I thought I would take a moment to give an update on Graham's napping schedule and other fun things. Sorry, no pics in this post!
So after about a 2 month transition, we are officially down to one nap a day. Graham was napping for an hour in the am (10-11) and 2 or 2.5 hours in the afternoons (2-4ish). About two months ago he started really fighting the afternoon nap, but not sleeping any longer in the morning. So, we did a few days without the morning nap, and moved the afternoon one earlier. The result? He was ok for a day or two , but but the third day of this, he started waking at night, getting up a bit earlier, having a hard time going to sleep at night, and boy was he cranky! It wasn't fun. Then, as you remember he got sick a few times, so I went back to two naps each time he was sick. He went back to two no problem. Then we started doing one naps days on just two days a week, and one weekend day. That seemed to be the best way to help Graham transition. It was like every other day, he needed those two naps. Now, we are officially down to one nap at 1 pm. It has taken a few weeks, but this nap keeps getting longer as I had hoped. He generally sleeps 1-3:30 or 4. He has started waking up a bit earlier in the mornings, around 7:30 opposed to 8ish, but that is OK. I bet once it is darker in the am this will change again.Though we got blackout shades for his room, best $$ ever spent. I had a pretty ghetto system of black trash bags after the blinds pulled down, and before the curtains, so you couldn't see them from the outside of the house, nor from the inside as long as the curtains were closed (which they always are). Anyway, they actually worked fantastically, his room was sooo dark, but with the weather getting nice, I wanted to be able to open the windows, and my trash bag system didn't allow for that! So, I ordered the blackout shades, and they are so great. If you don't have them on your baby's windows, I highly recommend them! So, that is the nap update, at 16 months I can say Graham naps once a day. I am pretty sure though if I were to put him down for two, he would still gladly sleep! His bedtime hasn't changed, he still goes to bed at 7. It is so funny how in tune he is with our daily routine. At 6:27 or so everyday, he starts going over to the stairs, and shaking the gate and says "baph" (bath) over and over. He just knows when it is bathtime! All other things too...he does the same with all his meals, when we are getting ready to go somewhere. He really gets our daily routines, and loves it!
Let's see, what else? He is talking non stop! I continue to be shocked at how many words he has. I really can't count them anymore. The one word he refuses to say???Mama. It was actually his first word, he used to so ay it all the time when he was 8-11 months...especially when he was hungry, he would come to me saying "mama" over and over. Now he doesn't say it hardly at all! He actually thinks its funny, I ask him to point to Mama and say Mama, he points and giggles and runs away. The word he loves to say? Daddy. for the longest time he would say "dat" for daddy, now he is saying Daddy. Another favorite, doggies. He even has a few phrases he says , "we go" when he wants to go outside or just leave in general, Hi Daddy, or Hi doggies, big ball, big truck, and tons of others. He know where I keep all his snacks, and will go to the pantry saying"cracker" and doing the sign for cracker over and over until someone gives him a snack! He is starting to know some colors. He definitely knows, says, and identifies blue, and can also recognize pink and orange. Random colors I know, but those are the colors of our sidewalk chalk! He continues to love buses as well. I really feel bad for him that school is almost out and the bus won't be going by! He searches like a hawk for them when we are in the car, and finds them hundreds of hundreds of feet away. The bus goes by at 8:20 and 12:45 each day where he can see them from the back kitchen window. I try to have him looking out the window and eating at these times so he can look for his busses. Simple pleasures, right?
He continues to love to read books, will bring them to us to read all the time, and knows a lot of them by heart. Speaking of hearts...he will pat my chest and say"hawt". It's very sweet. He continues to amaze me on a daily basis of all he can do. He is so happy, silly, and just so fun to be around. There were days when he was around 9 months old that I truly started to morn the loss of his babyhood, but a friend told me (thanks Megan!) that it truly does get better and better, and she was right!! At least until he turns on me as a teenager! Ha! Got to run, nap time seems to be over, it's 3:30, like clockwork!
5 years ago
1 comment:
hi monica!
wow, i loved reading your blog about naps today! i am at such a loss right now with Daly's afternoon nap and need some advice if you have some ideas for me! Daly goes down for the morning nap at 10 a.m. - no problem at all, he's ready, he's tired and he never fusses. He usually sleeps from 10-11:45 ish. The afternoon nap, for the last month, has been awful. About 3-4 times a week he fights it sooooo hard and/or doesn't take one. It's awful. I have been putting him down anywhere in the 3-4 range. I usually start the process at 3 or 3:15 and after a diaper change, books, and nursing, it's around 3:30/3:40. He rubs his eyes, seems really tired, I put him in his bed and he wants to play (peek through the rails, pull himself up, bang on things with his passie, etc. We do the same thing every time we go to bed, lock clockwork, but lately, the afternoon nap scene can drag out anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half before he actually goes to sleep. - which is not good, as you can imagine. If he goes down around 5, he won't get up until 6:30 or so... I'm so confused. Should I try to put him down earlier than 3? His bedtime is 8:00, you mentioned graham's was 7:00 and he sleeps until 8! Wow! Daly goes down around 8 and gets up around 6:30 or 7. I don't think he's ready for one nap at all. And, if he misses his afternoon nap, he seems okay - not too fussy, etc. but I usually try to put him down for bedtime earlier than 8 if that happens. I just don't know why he's fighting the p.m. nap so much, it's getting exhausting - listening to the crying/whining is just awful, as you can imagine! Did Graham ever do this? Help! Thanks Monica!
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