Sunday, August 29, 2010

No, No Naps

At the suggestion of many people I was encouraged to transition my older set of twins (Emma & Robin, 22 months) from 2 naps/day to 1 nap/day. The girls were struggling with their two naps, taking 1 really good nap (1-1/2 - 2 hours) and either not taking the second one or only sleeping for a few minutes. We started the transition over a week ago, and I've been "strong", only 1 nap each day, no matter what. The problem is that my girls are sooooooo tired and start begging for a nap around 10:30 am, "night-night", "binky"...I keep them entertained and we'll have lunch a little earlier than normal (between 11:30 am - 12:00 pm vs. 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm) and then I put them down between 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm, expecting a nice, long nap. Unfortunately all I get is screaming and crying and then about 40 minutes of sleep before it starts again. I'll keep them in their crib for at least an hour and a half...wishing, hoping and praying they'll go back to sleep, but they won't. So, I get them up, bring them down, get them a snack and we arrive at cranky-town. The rest of the day (a long, long, long long day) is spent dealing with meltdowns, temper tantrums, and fits. Around 4pm they start begging to go to sleep, but I refuse to give in (they go to sleep for the night at 7pm). I'll feed them dinner on the early-side and try to keep them awake (lately they've been vegging out in my bed watching "The Good Night Show"), but we struggle and I've been giving up around 6:30 pm.

So, what's a mom to do? Do I keep with it or just let them have two naps? I don't know how much more I can take...cranky-town needs a sheriff!
...won't you take me to craaannnky town
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2 comments:

  1. The MommyAugust 29, 2010 at 8:33 PM

    Nina - a couple of thoughts. We transitioned our kids ages ago but they were never as good at sleeping as your girls. We did a morning "quiet time" with pacis, books and quiet music in their crib for 30 minutes. Kind of took the edge off. We also did put them to bed at 6PM when they were transitioning the nap so they could be better rested - sleep begets sleep and all that. You can read more about what we did here:
    http://morgan-zawilski.blogspot.com/2009/11/two-to-one-nap-transition.html

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  2. UnknownAugust 30, 2010 at 7:49 PM

    You know you have to go with your gut as that is the right thing to do. Maybe have them take their nap in the morning when they are tired, and then eventually they wont need an afternoon nap, or just one nap. It just might be a different time of day. I know Brayden at daycare they do arts and crafts, dance, and really entertain them somehow until it is nap time. I have no idea how they do it. Stay strong and you'll see what works for you. YOu know taking two one hour naps is not a bad thing. Brayden usually takes a two hour nap right after lunch. Love you and you will get through it.

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