Naptime Woes

As I write this, Elle is working on her 2nd nap of the day. She’s fighting it to no end but I’m staying strong. Until recently, I had been stubborn about naptime routines because I’m not a routine person. I wanted Elle and I to be able to go anywhere and everywhere together no matter what time of day (a piece of my old self who was always on the go didn’t want to give this up).  Understanding that babies are very routine and depend on structure I decided I had to make a commitment to a naptime routine. I wanted to be the type of mom whose baby didn’t have a schedule, especially at six months old, but Elle seemed to have other plans.

Now, I will not complain about Elle’s nighttime sleeping habits because she’s a good sleeper but naptime is still a crucial part of her development. I’m OK with her taking short naps (though the recommendation 1.5-2 hours per nap at this age) but his girl loves to scream and cry for what seems like hours. There have been days where I rock her while she’s crying and I start crying because all I want is for her to sleep. It might be selfish but mostly I want her to nap because I need some time to chill out!! As you Mama’s know, it’s hard being on your game ALL the time and keeping up with these babes so we can all use a few minutes to ourselves, right??

It has required the little bit of restructuring and advice sought from friends but we can still have our “on the go time” it will be just have to be at times that are more convenient for Miss Eleanor.

So I started a bit of a routine to keep things consistent. We would start by changing her diaper, closing the curtain in her room, wrapping her up in her sleep sack, turning on our Hatch Baby sleep machine, and settling into the rocker and reading one of our favorite Nancy Tillman books, It’s Time To Sleep, My Love(I’m OBSESSED with her books – the message to children is so sweet). We’ve been reading this before naptime for about a month and now when I read the opening line “It’s time to sleep, it’s time to sleep, the fishes croon in waters deep”, Elle gets the BIGGEST grin on her face and it’s devastatingly adorable. I try to narrate the steps in the same voice every time so she knows what’s coming. Who the HECK knows if any of these things work but at least in my head we started something that may be predictable for her and help her start to calm down.

As I finish up this post, Elle has fallen asleep (YAAAASSSS)!! In my head, my routine is starting to work and though she may nap for only a few minutes this is a big win in my book because I was able to take time to write this post! I’ll make sure to report back our successes and failures as naptime (hopefully) evolves!

What naptime tricks of the trade have ya’ll had success (or failure with?) Include your LO’s age range if you care to share!

Naptime Go To’s:

It’s Time To Sleep, My Love, by Nancy Tillman – I have to add that I am ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED with these books. The message is so so sweet

Hatch Baby Rest

Halo Sleep Sack

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