Thursday, November 10, 2011

Mommy's Project 52:15 Nap Time

Yeah for nap time!! Not only are my kids happier when they get their nap, so is Mommy and Daddy. My son who is going to turn five this month has napped until very recently. He would nap from 12:30 to 3:30 everyday from when he was a little over a year to his mid fours. He has stopped napping but he still has quiet time in his room for about 30 minutes each day so I can have a break. He needed to stop napping because it made it hard for him to sleep at night. If I let him stay in his room for longer than 30 minutes he will fall asleep and then it will be a late bedtime. I think it is okay for him to stay up all day since he will be going to Kindergarten next fall and he needs to build his stamina up for the long school day. He still gets tired around supper time but now with the time change he will go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 and that is perfect for me.

My daughter who is 22 months old is in the great one long nap phase. She now naps pretty much everyday from 12:30 to 3:30 and still goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00. It is awesome and I love it! It gives my son and I time to work on things that are better done when sister is asleep. It might be a movie and popcorn, a game with small pieces, or computer time for my son. After Christmas, we are going to try a little "home schooling" to get ready for Kindergarten. I mentioned in my last post we are moving and as of now there are no openings in any of the preschool programs that I am interested in where we are moving. So we might only be able to do a Mom's Day Out program twice a week this spring.

The only thing I have consciously done is to make napping a priority. I set up our schedules around nap time as much as possible so that we are home between lunch and 3:30 pm. Occasionally when I need a nap, I will lay down beside my son as he reads in bed and get a quick nap in while he is doing his quiet time. My husband likes to declare everybody nap time after church on Sundays. It makes for a nice relaxing lazy Sunday when we don't have anything else scheduled. It has not been happening with this move but it is something we hope to be able to put back into the schedule after the move.

(Note to self: I need to take some pictures of them sleeping, I couldn't find any in the last 6 months.)


3 comments:

  1. Nap time is gone in our house, too. I love quiet time. I will admit, though, that weekends are a little easier now that we can get out somewhere in the afternoon and not have to worry about putting someone down for a nap. But wow, how I wish for a nap on many days!

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  2. Our older son used to nap wonderfully - two to three hours after lunch - until just a couple months ago! It's been a huge battle, and with the new baby, it's just become too much as I would sometimes go back and forth for hours just trying to get him to lay down (and stay there!). We've tried sitting in his room with him, laying down with him, locking him in his room (though his crying made me cave a lot sooner than Daddy), letting him lay on the couch or our bed, etc. And now it's been two weeks without any naps. Ugh :( He's only 2 1/2 so I feel it's a little too young to give them up completely. But what to do?

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  3. I have heard of other kids stopping as soon as 2 1/2. Hopefully he is a great sleeper at night for you.

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