Oct
21
Weep with me, dearest Interwebs peeps. For my daughter is starting to give up naptime.
::sobs quietly to herself::
My Stinkerbelle, who used to LOVELOVELOVE naptime, is now beginning to decide that she does not want to nap. Not all the time — on days when she swims or has school, she’s usually tired enough that a nap is still welcome — but on days like today, when we’ve only gone grocery shopping and she’s inside all day, she has started to vehemently insist that she is not tired and she does not need a nap.
I knew it would happen, eventually. And she IS three and a half, which is about the average age when kids begin to give it up for good. So I knew it was coming.
And yet? Still not ready.
I have a schedule! I have things to get done in the course of a day, like actual paying work! The disruption that no nap will cause! It does not bear thinking about.
And yet, I must.
So, we’ve embarked on a few trial runs of “quiet time”. Lots of parents have a version of quiet time. For us, it means that she can lie down with her pillow and blanket and favourite loveys, and watch a movie. And she stays quiet and still, BUT NOT OMG NAPPING as she will insist, and I can be relatively free to get a few things done.
Here’s the problem we have: Because she’s got some receptive language delays, it’s hard to ensure she “gets” what the rules are. And judging from the shrieking and talking and faffing, it’s pretty obvious on some levels that she kind of doesn’t. And I also can’t do anything that she might think OMG I DO IT TOOOOO? because then she will be up and ready to participate and nobody gets anything done.
So, we’ve got to approach things from a different angle.
Fortunately, my work is by and large tied to the computer, so theoretically I can sit in the same room with a laptop and do some work. So that might work well. But it screws up my regular routine of doing any calls for appointments or work that I did when she was napping and I could focus. I may be able to do some cooking or cleaning in the kitchen, if quiet time is in the playroom. Exercising during naptime is now a thing of the past, as is gardening and yardwork and baking. So is any of your more exciting-to-kids housework tasks, like vacuuming or sweeping or laundry.
And when all else fails, I could just sit and knit… but while enjoyable, it’s hardly productive.
So, it’s time to adapt. I know, parenting a growing and developing child is basically about ongoing change, right? But as a household, we do well with routines, so that adaptation period is always a bit trying, until we get a new normal established.
And I have to be honest: I am going to miss naptime. It was two, sometimes three, hours of uninterrupted “me” time. I could have a guaranteed block of time in which to work. I could get things done. I could listen to podcasts, or exercise, or get some housework done… or sometimes all of the above. I could do some things for ME.
Not anymore. Well, not consistently, anyway.
I know, it’s just a matter of time until she gains more independence, and then she will be able to do things on her own and unsupervised, while I do mine. And then, before we know it, she’ll be off to school and I’ll miss having her around all the time, and the constant interruptions in my day.
But not for awhile. Now our days are in a bit of flux.
Truth be told, there IS a trade-off. Not napping in the day will mean a consistent bedtime at night time, which means she won’t be in bed talking and faffing for two hours because she isn’t ready to sleep yet. And that also means we will have consistently free evenings.
And yeah, if I am honest, it’s hard because it’s just one more step that my girl is taking, away from being our little baby girl. and becoming that big girl who is independent and no longer needs me.
WHAT? I KNOW. DON’T REMIND ME.
So we will work to find a new routine. And while she seamlessly, happily moves through all these developmental phases, she’ll just have to learn to be patient with her mother who is cranky because she didn’t get a naptime.
