Help!
I need parenting advice! I really have no idea what I'm doing...I just pretend to know.
My boys dropped their morning nap when they were about 15 months old. Then they took 3 hour naps in the afternoon, and still settled in at their normal bedtime. Are girls different? My girls will be 2 next month, and I think they still need their morning nap. I tried to drop it this summer, but they just couldn't make it to lunch time. Maybe things seem worse than they really are, because I'm dealing with 2 babies at one time. I really don't remember my boys being this fussy all morning before they turned 2.
I'm letting my girls nap in the morning again. When I let them do this, one of two things will happen: either they won't nap in the afternoon, or they do nap in the afternoon and then they're up until almost 10:00 at night. This causes them to be tired in the morning, requiring a nap by 9:00 a.m., and thus the vicious cycle is repeated!
This picture was taken last night about 5 minutes after I put the girls down. They were SO tired! It was nice to have them fall asleep so quickly, but the long day with fussy girls almost wasn't worth having a longer, quieter evening.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
9 comments:
what a sweet picture!
It IS a sweet picture. I don't know what I'm doing either but I always have *two cents worth*. What are the hours like that they sleep at night? Maybe they need to go to bed earlier or get up later? The getting up is hard to control though. Henry kind of does the same thing but by about 11:00 a.m. he useless. That's when we eat lunch and he goes down for a good 2 hour nap and back to bed for the night by 7:00ish. Also, I've heard girls are whiney and dramatic (compared to boys) so maybe the difference seems compounded after two boys? How in the world would I survive a girl after all these boys!?
Jen,
Don't worry about not knowing what you are doing, we are all in the same boat. Each child is different!! Even the twins are different from each other, as you well know, so it goes to reason that they would be different from the boys. It isn't neccessarily a boy/girl thing, just different people. As far as taking naps, you mentioned to me the other day that the girls are getting molars. That's a big sign they are in a growth spurt. And growth spurts mean the need for more sleep. (Doesn't matter if the person in 2m, 2y, 12y, 16y, or pregnent- growing people need extra sleep). My advice, give them naps when they are grumpy and needing it, even if it means the girls go to bed later than the boys for a while. Look at it as a chance for you and Phil to have a little one-on-one time with the girls and enjoy the moments and while the girls nap, have some extra time for the boys. (BTW- from what I've heard, kids usually have a growth spurt just before a birthday, I know that all of mine have at a month or two before a birthday. In the older one's I notice more of a regression in maturity and then a sudden leap in maturity.)
Jen, I feel for you. It seems as if the girls would really benefit from the morning nap still. I know you want everyone down at the same time in the afternoon and believe me...it will happen soon. Right now the girls are dealing with teeth, moving, etc. Gramma is coming for a visit. Let her help. You don't have to be the "bad guy". I'll be this all works out. I was just telling a new mom this week--by the time three weeks past my kids were on to a new behavior. Hang in there!
My fingers typed faster than my words! I hope you received my meaning. You can't do wrong. You love your children and want to raise them right. Follow their rhythm. It will be o.k. in the end. Love believes all things, hopes all things...love never fails!
Hey! Reading all the comments was an encouragement and comfort to me. I've been dealing with the very same problem with Christopher (14 months). Maybe there is an end in sight....
The only sure thing with kids is that just when you think you have things figured out, they throw you a new one! The girl in our house is definetly more dramatic and needs more sleep then the boy! Part of the reason she needs more sleep is that when she is awake, she is hardly ever still, whereas the boy prefers to sit and read.
I would try to go for one nap, earlier than their usual afternoon nap and then put them to bed a little earlier. You may need to try the same thing for several days so that everyone can adjust to the new schedule.
Hey Jenny,
Whenever I've dropped that morning nap from our schedule, my kids always struggled for at least a few weeks to adjust. I always knew when it needed to be dropped when they weren't falling asleep until later and later each night. So....I'd keep them awake as long as I possibly could...and then, after they were falling asleep into their lunch, I laid them down for an early afternoon nap. After a few weeks, they could stay awake later and later for their afternoon nap...and were able to sleep when everyone else was sleeping. Right now, Lyvie goes down at 1 and sleeps til 3ish and then goes down around 7:30 for the night and gets up at 7:00. It's just a phase they're going through...and like others have said, they are dealing with alot of adjustments right now. This too shall pass!! In the meantime, try to keep your sanity! :-) I don't know how you are, but when I lack sleep, I am very grumpy - probably more so than my very dramatic daughter! By the way, my girl is WAY more dramatic than either of my boys were. When she's tired, she is VERY grumpy. Very emotional! So different from my boys. I just chalk it up to the female gene! :-) I keep asking myself what on earth it'll be like when she's a teenager!!!!
Thank you, everyone, for your advice and encouragement!
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