Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Emma's nap...RIP

Well, it's all but official now...my daughter no longer needs to take a nap. I knew this day would come eventually. I remember when Emma was about 16 months old and she started to no longer need a morning and an afternoon nap. Man, was that hard to let go of! I needed those couple of hours just to get things done. But we got used to just napping in the afternoon and that's pretty much the way it's been for the past four years.

But a few months ago, I began having difficulty getting Emma to lay down and sleep in the afternoons. She would play quietly in bed for 30 minutes or so, and then start hollering that she wanted to get up. On occasion, she would fall asleep for an hour or two. But that became increasingly rare.

At this point, she hasn't taken a nap on the weekend for probably six weeks. She really doesn't need it anymore. The bigger question, though, was how I would adjust to having a non-napping child. That hour or two she slept was a gift in a way...I got so much done! I really thought it would be horrible when she stopped napping. But surprisingly, it's no big deal. If I need a break, I'll ask her to play in her bed for a little while. In a way, it's almost liberating...we no longer have to build our schedule around nap time.

If we've had a particularly hectic day, Emma will still nod off in the car from time to time. I can't tell you how many times I'll sit in a parking lot, letting her sleep for a bit. HINT TO FUTURE MOMS: Always have an unread book or magazine stashed in the car for these occasions. I have caught up on a lot of reading while Emma was snoozing away in her car seat.

Anyway, it's another developmental milestone we've reached...so I leave you with a photo from last year, when my little girl was still a member of the nap brigade...

8 comments:

C's Mom said...

Man, what I wouldn't give for a nap time ;0)

Calico Sky said...

What I did with my little ones was have 'quiet hour' when they stopped napping. That meant that they needed a time that was quiet, they could read in their room, draw pictures etc. It let them have some 'down time' in their room, which they needed, but they didn't have to sleep or even try to sleep. It was really good because they were refreshed and I got my hour of chores done!!!

Caroline said...

The dreaded end of napping! Now that I'm running around with 2, I've discovered that some Saturdays I'm leaving Jordan to color while I go off to take a nap along with Ellie! What will be my excuse when they both stop napping??!

Betsy said...

Love your blog. Gonna add you to my blog roll. I'm a single adoptive momma too.

What?! No more nap? NOT a day to celebrate! :)

Sara said...

Thanks for the future mom tip!

Joannah said...

She's growing up!

Isn't it funny that as children we don't want to take a nap or go to bed at night, but as adults we'd love to have the time for a nap and can't wait to crawl into bed after a long day. Things change!

Special K said...

Cute pic with the little thumb in her mouth!

Catherine said...

Pleeease make me take a nap! All by myself! Send me to my room for an hour and make me nap.

Ahhhhh....what kids don't know.

Glad to hear the transition has gone well. Thanks also for the tip about the book. I'm a reader and hate it when I have time on my hands and nothing to read. Great tip!