Just like the
sounds of a Northern Mockingbird at dusk, my "spirited" number 4 is constantly making noise. He is trying so desperately to give up his one and only nap. These are the coveted few short moments where my shoulder muscles actually ease up and I get to do whatever it is that I have been trying to get to all morning (usually a trip to the bathroom, cleaning up breakfast and lunch dishes, and perhaps folding a load of laundry or eight). But no matter how many times I put him into his bed, the guest bed, or even the couch, I can no longer entice him to take even 15 winks of sleep, much less 40!!!
The more tired he gets, the wilder he becomes. With stunts like "
Swing-the-Mickey-Mouse-Doll-Around-and-Around-as-Fast-as-My-Little-Arms-Will-Go", or "
Hey-I-Haven't-Fallen-Off-the-Porch-Swing-Today", or "
Decks of Cards Soup" (a secret recipe which involves as many decks of Crazy 8, Go Fish, Snap, Old Maid cards as we have all plopped into the port-a-crib).
Many of these "games" end in disaster, which leads to tears, finally ending in sweet slumber. So far today, though, there have been no disasters (unless you want to include my raw nerves and migraine headache) and he is still going strong.
8 comments:
what's that on his head?
It is the "udder" bag that went with #1's "Chick-fil-A/Eat More Chikin" Halloween costume.
Time to get tough.
My two year old thinks he's too old for a nap too. For that matter, my 4 year old thinks she is too. If they could only see themselves, they'd know why we insist they sleep.
Maybe they just like getting a spanking for getting out of bed where mom told them to stay. I don't know, but he's starting to understand the rules around here.
Glad you are back in the blogosphere. I so admire your ability to stay away during Lent - wow!
Do you find that when he takes the nap (his body truly needs) that he then stays awake into the evenings longer? This is my struggle with my 3 y.o. Some days I insist, because I can tell he just needs it. I always seem to pay later on that night. And usually it is those nights, when he chooses to poke the baby awake.
I recognize that udder/hat/bag!
My philosophy has always been "sleep begets sleep" ever since my firstborn was, well, first born. I noticed that she slept horribly if she didn't get enough naps in during the day.
So, I actually think he stays up LATER when he doesn't take a nap. Not only that, but he is WILD because he is trying to stay awake.
I'm going to test out your "sleep begets sleep" theory this coming week. Of course, my 3 y.o. has bronchitis right now, so goes down a bit easier, but I'm hoping you are right and that I can continue to enjoy naptime (as my only daytime downtime from my two little ones).
Unfortunately, lots of times, I lie down with him (in an effort to get him to be still long enough for his body to allow the nap I know he needs) and usually I nod off before he does. In fact, I must have been very groggy earlier this week. When he woke from his nap, he proudly proclaimed, "I get the M-n-M's. I fell asleep first." Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered muttering some sort of M-n-M bribe just before I dozed off next to him!
Good luck with that! Hey, the M&M thing would be enough of a bribe for me!
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