On Friday, I decided to conduct a little experiment. The girls have turned 18 months this month and they have been kind of fussy by bedtime, so I had this idea that maybe they were getting too much sleep by taking two naps. I Googled 18 month olds and many sites I found said that by this age, many children are down to one nap a day. So, I decided we were ready to sail into big girl waters and I adjusted their nap schedule to one a day. Okay, then maybe my babies don't need that morning nap and maybe too much sleep was making them fussy. Okay, it sounds kind of silly now, but it was a theory, okay?
The entire weekend, the girls only took their one nap. The mornings usually started off okay because they were refreshed from their evening slumber, but by about 10:30am my sweet lovable babies turned into irritable, crazy little aliens who wrecked havoc on the living room and all of its contents. I have to say that I have never feared so much for the well being of any doll or stuffed animal before like I did this weekend. Stuffed bears were being thrown, dolls were clunked on their heads and Lego's were being used as weapons. It was complete baby anarchy. Marshal law was next.
On top of all of this, Peanut and Jelly Bean learned a new trick. They can now officially climb up on the couch by themselves. I am so proud! I have never been so happy - now they can cause all kinds of chaos on other altitudes, too! GRAND! And this proved to be a huge source of frustration for everyone this weekend because they aren't capable of just sitting on the couch and chilling. No, there is way too much bouncing and running and falling and oh they almost hit their head on the end table kind of fun. Babies don't know how to relax - what am I thinking? Especially hyped up babies who are running on less sleep than normal.
Our weekend ended with a stand off between me and two angry little babies. They wanted to climb onto the couch and I decided that they weren't allowed since they couldn't sit still. As I picked up each offending baby from the couch, she would arch her back and scream with frustration. "How dare you take away my fun, " their little beady eyes would say to me. At one point, Peanut decided to retaliate with a hand swipe to my face. Now violence had ensued. Our family harmony had completely broken down...
This morning, I laid the girls down in their cribs for their morning nap. In the afternoon, they took another nap. I am pleased to report that everyone is in good spirits today. So, my girls aren't ready to give up that morning nap and that is okay. We ventured out into uncharted waters to give it a try, but it wasn't right for them just yet. I would rather them be ready to do new things or give up old ones when they are ready, not when the textbooks and the Internet says they should be ready. In parenthood I have learned many things, but this one holds true - it's okay to give something a try and see how it goes, but nothing is set in stone. Sometimes there is smooth sailing to a new way of living for the family and other times we just have to know when to abandon ship.
7 comments:
You are so right. All babies are different and the parenting books are simply recommendations. As moms we have to do what is right and works for our children.
I like you with just the one blog. I didn't know how you were doing three with the babies! To honor your awesomeness, you've been given an award. Check it here...
http://happilyeverafterland.typepad.com/happilyeverafterland/2008/08/you-like-me-you.html
I've so been where you are!!! I'm only laughing because I can totally relate, esp prying them off the sofa and being retaliated against (my boys have just figured out how to climb on the kitchen chairs to get onto the table...scary stuff!)
My 1st set of twins didn't give up their morning nap until they were close to like 20-22 months. They just needed that little re-charge in the morning to get them through until the afternoon nap. But my 2nd set, are totally different. They've been down to 1 nap a day for about a month now and they handled the transition well.
Every child is so different. You just gotta go with what your gut and your heart are telling you, which it sounds like you are doing. You'll know when they're ready to give up that AM nap.
wow.. twins gal, how you handle them? You take care of them yourself?
I nominated you for an award...just sharing the love!! Check out the post on my blog from today! Hope you don't mind!
Ah ha ha! We just started with the couch this week, too! It's driving me nuts! We have a futon with regular pillows in place of a normal cushion. So guess where my couch ends up all day... on the floor. And their little baby heads are always finding their way onto the exposed wood that's left behind.
Of course, even after multiple head bonks, (times the ever present 2) they are still upset to the point of tantruming when I try to relieve their suffering and put them back on the floor.
Wah-hoo. Almost makes me look forward to walking. Almost.
Thank you so much for the support, you all. And thank you for the nominations - I am very touched & appreciative!
Sherry - to answer your question, I stay home with the girls while my husband works outside of the home. It is my full time job! :)
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