I’m not saying that without naptime I would go insane, but I WILL say that I appreciate naptime. Look forward to naptime. Anticipate naptime all morning. Consider drugging my children in order to get them to take a longer naptime.
So why is Elizabeth setting out to destroy me? Here is what happens nearly every single day now. I feed the twins their lunch. Then I take William to kindergarten. Then I put the twins down for their nap, and I settle in at my computer, or in a comfy chair with a book, or in front of the freezer to eat ice cream directly out of it, or whatever.
Elizabeth starts crying. Has she perhaps taken advantage of her nice clean dry pre-nap diaper? Why, yes she has. So I change her, and after I do that she clings to me in a way that is both loving and manipulative. Edward is already sound asleep, so I am whispering to her: “You are going to have to go back into your crib. It is naptime. I got you out to change your diaper, but now you need to go back in.” She has not given up hope, and she pushes her face into my neck, making a little “mmmmm” sound. She knows this is difficult to resist.
Easier to resist is her angry astonished crying when I put her back into her crib anyway. Edward is a good sleeper, and he is used to this; he continues to sleep. I leave the room. She continues to cry. Finally she wakes up Edward. Now they are both awake, less than an hour after the beginning of naptime.
Alternate ending: Elizabeth finally does go to sleep, just as she succeeds in waking Edward. I wait as long as I can to go get him: he is making gentle little talking sounds, not crying, and the sound of not-crying is good to me and I want to take advantage of it. Then he begins crying. Elizabeth is a light sleeper, and so when I go in to get Edward, she wakes up, crabby and tired and definitely not going back to sleep. Now they are both awake, less than an hour after the beginning of naptime.
I went through a brief bout of this with my twins. I started putting the “easy” twin in a pack n play in our room, and the other one in his crib. When he didnt like having to stay in his crib, I let him fuss it out and his brother slept peacefully down the hall. It took about a week to get him back in his nap groove.
boy, I had similar issues and they weren’t sharing a room. I don’t even know how I’d do that. I hate when I get screwed out of a nap. Selfish, I know. But I depend on my routine just as much as any toddler! Perhaps toddlers and I are on the same mental plane.
I agree – I hate it when I, I mean he, misses his nap.
Screws up my whole afternoon. When else can I have an hour on the computer uninterrupted?!
That sounds difficult. I don’t have any advice, but I hope they both nap at least 2 hours today.
i feel your pain. there was no napping in our house yesterday. naptime is MY time. i don’t NEED it but i sure do WANT it. and i feel totally cheated when i don’t get it.
Lord, do I feel your pain. You’re right about sleep troubles being some of the worst parts of parenthood.
I think Michele’s idea of putting them in seperate rooms sounds like the only answer. Short of losing your mind.
Oh my gosh… what would we do without naptime, right? It’s nature’s way of keeping mothers from throwing themselves off of buildings, or something.
Also, I cracked up at the line, “she clings to me in a way that is both loving and manipulative.” So true!
Have you been checking in with Jonniker’s comment page all day? I have. :P The drama! The hilarity! I loved your comment there.
And I totally just ordered one.
Oh, man – I don’t know how you do it with twins! I was a crazy wreck when my one, my only would do that. Lordy – I am sooooo wishing you a break today, and tomorrow, etc.etc.etc.
My kids are way, way past napping. But your post tapped a flood of memories.
Ben: number one son, a spring baby, was sweetly content. When he woke in the morning, or after a nap, he would play quietly in his crib for a long time, even up to 45 minutes without complaining! So I had that extra time to do whatever I needed to do.
Near Christmas he had progressed to creeping around in his crib, and pulling himself up. One afternoon, I put him down for a snooze, and started making dipped chocolate goodies for the holiday. I got the fillings done, and was working on the dipping part, chocolate up to my elbows, when I began to hear the usual small sounds coming from Ben’s room.
“Yeah, just the half hour warning, still got time to finish.” I kept dipping away. “OK, done!” Feeling satisfied, even competent, at this mothering business, I wiped chocolate from my hands, as I stepped into Ben’s room to see : “Whaa? How can this be? He is covered with chocolate!”
I know, you’re ahead of me here, but this was how it sunk into my addled brain, “followed by: “uh oh: what is that smell?”
There is my little sweetpea, diaper off, smeared from “guggle to zatch” in poo! Also the crib. Also the wall. Finger painting! Eyebrow, nose and hair painting.
I’m not the squeamish type, thank God I didn’t get the eeww gene, but really, I don’t think I have done those dipped chocolate things since. Would you?
As Ben got older, he stopped wanting to nap. He had more important things to do. Like climbing out of that crib and getting the door open. Baby gates were no obstacle. (Wish I’d had the really good baby barriers then.)
I tried napping with him in my room. I fell asleep; he didn’t. I woke to the ouchyness of being beaned with the handset of the phone. Another time he dumped the entire contents of a small planter on me.
The mess was one thing (thanks for THAT, baby dear!) but I thought maybe he had eaten some of the potting soil, and I called the poison control center. Ipecac was involved.
After he threw up a good many times, (with no potting soil in evidence -) then he fell asleep. Me? Not so much.
I’ve been signing NC, but I guess I’ll lurk even less and sign by my usual;
Talia.