Since Jaxon has been waking up too early in the morning and he's usually the first to get up (and wake everyone else up) from his naps, this past Friday I began going to only one nap a day. It really stretches out the morning. It used to be I would feed the boys breakfast, play with them for a bit, maybe bring them outside and then it would be nap time. Now after I am done playing with them I realize we still have 2 hours until lunch time. gulp
So I am biting the bullet and am making an effort to get out of the house everyday. No reason not to. The weather is perfect, I don't have to worry about the car being too hot for them, and they are big enough now that if I would just put on their shoes we could make a trip to the park one of these days. Uh...now that I think about it, I am not taking all three alone to the park yet. They are still at the stage where they need spotters at the playground. Luckily, there is still plenty to do. We have done Costco on Friday, I think Walmart on Saturday and Sunday Don and I took them to the park and out for lunch after we went to church. And today I took them to the store to buy a shirt for my Golden Ticket costume (the kids will be Oompa Loompas), then to Michaels craft store, and last to PetSmart (to see the fish and birds). All these store were in a single shopping center, so I just pulled them around in the wagon. Last, we stopped to visit our friend Lisa at work and went home for lunch.
The drive home was nice, the kids were watching a dvd and I could see Wyatt engrossed in it. The other two were out of my line of vision. When I finally had a chance to see the other two I saw they were fast asleep. I panicked a bit while having visions of this 5 minute nap being the only naps of the day and tried to wake them. First I tickled their feet and called their names. Nothing. I rolled down the windows and Luke made a face like, "don't bother me I am sleeping" and turned his face the other direction. As a last resort, I turned up the radio and still got no open eyes! I noticed poor Wyatt was covering his little ears so I closed the windows and turned the radio back down. Two minutes later I pulled in our driveway and both Luke and Jaxon's eyes popped open and they were wide awake. Stinkers.
I took pity on the fact that they have been buckled in to either the car seat or wagon for the past couple hours and decided to let them run while I fixed their lunch. I opened up our kitchen door to outside and put the gate up at the stairs and they had free reign over the house and back yard. They loved it and had no idea where to go first...outside on the slides, to the books in the livingroom, throw the cups in the kitchen...what to do?
I can tell their little minds are soaking everything in now. Every little action they see, words they hear, books we read, and even from Big Bird and Elmo. Now that we are down to one nap a day I think they will be learning so much more since we will be out and about more. I just wish it didn't always have to be a store. At this rate, I'll be broke in about 2 months.
4 comments:
Wow....you're going to one nap a day a lot earlier than we did. Our guys will be 2 this month and they just went to one nap (kind of on their own) in the past month.
I guess it's true that every child is different.
I hate the "cat" naps in the car too! They sound like such little cuties.
You're my hero for all you do with your kids. It's great for you AND for them to get out of the house.
Awesome! I am so glad you are doing the one nap. It will take ome getting used to (for you!) and then you'll realize how much more you can do with them. You can do the park! Do it! Do it!
You can bring them over here and we'll all go to the park! You can spot two and I'll spot two (Austin included). You must enjoy the nice weather before it's too late. Try taking them to the library. That's free. (I'm all about free stuff) Not for story time, but just take them there and get them used to being in there. You can walk the mall and eat lunch. You don't HAVE to buy anything!
Can you tell I'm excited for you? And now you will be putting them to bed WAY earlier so you guys get your evenings back too! Okay, I'll let you know if I think of other stuff!
HA!!! I can totally relate to getting your kids out of the house to buy time until the nap ... but ... I can also relate to spending a LOAD of money because the best place to go is the store!
Our kids just transitioned to 1 nap a few months ago (maybe 2?) and they'll be two ... in two days. BOO HOO!!!
My recommendation is go outside. I had a hard time going to the park b/c it was just me + 3 of them and they were very mobile (at a park w/o a fence). But, I'd let them run/crawl around outside and they would have a blast. I also did a lot of walks around the neighborhood with friends & we'd go feed the ducks at a local pond. Just quick little jaunts so they didn't "catnap" and essentially DESTROY their nap.
Those 2 hours of them napping and a quiet house, are my SALVATION in the afternoon.
I still have one at 2.5 who takes a 30-45 min catnap in the morning 3-4 days a week. You'll find what works for you.
My trio wakes up around 6am each day, so I continue to put mine in their cribs for "quiet time" with books and a toy or two that they can have "all to themselves" for about 30-45 min mid morning so I can shower and have a quick mental health break. Otherwise, the 6 .5 hours from wake up to nap wears us ALL down!
Post a Comment