Thursday, July 17, 2014

"Mommy, I am NOT GOING TO SLEEP"

Good heavens.

Lately, it seems like it takes an act of Congress to convince Anne that it's bedtime.

"Would you read me Franklin and the Thunderstorm Mommy?"

"We just read it, Honey."

"Would you read another book?"

"We just read 3, Sweetheart, Mommy's voice is tired."

"Can I have some water, Mommy?"

"You have a little in your sippy cup right there, Honey."

"Can I have a book in my crib, Mommy?"

"Yes, sure."

"Can I have Tennis Baby, Mommy?" I have no notion of how this poor baby doll got named "Tennis Baby" but there you have it.

"Yes Honey, here she is. And Muffin is there too, you're all set. Let me cover you."

"No."

"Why not Honey? You'll be all cozy."

"Because I am NOT going to sleep, Mommy."

Is this a summer thing? Because it stays light so much longer? I don't know, but I've been beside myself all week. It'll be 9 pm and I'll still hear here awake. Last night, she busted out "Ba Ba Black Sheep" *after 10 pm*. I think she had dozed and re-woke, but still. It has not been like this for the rest of the year. And as a result of not getting enough sleep, she's sassy and miserable during the day.

Sassy.

Bossy.

Demanding.

Willful.

This benefits nobody, my friends. She's 3 years and 2 months. Maybe we should adjust her nap? Will it just magically get better in the fall? I need some advice here, people. :0

3 comments:

  1. 3 years 2 months and she naps? That's about twice as old as my kids were when they gave up theirs. I say you're probably going to have to shorten it, push it earlier, or drop it altogether. Yes, even if she takes one easily! Michael naps easily, but almost never before noon, and if he naps after noon he'll try to nap two hours, which is way too much, but if I wake him after one hour he spends all afternoon a fussy mess, only to perk up right at his usual bedtime and stay up at least two more hours. So I spend every afternoon carefully making sure he *doesn't* nap, because that's the only way to make sure he will sleep at a decent hour at night.

    Because I canNOT live without my quiet evenings. I simply can't. I will sacrifice any number of naps, because after all I have to look after Marko at that time anyway, so that I can get my REALLY quiet evening time, with internet and ice cream. I live for that time of day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sheila,

      This was *super* helpful! Thank you! I'm with you - Mike and I treasure that evening time that comes with a reasonable bedtime, and so even if the day is interminable it's worth it for that time at night. Yesterday we experimented with only letting her nap for 1-1.5 hours (because she would often nap for 3ish hours!), and she did go down much more quickly, so a success. But she's running on such little sleep right now she's completely exhausted, so we'll have to continue to monitor. But this comment really, really helped, thank you again!

      Delete
  2. No problem! Kids are always a little sleep deprived when you're messing with their schedule, but hopefully it'll balance out. I know Michael gets much more sleep total if it's at night rather than if I let him nap at all. Total, he seems to need between 11 and 12 hours ..... so if Anne gets more, you are lucky!

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