Why. Won’t. You. Nap?! I just don’t get it. The second I think I have any handle or control of naptime, he goes and switches it up on me. He follows a routine just long enough to lure me into thinking that I can actually count on some time to myself (time to myself: laundry, dishes, picking up toys, answering emails, maybe even eating a meal…) then BOOM!
Not napping…
I will start out by saying my son has always (for the most part) been a great sleeper. With that being said, I have become increasingly greedy with the amount of sleep I get at night and the peace and quiet I get while he naps.
Just a month ago things were going great. We had an ideal two nap schedule; one at 8AM for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and another around 12:30 for another 30 minutes to an hour. I could shower and even eat lunch sitting down. Life was good. Then all of a sudden the 8AM nap moved to 9AM and then 10AM and now sometimes 11AM! Cue me getting up at 5AM just to get a shower in.
What about the second nap, you ask? Oh that nap makes an appearance basically whenever it wants, but mostly not. We manage a decent nap in the morning and then sometimes stretch upwards of 8 hours with NO NAP.
Now, like any other new-ish mom, I beg Google for some insight. I read and read about all these different reasons why my son isn’t napping regularly, then I read a little about how he should be napping, then some more about moving his naptime, getting rid of the second, wait, no, don’t get rid of the second and so on.
I’ve come to the conclusion that there really is no normal, and that my frustrations are felt by many, if not all adults who have to deal with putting a child down for a nap. There is no right or wrong. Sometimes “nap time” becomes just “sit in your crib quietly, or not quietly, so I can brush my teeth.” Other times, we give up altogether and head out to Target or sit together and play on the floor. One thing I know for sure is, as chaotic and unpredictable each day is now, I’m sure going to miss it when its gone.