long time coming

I've known it was coming for a long time.  I'm actually surprised it's stayed around this long, but today we bid adieu.

Any guesses as to what I'm talking about????

Rebecca's morning nap.

Today was the first day without it.  She's been fighting it for the last several days, spending an hour or more talking before falling asleep, or not falling asleep at all.  And I've suspected for awhile now that she may sleep longer in the mornings if I didn't give her a morning nap, but she didn't seem quite ready to give it up until the last few days.

So this morning we went to church, and ordinarily she falls asleep in the car on the way home, so I usually put her in bed as soon as we get home.  But this morning she didn't fall asleep as we drove home, and I didn't put her to bed when we got home.  I changed her clothes, she played, she ate lunch, and she probably could've gone to bed after that, for an early afternoon nap, but I wanted to push it back if I could so it coincided with Rachel's rest time (1:30).  If she got fussy, I told myself, I'd put her to bed earlier, but she actually was pretty happy the whole time, and she made it all the way until 1:30.

She went to sleep right away and slept until 3:15.  She woke up in a HORRIBLE mood.  She really needed to sleep longer than that, but maybe that will come as she adjusts.  Or maybe I should put her to bed a little earlier.  We'll see. 

We'll see, too, if she makes up for the lost sleep by waking up a little later in the morning, or if she'll just be sleep deprived for awhile until she adjusts and figures it all out.

I'm sad to see it go.  :(   But I know I'm lucky to have kept it this long.  Most 18 month olds gave up their morning naps long ago.  I'll have to adjust my morning routines now that she won't be napping in the mornings.  I'm not looking forward to it, but I know in the long run it will be better for all of us, especially if she starts sleeping later in the mornings!