!