Naps Are Overrated

June 5, 2012

No Naps FIngers in Mouth Cropped BLOG

Reagan has been fighting us tooth and nail over the last few months about her nap. I think both Sarah and Nick continued to take one until they were well past the age of 3, but Reags at 2 1/2, has already thrown in the towel or maybe I should say, blankie:)

It is hard because she wants to try to keep up with Sarah and it is very clear that she does not want to miss anything that goes on around here. She has A LOT OF ENERGY and will go all day, but as of late, she is hitting the wall around dinner or shortly thereafter. She has fallen asleep while still sitting up a few times and then she will doze for an hour or so and then wakes up ready to party, when we would normally put her to bed.

She was once such a great sleeper and went to bed without hesitation, but now she not only refuses naps, she does not want to go down at her normal bedtime either. It is frustrating and tiresome....... and I am starting to wonder if it is time to switch from the crib to a big girl bed?
Maybe that would help the situation...

For now, we are trying to insist that she lay down somewhere for an hour of quiet time, even if she doesn't fall asleep, at least she can try to rest a little to get her through until bedtime.

I don't know about you, but I would give anything to be able to close my eyes each day and not think about anything for an hour or so. Reagan might think naps are overrated, but I sure don't:)

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

3 more days of school here and it is officially summer.....whooohooooo!!!

26 comments:

Carole said...

Hey Lisa,

Sleep is overrated at my house too! Like you say, perhaps it's time to transfer Reagan into a big bed. I think sometimes they feel "trapped" in a crib and it reminds them of the orphanage. I sure like to nap on a Saturday afternoon whenever I can. Naps are good for mommies, it helps them recuperate from the week! Good luck!

Carole

Fliss and Mike Adventures said...

Shauna doesn't nap so much anymore but I put a timer in her room and told her to NOT get off the bed until it rings... she can read, play with a few small toys but she has to just lay there and relax... no TV either... she knows to stay on her bed unless she needs to go to the toilet or she is seriously injured... she will crash very hard at night though... last night was her first night in her big girl bed of her own accord...

Jboo said...

Always wish I could have a daily nap! Does she nap at day care? Maddy would nap at daycare but not at home. It's a tough transition. Hope the quiet time will help.

Jboo said...

Always wish I could have a daily nap! Does she nap at day care? Maddy would nap at daycare but not at home. It's a tough transition. Hope the quiet time will help.

Sharon said...

L gave up naps early too, but ever since then she has gone to bed earlier. We've always had sleep issues though : ( . I vote for a "big girl" bed now !

elisa said...

My first three didn't really nap past one, and now my girly is three and starting to wind down on the nap. I have soooo loved having a napper. I am still making her lay down but I hear her in there chatting. And bedtime is becoming more of a problem so I think it might be time. Boo.

M,R,J1,J2 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
M,R,J1,J2 said...

We have been going through the same thing at our house. Maybe it's the age? We have changed some things around, but it's still work in progress. Jasmine has been in her "big girl bed" for 6 months now and she likes it. Well, let's just say most of the time she likes it.
Michaela
Orlando, FL

Wanda said...

Ah yes.....Milana was the same. Dahlia loved her naps but Milana gave them up before turning 3 too. (Thankfully they both sleep well at night...which I'll take any day.)

Three more days till......freedom. I can't wait for a looser schedule too.

Hope we get the chat on the phone today. We are so overdo.
Hugs,
W

Gail said...

Mr. Will started fighting the naps a little before he turned 3. Like Reagan, he didn't want to miss anything. Every child is different. It really sounds like she's in that in between stage (I call it) of requiring a nap and not. Maybe if you make the move to a big girl bed it'll be something new and she'll want to lay down.
I feel for ya, it's a little bit of a hard stage.

hugs,
Gail

Unknown said...

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Naps are very important for moms, I know that. ;) I adore spending time and taking care of my girls, but I also love to have two hours of 'me time' every day, with my laptop and coffee by my side.

My girls are 6 and 3, and they both take a nap every day. My 3 year old loves it and can't resist without it. My 6 years old asks me almost everyday to let her stay up, but once she sees her bed and holds her hanky she becomes sleepy in an instant. :))

Maybe switching to a big girl bed would help? Hugs!

Gina Kleinworth said...

Oh boy- that's tough because they so need it & we need it too. I think I remember the same thing when the munchkin wanted to keep up with the others. I think we just pushed her to stay up slightly longer in the evenings, even if it was uncomfortable (cranky) for an hour or so & then she slept like a log all night.

snekcip said...

