Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Napping

I'm tired. I could go to bed at ten and wake up at noon--I'm sure of it. And while I suppose I could be dying of something and the exhaustion is just a side effect, I think it really boils down to something much more monumental.

The Rock Star doesn't nap anymore.

It's true. And it's been true for about a month and a half.

He didn't want to nap. Of course, I did want him to. So we fought. He cried. He laid awake for an hour. He snuck up the stairs. I put him back in the guest room. He got up. I laid with him. For forty five minutes. And, eventually, he'd fall asleep. Then he wouldn't be tired when it was time to go to sleep at night. So we would repeat the afternoon scenario. Two battles a day. Count 'em. One. Two.

One day he missed his nap and that night he was out like a light within 10 minutes of putting him down. AH HA! A light bulb flashed on in my head. (Apparently I have talking light bulbs and, really, you can't be that surprised.) I could fight with my child twice a day or I could abstain from fighting at all. And let me tell you with three-year-olds...no fighting at all. Always no fighting at all. I mean, trust me, we're going to go head to head at least 85,992,366,001 times a day anyway so eliminating two of those is completely worth it.

So he takes a quiet time instead. Which is great! Except it's not. Because quiet time sounds like this, "Mommy! Mommy. Come sit with me. Can you watch this with me? Can you do that cleaning later? Can you read me this book?" And I know he's growing up. I know he isn't going to want me to come sit next to him forever. I know that scrubbing can wait. Laundry can wait. Everything else I have to do can wait. It can wait until after he goes to bed. So it does.

I go to bed late. Then I wake up tired. The end.

Although, I suppose I could really be dying. It probably wouldn't be the first time someone keeled over because their three-year-old had more energy than they did.

7 comments:

  1. I'm risking sounding like a terrible mother, but you CAN make Garrett have his quiet time all by himself. Really. It's okay. You are the mother. You make the rules. He can learn to live with them. It's a good lesson. J

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  2. At least he and Matthew are both sleeping through the night! :)

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  3. CLEANING AND SCRUBBING CAN WAIT TILL TOMORROW, FOR BABIES GROW UP WE'VE
    LEARNED TO OUR SORROW. SO QUIET DOWN COBWEBS DUST GO TO SLEEP I'M ROCKING
    MY BABY AND BABIES DON'T KEEP

    This was on a little handmade sign that was in my room growing up... and it seems fitting for you today.

    You are a great mom either way... if you have alone quiet time or if you sit with him!!

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  4. I remember the day when the nap just went away... Zoe was only 34 months old. I was thinking I could just have her nap until 1st grade or so, like I had control of her body or something. I will however, keep the baby monitor in her room until she graduates high school. :)

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  5. Michelle,
    A stitched picture with that saying on it hung in my house all the years I was growing up. When Garrett was born my mom "loaned" it to me. It now hangs over Matthew's crib. I plan on being long done with babies when my brother and Heather have their children and I will pass it on to them. :-)

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  6. Across America, and maybe beyond, kids have "quiet time", alone, in their rooms...as in "room time". I think you have them sharing a room, but maybe some sort of arrangement could be made. Even if just for an hour. Yes, they grow up fast, but learning to play and entertain oneself is also incredibly valuable, especially in a world of instant gratification and 3 minute attention spans.

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  7. if you've been reading my blog, you know we've been dealing with the same issue. quiet time in his room lasts for all of 3 minutes before he's "done" and the noise that ensues if we make him stay in there is NOT worth it when the baby is napping across the hallway. i'm hoping that eventually he'll take to it. but right now i feel for you. that little 2 hour time slot in the middle of the day was so precious...

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