That seems to be Edwin's philosophy these days. On a normal day, he goes down for a nap between 1:30 and 2. And for the past week or so he's been having a high old time up there in his crib. I really think he's partly reliving whatever activities he took part in in the morning, especially if we've spent time around other children. For the rest of the time he's throwing things out of his crib, or attempting to stuff them between the wall and the crib. He won't fall asleep until at least an hour has passed, and he's been known to be in there for 2 hours before succumbing to his tiredness.
I did learn that sometimes the reason for the delayed falling asleep is due to his needing a diaper change, but that's not always the case.
I really, really like some quiet time for myself, so the fact that he is taking a long time to fall asleep is making me want to pull my hair out some days. On those days, I keep reminding myself that he is not unhappy, he's enjoying his time alone in his crib. So far he hasn't attempted to climb out, so I know I need to just relax a little bit.
However, I am baffled. He is usually obviously tired, so I can hardly believe that he will stay awake for so long. And I wonder, is he too distracted by the few stuffed animals in his bed? Should I take them out? Is he over-tired and can't settle down?
What happens when we switch him to a non-crib bed? I don't even want to think about it. I read blogs and see those facebook posts about kids getting out of bed when they shouldn't and I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with all that. (But on the other hand, I am getting excited for him to be done with the crib because I'm making him a big boy bed comforter and have already bought some cute sheets with "diggers" on them.)
Experiences like this where I find I don't have control over how quickly Edwin falls asleep are really frustrating for me. Then I wonder why in the world am I letting it bother me when he's clearly happy to hang out alone in his bed for a decent chunk of time.
Deep breath, let it go. I'll even laugh about some of it when I tell Dan about it later on.
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Hang in there! Sleep and food stress me out as a mom, but I've learned the hard way that I can't control these things like I'd like to. I will say that my two oldest share a room, and while they don't nap anymore, when they did one of the things that helped is that their room is toy and decoration free. There are beds in there and a dresser, black out curtains and an alarm clock so they can see if it's an allowable time to get out of bed. There's little to do but sleep or sing in there, which I do think helps them stay in their beds.
ReplyDeleteI understand that irrational stress of a loud baby when you expected quiet, even if they are't unhappy! I try to tell myself it just means more child-free time for me, since she usually falls asleep in the end.... But trying to get two to sleep at the same time seems like a whole new ball game,
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I understand these feelings, Amy! Nap time and bed time did not feel like success to me until they were sleeping. Not just in their beds! It was quite stressful at times. To me, not to Kent. Didn't faze him one bit! I don't know what to tell you, except to let you know you aren't alone. And...the days I HAD to have naps at certain times because of company, etc? Nope. Not happening. Sigh.
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