The latest lupus challenge: the Nappers vs. the Non-Nappers
So we are officially entering a new phase of child-rearing - as Deirdre is slowly but surely phasing out her afternoon nap.
It comes as no surprise, and I've been expecting it for months, but now that it's here, I'm a bit overwhelmed with how to deal with it. Or should I say, I was overwhelmed...until she spent the entire afternoon with Aunt Katie. The day she was away, Bernadette and I had the most glorious, uninterrupted 2 and 3 hour long naps ever, reminding me that whatever band-aid solution I was contemplating on using to get me through nap time, I need a long-term solution that is guaranteed to work. Starting now.
Up until now, I was just dealing with it. Not quietly, mind you, as I've mentioned to Johnny just about every other day for two weeks that we need a new solution for nap time, and Deirdre's well aware that her visits to Mommy's room during nap time have to stop. But before this weekend, I was just trying to ride out the phase, avoiding a change in routine because it would require, you guessed it, change. The trick was that 3-4 days a week she was a perfect angel - either sleeping soundly or reading quietly in her bed for the duration of my nap. The other 3-4 days a week, however, she struggled - coming in and out of my room for one reason or another, being disruptive in her room, or a combination of both. And up until now, I had just been mentally logging all of my "options" for when the situation became unbearable.
But after experiencing my nap of perfection this weekend, I realized the situation is unbearable, and something must be done. My nap is my most precious activity of the day, and for the last two weeks, I've been shoving it down to the bottom of the priority pile as if I really didn't need it. As if!
So this week, we will be exploring options to permanently ensure that my nap is no longer interrupted, or at least, as permanent as one can be when lupus, a 3 year old and a 1 year old are involved. We're looking at a whole host of things: switching my babysitter's hours, switching our napping/resting hours, getting an alarm clock so Deirdre knows when her "rest time" is up, adding a child safety lock on my door, going to "movie time", doing a point-reward system for good rest times, changing my napping venue, etc. etc. Of course, all of you moms out there who have made it successfully to the other side are welcome to chime in. I would appreciate it!
And a big thanks to my sister for giving me a taste of the good life. Now that I remember what it's like to sleep perfectly soundly during my nap, I'm hooked. And as I've said many times before, once you get a taste of living well, you won't want to give it up. Stay tuned!
It comes as no surprise, and I've been expecting it for months, but now that it's here, I'm a bit overwhelmed with how to deal with it. Or should I say, I was overwhelmed...until she spent the entire afternoon with Aunt Katie. The day she was away, Bernadette and I had the most glorious, uninterrupted 2 and 3 hour long naps ever, reminding me that whatever band-aid solution I was contemplating on using to get me through nap time, I need a long-term solution that is guaranteed to work. Starting now.
Up until now, I was just dealing with it. Not quietly, mind you, as I've mentioned to Johnny just about every other day for two weeks that we need a new solution for nap time, and Deirdre's well aware that her visits to Mommy's room during nap time have to stop. But before this weekend, I was just trying to ride out the phase, avoiding a change in routine because it would require, you guessed it, change. The trick was that 3-4 days a week she was a perfect angel - either sleeping soundly or reading quietly in her bed for the duration of my nap. The other 3-4 days a week, however, she struggled - coming in and out of my room for one reason or another, being disruptive in her room, or a combination of both. And up until now, I had just been mentally logging all of my "options" for when the situation became unbearable.
But after experiencing my nap of perfection this weekend, I realized the situation is unbearable, and something must be done. My nap is my most precious activity of the day, and for the last two weeks, I've been shoving it down to the bottom of the priority pile as if I really didn't need it. As if!
So this week, we will be exploring options to permanently ensure that my nap is no longer interrupted, or at least, as permanent as one can be when lupus, a 3 year old and a 1 year old are involved. We're looking at a whole host of things: switching my babysitter's hours, switching our napping/resting hours, getting an alarm clock so Deirdre knows when her "rest time" is up, adding a child safety lock on my door, going to "movie time", doing a point-reward system for good rest times, changing my napping venue, etc. etc. Of course, all of you moms out there who have made it successfully to the other side are welcome to chime in. I would appreciate it!
And a big thanks to my sister for giving me a taste of the good life. Now that I remember what it's like to sleep perfectly soundly during my nap, I'm hooked. And as I've said many times before, once you get a taste of living well, you won't want to give it up. Stay tuned!
Comments
And if shelling out money for a babysitter isn't an option at all - understandably so - I did have quite a few votes from readers for movie time...which I think could keep most kids occupied. If supervision is a concern (that is, you need to be in the same room as your child), perhaps snuggling up in bed or on the couch, putting on a movie, and allowing your eyes to at least rest while everyone is quiet. An hour or two of quiet is DEFINITELY better than nothing!
Interestingly, I haven't tried the movie idea yet, but I did introduce puzzles during Dee's nap today. They worked great! She stayed in her room for an hour - noodling over the puzzles, and when I went in to tell her nap time was over, she was quietly resting her head on the side of a chair reading. If I hadn't gone in, I bet she would have stayed there for another 30 minutes.
Anyone else out there have ideas?