Monday, January 11, 2010

To nap or not to nap?

That is the big question around our house after the last few days. Seth has been a good napper for a long time, but lately it's getting harder and later to get him down for a nap. So, after over an hour of listening to him play in his (and Lydia's) room yesterday instead of resting, I went in to find all of his stuffed animals AND both pillows AND himself in the crib with Lydia...she wasn't too happy to have her turf invaded.

So, is he done with naps? Maybe we should stop forcing it and start putting him to bed an hour earlier. I ask myself, "Could it be that he doesn't need naps anymore?" Then, after excusing himself from the dinner table (around 5:00) to go potty, this is what we found:


Yes, his Spiderman underwear is on backwards, and when we tried to help him up, he was temporarily unable to speak in complete sentences. (insert Matt and me laughing at the sight before us) Clearly, yes, he needs his naps, but how do we get him to rest? Once he does settle down and nod off, it's late in the afternoon, and I wake him up if it's 4:30 and he's still sleeping, and it's hello Mr. Crabby Pants for the evening. What to do? Any advice from those of you who've been there & done that?

8 comments:

Jenni said...

Payton did this same thing. I finally got rid of all play things in his bedroom. He had nothing to do but nap. It worked for awhile but then he figured out the jumping on the bed thing. I would lay down with him too sometimes with my arm over his body. That worked too I guess. It's all a fun gamble though. Good luck!

Awesome picture! mark knew a kid on his mission who would wear his spiderman underwear backwards so that he could see the picture. Cute Seth!

Carrie said...

That is such a funny picture. I wish I could give you advice, but Kai was always the best napper. Maybe he would do better taking a nap on your bed? Parents bedrooms aren't as exciting! It is also possible that he is done. I would try to put him down 1/2 hour to 1 hr later than his usual nap time. It seems as though perhaps at that time he is not tired enough, which makes him want to play? Usually if they get a good nap, they will still go to bed on time. It's when they get overtired that they are more hyper and don't want to go down. If he is crashing I think he still needs a nap. I would try doing the later nap schedule first, and then go to an earlier bedtime.

Gosh this long...

oh-- and we're in Tukwila. Yuck-- but it's a good area of it. And closer to you:) and not forever so we'll make it!

Jas and Kim said...

Too cute! I can't remember what we did with Morgan, but I'm sure you'll find the right solution....eventually. Keep up the great parenting!

Lori said...

That's a super cute pic. The poor little guy is probably as confused as you guys are about what will work best.

The Gee Family said...

So freakin hilarious! Love the pic. Thanks for sharing. I'm sure he would die later on knowing you posted this for all to see! Good blackmail! I would first try laying down with him and see what happens. All kids are so different. Maybe he is just going through a funny time and he will eventually get over it and take good naps again like he did before. Who knows! Best of luck in finding a solution that works. I don't remember any of my kids doing that but then again I don't have the greatest memory of all. Love ya!

Laura said...

I don't know what advise to give you. Heck, I'm just glad to know that my kids aren't the only ones consistently putting their undies on backwards. Miriam's younger than Seth, but she's been doing the play not nap thing too. I've started just sitting (sometimes napping!) in the chair in her room until she falls asleep. If I'm in there with her she won't play at all. Otherwise, it's all play and no sleep. Once she's asleep, I just leave. It works for me!

cardonfam7 said...

Oh, my gosh. I cannot stop laughing. We have a few pictures of Amanda sleeping on the potty chair because we refused to let her off until she did her business. I have no advice--just laugh (for now) until they are older and you don't want to laugh at them so they'll keep doing what you want them to stop. Oh, yea. They do that when they're little and older . . . .

Anonymous said...

When I was a nannie I really needed a nap but the kids did not. I instituted "quiet time" for the kids. The kids had to go in their rooms and read their books while I took a nap with my door open. No toys were allowed in the room. They were not allowed to leave their room unless the house was on fire or they needed to use the bathroom. Most of the time they would fall asleep. I figured that if they did not, then they really didn't need the nap.