Here is a hint: The catch is not to say "NAPTIME". I learned early on with the "nest leavers" (my name for the older kids) that NAPTIME was not a "good word" to toddlers!! Once Bre got to the stage of "naptime drama" ,I "dusted" off my "bag of tricks" for "naptime dodgers"! Dont use the word "NAPTIME" always say "QUIET TIME", even though "quiet time is HUGELY overrated. I was always prepeared for the "its too quiet, I can't HEAR anything", the "I gotta go use it", the "Mom, are you still in the house", and my all-time favorite that was uttered ALL THE TIME by my now 27yr old son..."My eyes are tired of sleeping and they are ready to open"!! Funny thing is now when I call THAT KID (during the day), it often goes to voice mail because he works at night and NAPS during the day!
When he returns my calls later,he begins with "Mom, you must forget "I work at night, so I usually sleep during the day", I wring my hands in a rolling motion and smile coyly to myself and slit my eyes and say...Yeah...I know! Payback is SWEET!!! Karma.....sweet Karma!!

Anonymous said...

Hello, my boy at 2 years and 5 months refused to go for a nap (it was a beautiful summer day - brother was in the pool). I reminder fighting with him for 30 minutes. That was it. No more nap. Now he is 9 and fine. Nap is great for mom!!! (and something I do miss that "break" in the day...) Go for a tour in the car - they sometime fall asleep up to 5-6 years old. Cheers!! Johane

Everything Beautiful Shay said...

I think all children are different~ SJ never took a nap from the moment she came home but WP asks for his nap each day. :) Quiet time is a MUST for us moms to keep our sanity. LOL Blessings and love! XO

likeschocolate said...

Feel for you!! That tranisition is so hard. Even my 5 year old has a hard time in the evening, but can't put him to bed too early or he wakes up before the crows.

Cropped Stories said...

My little one is not even 2 yet and she gave up naps about 4 months ago. Every so often she'll nap in the car if I drive around. She has recently been falling asleep on me for about 45 minutes. It's really hard not having a break during the day!

Debbie said...

Gracie is a few weeks younger than Reagan and she too is going through this stage.

Three months ago, we managed to get rid of her paci and that kind of was the start of her not taking her normal 2 hour nap (which was bliss!!)

Anyway, we were still getting about 45 mins nap in BUT she was still wide awake and running around at 10pm, which is not good when you are a working mum and have to be up at 6.

So three weeks ago, we cut out her nap completly and although I miss that "mummy time", it does mean she is sleeping by 7pm which is great.

We are off on summer break next week and plan on re-decorating Gracies bedroom and of course, buying a big girl bed :)

Hope you guys are all well and I look forward to seeing what you get uo yp during the summer!!

Unknown said...

I feel for you, Lisa.

I have no advice. I'm actually dropping Madeline's nap (at 4yo) because there are too many fun things scheduled at our local library this summer (and she doesn't nap on weekends anyway, when Daddy's home).

I do hope Reagan settles back into a good sleep routine soon. Poor mama!

Marla said...

Oh boy, little miss is getting too big for her britches!! Jack gave up the nap very early too, I guess it's something about being the youngest and yes, not wanting to miss anything is probably the biggest reason. I can't believe it's time to start thinking of a big girl bed, gah! How can she be that big?!?!?! Hopefully the quiet hour will help until she's old enough to truly give it up and still stay up until regular bed time. That's a tough transition, I remember it well!

Briana's Mom said...

Bri gave up naps early too! I feel your pain! The quiet time hour is good - I did that too. It helps your sanity - LOL!

Briana never fussed about going to bed at night though. But she didn't have older siblings that she felt she needed to keep up with either. :D

Cheri said...

When my oldest was little, she didn't want to nap. I set an alarm clock in her room where she had to stay doing something quietly, like reading a book. Sometimes she fell asleep and sometimes she didn't. But, it was good for her to still have that down time. Good luck!

Shari said...

Amelia did the same thing about her age...if she did sleep she'd stay up till 10 or 11. So I got my daycare provider to agree to Amelia laying by her when she was eating her lunch on the couch while the other kids were napping. Then she only fell asleep when she needed to. When she hit 3 I moved her to a daycare center and she took 2 hour naps every day and I could never get her to bed. She's still good with 9 or 10 hours of sleep, but I struggle with getting her to bed at night because I get so little time with her:(

Jodee said...

Oh no! You poor thing! I hope you both enjoy the quiet time! I miss those days of napping!

Kim said...

Just have quiet time ...
Love the photo..
love ya girly.. have a great day...
MUWAHHHH

Dita said...

look at that FACE...oh, how beautiful she is...her face is changing as she is growing before our eyes. She is so lovely, really! I could just cuddle right next to her in this picture!!

Nap, schmap....you know me....when they're tired they'll go to sleep (I'm a big believer in Dark Thirty!)

xoxo
Dita