Nap, Nap, Go Away
I know exactly how much sleep my children need.* My children know exactly how much sleep they want.** We usually meet somewhere in between, with the kids waking up as soon as they’re fully refreshed from their nap, and me opening their room door as soon as I’m fully refreshed from their nap.
I put the boys down for about an hour nap in the morning. They usually fall asleep quickly and quietly, which is my karmic penance for those half-hour long screaming sessions Abbie would occasionally throw at that age before drifting to sleep. Sometimes they nap for the entire hour, only picking their heads off the mattress when I retrieve them with a hot lunch ready in the kitchen.
Other times they’re awake while I’m still deep in my Internet research and their applesauce is still in the refrigerator. When that happens, I let them go for a few minutes while I finish reading an insightful piece on the latest travesty in sports.* Their mood turns from excited to be awake, to curious about the things they can do while they wake, to concerned that no one has rescued them yet. I usually enter their room about the time they reach “convinced they’re going to starve in their cribs,” and whisk them off to lunch just as the meltdown commences.
I’m never concerned they’re not getting enough sleep when they wake early from the morning nap because that’s their short nap. The afternoon nap is where they catch most of their rest, as they sleep for ideally two-and-a-half hours. Sometimes one or both will wake up a little early, but I know they’re getting enough sleep because they always nap for at least 90 minutes.
Except for yesterday. Ian awoke from his afternoon nap after 30 minutes. Sometimes Abbie wakes up after 30 minutes. Sometimes Abbie takes 30 minutes to fall asleep. Sometimes one of the boys will pop up after 30 minutes, scream for a minute, and fall back asleep. The boys never wake up for good after 30 minutes. Yet there was Ian, happily bouncing up and down like he was fully refreshed.
I didn’t know what to do. I had barely finished my nap when he woke up, and I sleep about 7 hours a day less than him. I let him go for a few minutes, but it quickly became clear he was going to wake someone else up with him. I snuck into their room, thinking maybe he needed his blankie or the forbidden pacifier to help him back to sleep. Nope, both were already in his crib.
I turned around and let him go for another half-hour. He rolled in his crib the entire time, cooing in progressively more agitated tones. When they finally bordered on screaming, I fetched him from his crib for good.
We chilled for another 90 minutes while Tory took the rest of his nap. Abbie joined us after a bit, and I let Ian share in her post-nap treat of Dora and fruit. I felt horrible that Ian was awake already since our close friend Patty was coming to watch the kids that night, and I didn’t want him to be a sleepy monster.
Fortunately, Patty assured us at the end of the night that everyone was exceptionally well behaved, which made me wonder why our kids suddenly shaped up. We thanked her and started the kids down their bedtime routine. Everyone had to be sleepy after the excitement of a babysitter, especially Ian, and would likely fall asleep quickly.
Fall asleep they did, and I resumed my Internet research that I missed earlier. Then Ian woke up an hour later. This time he took a little acetaminophen and fell back to sleep quickly, which was good, because there was no way I was going to stay up with him for another 13 hours until his morning nap.
* More than they’re getting.
** Less than they’re getting.
*** Right now, that would be a fight in the NBA.
I put the boys down for about an hour nap in the morning. They usually fall asleep quickly and quietly, which is my karmic penance for those half-hour long screaming sessions Abbie would occasionally throw at that age before drifting to sleep. Sometimes they nap for the entire hour, only picking their heads off the mattress when I retrieve them with a hot lunch ready in the kitchen.
Other times they’re awake while I’m still deep in my Internet research and their applesauce is still in the refrigerator. When that happens, I let them go for a few minutes while I finish reading an insightful piece on the latest travesty in sports.* Their mood turns from excited to be awake, to curious about the things they can do while they wake, to concerned that no one has rescued them yet. I usually enter their room about the time they reach “convinced they’re going to starve in their cribs,” and whisk them off to lunch just as the meltdown commences.
I’m never concerned they’re not getting enough sleep when they wake early from the morning nap because that’s their short nap. The afternoon nap is where they catch most of their rest, as they sleep for ideally two-and-a-half hours. Sometimes one or both will wake up a little early, but I know they’re getting enough sleep because they always nap for at least 90 minutes.
Except for yesterday. Ian awoke from his afternoon nap after 30 minutes. Sometimes Abbie wakes up after 30 minutes. Sometimes Abbie takes 30 minutes to fall asleep. Sometimes one of the boys will pop up after 30 minutes, scream for a minute, and fall back asleep. The boys never wake up for good after 30 minutes. Yet there was Ian, happily bouncing up and down like he was fully refreshed.
I didn’t know what to do. I had barely finished my nap when he woke up, and I sleep about 7 hours a day less than him. I let him go for a few minutes, but it quickly became clear he was going to wake someone else up with him. I snuck into their room, thinking maybe he needed his blankie or the forbidden pacifier to help him back to sleep. Nope, both were already in his crib.
I turned around and let him go for another half-hour. He rolled in his crib the entire time, cooing in progressively more agitated tones. When they finally bordered on screaming, I fetched him from his crib for good.
We chilled for another 90 minutes while Tory took the rest of his nap. Abbie joined us after a bit, and I let Ian share in her post-nap treat of Dora and fruit. I felt horrible that Ian was awake already since our close friend Patty was coming to watch the kids that night, and I didn’t want him to be a sleepy monster.
Fortunately, Patty assured us at the end of the night that everyone was exceptionally well behaved, which made me wonder why our kids suddenly shaped up. We thanked her and started the kids down their bedtime routine. Everyone had to be sleepy after the excitement of a babysitter, especially Ian, and would likely fall asleep quickly.
Fall asleep they did, and I resumed my Internet research that I missed earlier. Then Ian woke up an hour later. This time he took a little acetaminophen and fell back to sleep quickly, which was good, because there was no way I was going to stay up with him for another 13 hours until his morning nap.
* More than they’re getting.
** Less than they’re getting.
*** Right now, that would be a fight in the NBA.
posted by Matt at
11:32 PM
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