Little buddy is testing mommy!!!! booyyyyyy!!!! The past three weeks he has been boycotting his naps however - ONLY WHEN HE IS HOME. Stinker sleeps great at daycare - no biggie - just when he gets home he thinks he can play with me and I've given in until now. We're going back to the sleep training!
The first weekend I just kind of thought it was a fluke. Maybe he wasn't feeling well, maybe he had some teeth coming in (convenient excuse I find myself using whenever he's fussy....................lame), maybe he just wasn't tired because he sleeps so much at night, maybe its separation anxiety starting to kick in, I have no idea but I was like ok no big deal I won't fight him on this, I'm sure it will only be a day or two. SIKE - the next two weekends he did the exact same thing, crying immediately the minute I put him in his crib. One afternoon he woke up about 30 mins in (definitely not a good nap by anyone's standards and certainly not his) so I went up, read a book in the quiet, gave him his blankie and we cuddled becuase he was clearly still exhausted. THE minute I put him back in his crib, all out war. I told him I loved him, gave him big kisses and then went outside and read for 20 minutes so I didn't have to hear him cry. When I came back in he was out but only for the next 45 mins then he was up again. AH!
So in any case, I went back to the book that I swear by, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr Weissbluth and went straight to the 9-12 month section and what is the first topic - "Nap Disturbances". HA!!! The man has been spot on with every single thing so not surprised he was with this as well so I read the whole chapter and a little more, made a plan with Paul for the next day and we went to work on it. Basically the jist is yes, Declan's brain is certainly developing and he's becoming more daring, more adventurous etc etc etc and he wants to play play play so why would he sleep when he can play and learn more new and exciting things downstairs with mommy and daddy? That said, yes this is YET ANOTHER stage, but its not an excuse to let him develop bad habits because they can quickly turn into something much greater. I've said it before but "good sleep begets more good sleep" so the better he sleeps during the day, the better he will sleep at night.......and night sleep is the most important for everyone (mommy and daddy included!!!!) Just because he refuses to nap all day does NOT mean he will be exhausted and then sleep all night. It will actually work the opposite way and night wakings could become more frequent........................and we do NOOOOOT want that! Declan hasn't woken up at night in like 5 months or something crazy, I am not about to go back there :) Needless to say, Paul was on board and since I'm working right now and he has some time off, it fell squarely on his shoulders to work with little buddy on his naps. This week has been soooooooooooo much better since we started paying more attention to his cues etc and I think he's realizing that yea he may be stubborn but we are more so and he will sleep when he needs to sleep :) Nana and Pop are even here and amidst that excitement he has been sleeping so I'm crossing my fingers we are back on track.
Maybe this sounds crazy to some people but I know my son, I know he needs sleep, and while some may be able to function without it he is not one of them. I try to remain flexible within our schedule but we do have a schedule, Declan certainly does have needs and I'm trying my best to meet them.............and every once in awhile he just needs reminding of how to help himself :) That's what we're here for sweet baby!
Jeez louise. Now just going to wait for the next fun stage ;)
