Alex has been growing up, and while I thought I could make her nap until she was at least 10 years old, it appears that at 3, those glorious days are over.
I came to this realization on Tuesday night.
That afternoon we had fought tooth and nail over naptime. I tried all my tricks to no avail and in the end all that happened was that Heidi woke up an hour earlier than I wanted because Alex couldn't help climbing in the crib to play with the sleeping child. Instead of my regular zen hour I wound up more frustrated after nap time than if I had skipped it in the first place.
That night after a standard 7:30 pm bedtime, I settled down to relax and enjoy the silence of evening. After about 45 minutes I heard the bathroom sink running and went to investigate. Alex had what appeared to be poop, smeared all over her hands, arms and the sink. Fortunately I was having one of my more serene days and calmly asked her what was going on.
Her reply " Heidi had a graham cracker in her crib, so I climbed and got it and then put the water cup on it and smashed it all together. Then my hands were dirty so I had to wash them."
I was so glad it was not poop that I cheerfully helped her clean up and sent her back to bed.
10 minutes later I found her raiding the book shelf in the living room.
20 minutes later she was at it again.
20 minutes later I walked into her room to find her happily sitting under her covers with a bag of contraband chips she had somehow gotten from the top shelf in the kitchen.
20 minutes later it was Tyler's turn.
Wednesday after an hour of trying to make the child nap, I gave up and offered her quiet time instead. She happily sat and read books for 45 minutes while I cleaned house, it was wonderful. The best part of the whole thing was by 7pm, she was so exhausted and cranky that a super short bedtime routine and 4 minutes of whining in bed was all it took to knock her out until 7:30am!!! I'll admit from 6:30-7pm seemed like an eternity, but when both girls were quietly asleep by 7:15, I was in heaven.
So thus ends a beautiful era and now we begin something new.
Heidi's been cutting teeth for the last couple of days and it's been less than pleasant. She screams and throws herself around in your arms, then when you put her down she flails and bangs her head on the floor. I numbed her gums, gave her tylenol and yet she proceeded to scream in her crib right through morning nap. My blood pressure was through the roof by lunch time, but after a frustrated outburst, when Alex asked "could you please be nice mommy?" I put myself in time out and took a few deep breaths. Now I remember why people hate teething so much.
1 comment:
When kids are tired and you are even more tired, it makes for really trying times, I hate those days, you feel like the worst mom in the world, which of course is the furthest thing from the truth!
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