For the past few months, Kate has been skipping her nap about 1-2 times a week.
She is usually fine on the days she doesn't nap, she just falls asleep a little earlier at night (and is a lot crabbier in the evenings. yikes!)
On the days she does nap, we will put her to bed at 7:30-8, but she won't fall asleep until 10 or 11 (she will "read" books in her bed).
I feel very fortunate that my almost 4 year old still takes a somewhat regular nap (2-3 times a week) but I know the end of her regular nap is coming to a close, especially because she isn't falling asleep at night.
I decided to do an experiment this week & not have her nap at all
(in hopes of having her fall asleep at a normal time at night, like 8:00 pm)
So, today was Day 4 of no nap for Kate.
The good news? She has fallen asleep right away at bedtime!
The bad news? Today during her afternoon snack time, she was literally falling asleep while she was eating her cereal.
So, I did what any good mom would do...I took pictures of it!
She would take a bite of cereal & close her eyes as she was chewing.
I kept asking her if she wanted to stop eating & go take a little nap.
She said, no, she wanted to eat her cereal.
So tired...struggling to keep her eyes open...but must.eat.more.cereal......
She is usually fine on the days she doesn't nap, she just falls asleep a little earlier at night (and is a lot crabbier in the evenings. yikes!)
On the days she does nap, we will put her to bed at 7:30-8, but she won't fall asleep until 10 or 11 (she will "read" books in her bed).
I feel very fortunate that my almost 4 year old still takes a somewhat regular nap (2-3 times a week) but I know the end of her regular nap is coming to a close, especially because she isn't falling asleep at night.
I decided to do an experiment this week & not have her nap at all
(in hopes of having her fall asleep at a normal time at night, like 8:00 pm)
So, today was Day 4 of no nap for Kate.
The good news? She has fallen asleep right away at bedtime!
The bad news? Today during her afternoon snack time, she was literally falling asleep while she was eating her cereal.
So, I did what any good mom would do...I took pictures of it!
She would take a bite of cereal & close her eyes as she was chewing.
I kept asking her if she wanted to stop eating & go take a little nap.She said, no, she wanted to eat her cereal.
So tired...struggling to keep her eyes open...but must.eat.more.cereal......
Just one more bite....
Aaaaaaannnndddd, she's out.
Mommy, can I have more cereal?
My poor little Kate.She is totally stuck in the "in between" napping stage.
And, throw preschool in the mix & she is just exhausted on some days.
I don't think she is quite ready to give up her nap just yet!
oh that is too sweet...and funny :) now I want some cereal :)
ReplyDeleteI love that she is so sleepy while eating. We are totally in the same boat. W only naps 3 times a week but I always make him "rest" (read or draw/color) in his room. We all need a little down time. Good luck with the adjustment!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cutie. We are in that stage too, I love naptime, but I also love an easy bedtime...
ReplyDeleteAwww.. cutie pie! That is the hardest stage! Not sure if its harder on them or us?? :)
ReplyDeleteWhat if she naps on the days she has preschool? That way if she falls alseep later it won't be as hard the next morning because she doesn't have shcool? Just a thought..
I feel for you. We went through that about a year ago and it was awful. Will she take just a little 20 minute power nap, or is she too hard to wake up after that short amount of time?
ReplyDeleteThose pictures of Kate are too cute.
ReplyDeleteIt was really hard to realize that Hannah was done with her naps, but she started to do the same as Kate and she would be up until 10 or 11 running around her room, creating messes, reading her books, and so tired and cranky the next morning. Sometimes now I do make her lay down and watch a movie or go to her room for a little "quiet" time, but no naps. Good luck with your transitioning!!
I love the photo of her sleeping while eating!! My daughter is 3 and she continues to tell me that she doesn't need a "rest" anymore. I have tried to skip naps every now and then but like you said the evenings are miserable. Rest time at our house is staying at least for another year or so. Good luck Kate, the in between is hard!
ReplyDeleteKelli
xoxo
loveoursimplelife.blogspot.com
oh sweet and cute! we have been in the same stage for months now...if they nap it is a bonus, but then they don't go to bed well.
ReplyDeleteas much as i miss my little break in the afternoon, i love them going to bed at 8 and falling asleep right away!
Oh my goodness, that is TOO adorable. You told the story perfectly with the pictures. :)
ReplyDeleteit was hard on my kids, too, when it was time to get away from naps. My daughter was still taking them in Kindergarten at age 5! And then she'd be up until 11:00 PM. We had to bite the bullet and keep her up in the afternoons.
ReplyDeleteOh thats so funny! poor kate!
ReplyDeleteHailey still takes a nap EVERY SINGLE DAY. When she skips nap she falls asleep at 8 nd sleeps all night, when she takes a nap she goes to sleep at 9. She loves to sleep like her daddy!
that's so funny! the pictures that is! NOT the no napping! my daughter stopped napping days after her second birthday and i hate it! i hoped for an earlier bedtime for her as well but she fights it big time and it can be a multiple hour ordeal. no fun. good luck with this phase!!! :)
ReplyDeletethat is too funnY! haha aww poor girl. my noah has not been napping either. what's up with this?!
ReplyDeleteToo funny! We're in the same boat here- it's so hard to figure everything out, so we're just playing it by ear. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe are in the same boat as well! Lacey tends to nap on preschool days and then the other 4 days of the week are a toss- up although she has quiet time in her bed everyday. The days she doesn't nap she tends to meltdown in the evenings which is very unlike her but she will go right to sleep when put to bed. I still feel like she isn't ready to give up the nap altogether! She has always required a lot of sleep.
ReplyDeleteCute pics! :)
she is too precious!
ReplyDeleteHarper is having the same issue. some days she falls asleep in the car home from preschool. But, since she hasn't napped since last year that 10 minute ride is all she needs.
That is SO cute. Don't you just want to scoop them up and snuggle them like crazy when they get that tired? I love it.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Addie gave up her nap around the same time. But she would get so cranky! We loved that she'd go right to sleep at bedtime, because like Kate, she'd stay up later if she napped. So, we found that taking a nap just once or twice a week really helped. And it didn't mess up bedtime. Even now (she'll be 5 in a month), she needs a nap just once or twice a month. It's kind of like a "reset" button for her. It makes things so much better (for all of us)!!
These pictures are too cute. Leila is at the same stage. She'll nap about three days a week, and the days that she doesn't nap she gets quiet time in her room for an hour, to read or just play. SO far, so good.
ReplyDelete