Sebastian has never napped much. Or well. But this is getting ridiculous. I keep hearing about people whose babies take 2- and 3-hour naps, a few times a day. What does my kid do? He'll get in maybe 20 or 30 minutes, if I'm lucky, every 3 or 4 hours. Once in a while he'll do a marathon hour nap, but that just started recently, and there's no kind of regularity to it. Now, it would be one thing if he didn't need the sleep. But since he started teething, he definitely needs it or it's Cranky McWhinypants all day long. He's so much happier after he actually sleeps. But man does he fight actually going to sleep. Let's say 90% of the time, getting any nap at all is a major battle...he fights it and fights it until either sleep wins out or I give up and just let him stay awake. There's only so much whining one person can take.
I've gotten to where I pretty much have to force him to go to sleep every 2 hours, or all hell breaks loose. How does one "force" a baby to sleep, you ask? Well, it's not easy, let me tell you! Generally, it takes me longer to get him to sleep than he actually sleeps. Yeah, that's fun. The naptime routine right now consists of the swing, his froggy friend pacifier, and his blankie snuggled up next to his head. Rarely, once I get those three things going, he automatically gets "shifty" (our name for when his eyes are half-closed and he's almost asleep) and goes to sleep soon thereafter. See exhibit A, above.
But usually, he fights it. He pulls his paci out of his mouth and then whines that it's gone. He pulls the blanket over his head and then whines that he can't see. He squirms and then whines that he's uncomfortable. You get the picture. All the while, he's rubbing his eyes and yawning and just looking completely exhausted.
The "overtired" thing confounds Ken. He doesn't get how being TOO tired can lead to anything but sleep. But apparently, for many children, and definitely for ours, it leads to increased crankiness, lots of whining, PBS (pissy baby syndrome), etc. Rarely does it lead to actual sleep. Thus the every-two-hours-nap-enforcement. Or at least the attempt. When it works, it's fantastic. I end up with a happier, smilier baby, who has plenty of energy to play and check out the world. When it doesn't, I end up with a whiny, irritated baby, and Sebastian ends up with a very overwhelmed, exhausted, and frustrated mommy.
It's especially awful on days that I work. Sebastian spends the three days a week I'm at work with Mummo and Pappa (my parents). He generally loves it, and I'm so grateful to them for watching him. But, if it's possible, Sebastian sleeps even LESS over there. It's not my parents' fault, of course...I think there's just more new stuff to look at there, and he doesn't want to sleep through anything. Also, they don't have the magic of the swing to help keep the kiddo asleep (often he'll wake up half-way through a nap, but sometimes the swing will lull him back to sleep). Unfortunately, what that usually means for me, though, is that after I pick him up (after a full, long, often stressful day at work), he's MAJORLY cranky and overtired for the 3+ hours before Ken gets home. I am not a fan.
I really would like him to start taking longer naps. In his crib. In his room. But I really have no idea how to go about getting that to happen. I'm struggling just to get him to sleep at all during the day, I don't want to mess with what's "working," ya know? Cry-it-out isn't for us, but I don't know what else to do. Guess it's time to do some research.
In any case, we're going to hold off on making any changes to his routines for now, especially with the move coming in the next two weeks. There will be enough changes. But I'm really hoping that once we're in the new house and settled, we can tackle Sebastians aversion to naps. Because really, I need to be able to do something else during the day. And the way it is now, I spend all my time playing with the kiddo (fun!), feeding the kiddo (also fun), trying to get the kiddo to sleep (not fun), and waiting with bated breath while the kiddo sleeps hoping he doesn't wake up (not so fun either). My only saving grace is that Sebastian continues to sleep fairly well at night, going 10-12 hours and only waking a few times, and the paci always puts him right back to sleep.
Currently he's been sleeping for the 20 minutes it's taken me to write this. He might sleep for another minute, he might sleep for 20 more. Who knows. Oh, and in the minute it took me to write that, he's awake. No time even to proofread, blah. Hopefully there aren't too many typos! Anyhoo, thanks for reading the rambling thoughts of a desperate woman. If you have any ideas, please share!
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