My house is full of germs. My cold is much better, but I can't say as much for the rest of my family. My husband is getting worse, instead of better, and Rachel's has stayed about the same (except she's added a cough to her list of symptoms). Thankfully, she's sleeping okay at night, thanks to Benadryl and Vicks. Naptime has been a different story.
Some time ago she decided that her stall tactic for keeping us in her room when it's bedtime would be to say, "I need a kleenex, please." I don't know what started it or why she chose that, as opposed to, say, "I need some water, please," like most kids seem to want. She wants a kleenex. All. the. time. So we started leaving one in her bed with her--that way she can't ask us for one.
But then this cold started, and she'd wipe her nose or eyes with the kleenex, declare it "yucky," and then want a new kleenex! This tactic didn't work, though. We wouldn't go back in to get it for her. So then she started crying. Crying with a horribly stuffed up nose just makes it worse, and Saturday at naptime she had worked herself up into quite a mess. We went in a couple of times, calmed her down, she got a new kleenex, and we arranged her covers again, but before long she was at it again. After an hour we gave up and got her up. We told her she could stay in bed and go nigh night or go in her playpen by herself. Either way, we weren't going to be with her. She chose the playpen. And surprisingly, she played really well in there for another 45 minutes before we got her up and declared "naptime" over.
Sunday's nap started out heading in the same direction. I was nervous. I really, really didn't want the no-nap thing to become a trend. She's too little to give that up (I'm too selfish to give it up!!!! It's my two hours of peace!). Thankfully, though it got off to a rough start, she did fall asleep. I'm really hoping today goes a bit better and we can forgo the bit at the beginning. She's always gone down SO well for naps and nighttime. I don't want all of that to change now, after nearly three years. Maybe it's just the cold. Maybe it will all come back to normal when she's well (like, in April, since she's usually sick for most of the winter....). I'm already tired of winter and it isn't even here yet!!!!
It seems like they are getting to the age where if there is something to distract or bother them (like a cold), they won't go to sleep. Katy had NEVER missed a nap in her entire life until a couple of months ago, and now about once a week she just doesn't go to sleep. I leave her in there for 1.5 hours (going in every once in a while to tell her to lay down), but she just doesn't sleep. She did it on Halloween because she was so excited about trick or treating.
ReplyDeleteSo I bet it's the cold, but I'm also fearful that we're getting to the age where naps aren't as dependable as they used to be. :(
I think Emily is right - she may be getting to the age where if she's excited enough she can fight sleep and stay awake. Probably she'll keep napping most of the time for a while still, and then gradually you'll find that the times when she doesn't go to sleep start to outnumber the times when she does sleep. Nicholas napped until a little past 3, but Andrew stopped napping not long after he turned 2. Even once both of them weren't napping anymore, we've continued to have a rest time - an hour of quiet, independent play in your crib/on your bed/in your room. In fact, we still do it, although now Andrew rests and Nicholas does his homework and reads for 15 minutes.
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