Man - our day was GREAT for the first half. Puzzles! Coloring! Reading! Elmo! We even went to the library which we’ve NEVER done. I took pictures all day to document this historical event. Me: A Stay-At-Home Mom. Great pictures and great fun. We even had our first EVER poop in the potty! (And by “we” I mean NikkiZ, I’ve pooped in the potty before. I promise.) Awesome! Great! Brilliant!
Then came naptime.
See, on the weekends, naptime is a liberal concept. Sometimes we don’t take naps because we have too much going on. Other times, I let her sleep in our bed and I nap with her or I read or clean the room/bathroom. In other words, we don’t really do structured naps. Daycare does that.
So, I tried a real nap today. In her crib. Long story short? She cried in her crib for 45 minutes while I cried at my desk (trying to “work”) for the same amount of time. I finally got her up and put her on my chest and while I could at least check my email. I finally was able to move her into my bed where she is now. I’ve gotten nothing accomplished during naptime, but at least neither one of us is crying anymore. We should get bonus points for that, right?
Total bonus points. 100 each.
Definite bonus points. And, truth be told, despite my always having been home, my chest is where the lowercase takes his naps. I just couldn’t bear the crying when I put him down and left the room. (This is also how he goes down for the night — I hold him until he sleeps, then move him)
Yes, yes, 10 points for not crying anymore! Yay!!!
Dude, the library is worth at LEAST 100 points. Naps here at home are different from daycare naps, too. At daycare, Al lays down on his mat WITHOUT a pacifier and just goes to sleep after lunch(three different teachers have given me that same report, so I’m pretty sure they’re not making it up). Around here, though, he gets ready for a nap before lunch, BUT must have both his pacifier AND one hand on my boob to go to sleep. The upshot of that is that once he’s asleep, he’s out for a couple of hours at least.
You’ll get it figured out, I have no doubt.
Aside from the crying part, though, it sounds like a fun day.
It may not be easy, but let me assure you right now that the best thing to do is to get a solid schedule. It may take you a week or two to get into place, but trust me, you’ll be thanking yourself once AndyZ shows up.
Mega Bonus Points … and remember, mom, you both need time to adjust to the new lifestyle!! Just keep trying!
Many bonus points. Nice work, zoot!
The naps will come…you are rockin’ the WAHM thing already!
Yeah. As you know, I know all about sleep issues…LOL.
Aww, she’ll get used to nap time at home without you. You can do it!
Hooray for the lie-bary!! Of course, I’m biased as an HPL employee.
Consistent structure. You know that… but its hard at first until you get that routine up and going. Just don’t let up! Good luck - we’re thinking of you!
The Library? You went to the library? Hell with the POINTS, sister, you win the GAME!
If I managed a trip to the library, I would spend the entire rest of the DAY feeling like I had accomplished SO MUCH that NO FURTHER WORK WAS NECESSARY.
I am a real over-achiever over here. =)
If there’s no crying, that is a good thing. There is no such thing as a small victory!
bonus points galore. i suggest just napping with a pillow of your own head while the kid cries in the other room until you are both peacefully asleep.
Ah, you know you’ll get it all sorted out just fine
She has your number
I’m exhaused just reading all the stuff you did today. She didn’t want to nap cause there was so much going on, she was afraid she’d miss something. Umm, may I suggest a little pacing? I’m teasing, cause I’m totally jealous of such a fun day.
You know NikkiZ is a smart girl, I know w/my girls (including the one who’s 20 months) I can often negociate the nap; after you nap we’ll do this puzzle/go to library/park, etc … but you have to nap first. They understand, and I’ll bet she might just do it for you cause she’ll feel in control. Worth a try, right?
You deserve bonus points and chocolate.
Naptime is like that a lot in my house. I just read and try to ignore the crying. She falls asleep eventually. (I don’t actually leave her. I keep going in to give her hugs and calm her down.)
i can’t imagine being thrown in to staying at home so sufddenly, and what an adjustment it is for EVERYONE!! bonus points, chocolate and a diet coke, for sure!
can i make a suggestion, too? beanie is about 6 mos older than nikkz, and for a very long time, beanie has had an armload of stuff in her crib - books, and animals mostly. some days she just doesn’t want/need a nap, but i *do* need a break - not a break from her, but a break to unload the dishwasher and sweep the floor… so the days when she’s not ready to sleep, she will read and play for a while. she rests, i get some other stuff done, and then it’s back to PLAYPLAYPLAY the rest of the day!
Zoot, don’t beat yourself up. You are all in a transition is all. NikkiZ will follow your lead she just needs some time too.
Keep trying… don’t give up. And ya know what… there is nothing wrong making nap time a compromise too. In other words if nap time in her bed is too much for her.. Then maybe, provided you are ok with it, nap time in your bed is a decent compromise. She sleeps, you get a break and are able to get some work done. Isn’t that the point anyways?
I am a big one for those types of compromise with my son, Drew. His older sisters didn’t benefit much from this new found relaxation I have with him, lol. Situations when he was born caused him to have to share a room with me for the first 2 years of his life. This caused some… bed time issues, lol. When we finally moved and he got his own room…bed time became an even larger challenge, lol. We don’t do regular naps anymore. But I remember making “deals” and compromises with him.
Hang in there. You and Nikki will find that nitch. it’s only been what? a week or 2…give yourself a break