I hate nap time.
Said no mother, ever.
What I do hate is the putting the boys to sleep part. Ever since I worked as a preschool teacher, getting the kids to nap was my biggest struggle of the day. I blamed it on the fact that my shift started right as they were going down and thought perhaps I was just a fresh face that excited the kids when they should have been calming down. Then I blamed it on a choice few students who had located my "frustrated" button early on and made the task all the more challenging.
Then I had my own kids and figured out that.. the problem is me.
I always thought putting kids to sleep was about calming, sing-song voices, patience, dim light and creating a peaceful environment. I looked forward to it when my boys were babies because it was so sweet to nurse them and rock them. But that is all over now. Now they fight me. They move, the cry, they test me and make me think it's not even worth the battle. Just stay up, if you're cranky, not my fault! But it is my problem, so today I decided to try something new and it worked.
Instead of rocking Asher for over an hour while he fussed and rustled around, I decided to just put him in his bed and walk away. That's right. No patting his back, no hushed voice telling him "it's okay" Just a firm "go to sleep, don't get up." And when he did get up, I put him back, all three times. I told him again, "it's not play time, go to sleep." I sat where I could see him from down the hall with his door open so that he wouldn't think he could get up and play without me seeing him.
Then I told Ira: I'm going to set a timer for 20 min. You need to lay here quietly until it goes off.
Around minute 17 he turned over and fell asleep. The timer went off, but didn't wake him.
So now I'm sitting here, enjoying the fresh crisp air of the changing season coming in through the screen door, and blogging because, well, I can!
I keep hearing that kids need to nap for their growth, health, attention span and overall disposition and I believe it to be true. Making it happen on a daily basis is going to be an uphill battle, but I think it's one worth fighting.
Wish me luck, send some prayers. Here's to more peaceful afternoons!
-Lindsay
