As a mom (and teacher), I strive everyday to engage, nurture, and expand the mind of my little one.
Here you will find the books, music, and activities most useful to me in my endeavors.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Question of the Day - Naps

As moms (and dads), we are suppose to have ALL the answers, right?! The big ones like the hows and whys. And the more mundane wheres - like my shoes? I tell ya, Alex Trebek's got nothing on the parents of the world!


It's a good thing we have each other to rely on. To share what works and what doesn't. To suggest a new approach. To tell about the latest and greatest and the oldies-but-goodies. To speak from experience. To learn from mistakes. To impart wisdom. To provide ah-ha moments :)



Right around the holiday season, my husband composed this little ditty to the tune of "Oh, Christmas Tree."  It has since become a daily ritual ... we sing it on our way up the stairs at naptime.

Oh nappy-poo
Oh nappy-poo
It is that time in the afternoon

Oh nappy-poo
Oh nappy-poo
What would we do without you?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, there's a question.  What would we do without our naptimes?

At our house, I so look forward to 1:00 ... when I know that I won't be entertaining my toddler for a few hours.  And I may even manage to accomplish something around the house .... or, gasp, take a nap myself!

NHV (2.5 years old) naps for about three hours every day.  I put her down around 1:00 and never let her sleep past 4:30.  However, in the past few weeks, she has thrown her fair share of nap rebellions.  At least once a week, she completely refuses to nap.  I insist that she rest for two hours.  And when NHV doesn't nap, she's a cranky mess, so I know she NEEDS a good nap everyday.

So here's my question for you ...

Is your toddler still napping?  For how long?  At what time of the day?  Are you having any nap struggles?  Be sure to include your toddler's age in your comment.

9 comments:

Oliver'sMom said...

Oh man, if nap time didn't happen, life would not happen in our home!

Oliver is 2 1/2.
Usually goes down about 1-2 on weekdays, sleeps 2 hrs.
Weekends, we are pretty busy, so he doesn't go down usually until 2-3, sleeps 3 hrs+. I think he's catching up from the week! His room is really dark, so that helps too.

I was just commenting to my hubby how sad I'm going to be when nap time goes away. I'm going to make him at least rest for an hour every day this summer, but if he isn't asleep after an hour, I'll get him up. Hoping that the naps keep coming when he's three!

Kirsten said...

My little guy is only 22 months. He naps goes down between 1-1:30 and sleeps 2 hours. Usually wakes refreshed and ready for the 5 hours until bedtime.

However, his siblings have done a variety. The 2 older ones stopped napping at 21 months because they were staying up until 10:00 p.m. Not an option.

My middle son stopped napping about about 3 and still falls asleep for an hour here and there when he needs it. He is 5! He is going to be exhausted come September when full day K kicks in. Good luck!

Danielle said...

A 3 hr nap is good for what happens in our house. My daughter is 22 months and she takes 1 nap a day for about 2 hours. However, she does go to bed fairly early.

yoyotte said...

My son is 3 years old. He usually takes one nap for about 2 hrs in the afternoon. If he stays late the previous night, he'll take a longer nap (3 hrs or more) or two naps on the next day. He naps on weekdays when I go to work and my mom takes care of him. On weekends, however, he refuses to sleep. It takes longer time to get him asleep when I'm at home!

Rachel said...

E = 3.5, she has a daily quiet time but does not always nap. She is not aloud to get out of her room during QT.

Z = 2.5, he takes a nap more days than not. If he skips one we can tell but he survives. He also is required to be in his room for 2 hrs of QT in the afternoon, but takes a toy with him.

A = 15m old, naps solidly for 30m in the morning and 2+hr every afternoon.

Hope that helps! I can't imagine being a new mommy without naptime!

Deb said...

My 20-month old still naps, usually from about 1-3, but sometimes it varies. She's always loved her sleep and rarely fights naptime.

The almost-3-year old, though, started fighting naps a few months ago, and we found when we forced it by letting him cry, that he'd wind up wide awake way past bedtime. So we gave up, even though he was turning into a monster around dinnertime. Lately, he's started snoozing on the couch a little during his quiet time while his sister naps. A lot of times, I'll find him sunggled and sound asleep by the time I get back from putting the other one down. We can only let him sleep about 45 minutes, though, without killing bedtime. The transition period to get to here was rough, but now is pretty livable.

Epiphius said...

Yup, at 2.5 Sparky naps every day! She generally naps 3-4 hours, but minimum 2 hours. She normally starts her nap between noon and 2, but what time she goes to sleep doesn't impact how long she sleeps or what time she wakes.

The only nap struggle at our house is when the girls tag team on me and don't nap at the same time! They normally do though.

Unknown said...

I have a 3 year old and a 2 year old. When they're at daycare they always nap from 12-2. Now, when I say "nap" I actually mean rest. My 2 year old actually sleeps...My 3 year old? Yeah right. She prefers singing to herself or quietly playing with her toes.
When they're home on the weekends, we have relaxation time from 11-1 (or whenever they wake up). Again, oldest plays with her feet and sings songs, youngest naps her heart out. The oldest generally does end up falling asleep but only for about half the time.

Go Zesty with Dee! said...

We are still getting a nap for S (2.5 yrs old), however, much to my dismay, it has been getting shorter :-(. I think we're now averaging about 2 hours, 2.5 if I'm lucky. If she's really tired 3 or even 4 on a really busy day. S does so much better with a nap and in a darker room. Not sure if naptime has taken a bit of a plunge because of our recent move and a new room, or what???? Who knows. Maybe it truly is that time when the naps just shorten. Ugh.