Blogging from Denver, where the sunrises are beautiful (I should know)…
This week Tommy decided that he is a one-nap dude. We’ve been spoiled by his two 90-120 minute naps each day, when, out of the blue, at the 18 month mark, he decided that the second nap was unnecessary. Throw in the travel chaos of this week, and his sleep needs have suddenly decreased from 16 hours a day to about 9. Last night we rolled into Denver after 13 hours in the car and didn’t get him to bed until about 9:30. Since Tommy operates on the “less sleep I get, less sleep I need” principle (basically, the more sleep-deprived he is, the earlier he gets up), he woke us at the delightful hour of 4:00 am. I don’t get up willingly at that time unless I’m nursing or being paid $7.11 an hour to make coffee. Since Geneva was still sleeping in the next room (like reasonable, well-behaved 18 month olds are wont to do at 4 am), we came downstairs to play. When that got too loud, we headed out to explore the subdivision and watch the sunrise. I must admit, I was praying pretty hard that this sleep deprivation would be an opportunity for sanctification instead of anger at my child, and I’m not sure how well it worked, but by the time the clouds turned purple and pink, I was at least relenting on offering Tommy up for adoption on ebay.
With my generous husband taking over with baby duty, I turned in for a nice, long nap that has me feeling a lot more human. Tommy, however, fell asleep on our (second) morning walk and did a quick one hour nap that I fear may be all we can get today. Oh well, at least I know that when he’s so sleep deprived from today that he wakes up early tomorrow, we’ll have a lovely sunrise waiting for us on a walk.
Query for fellow moms: How long did it take for your kiddos to settle down once they dropped that second nap? This transition may the most brutal yet (at least for me!)…
Enjoy Denver! Josh and I just got back from Colorado, it was Beautiful!
It’ll take Tommy a little bit to not get sleepy in the morning, but help him push through and stay awake. It’ll be worth it, and you’ll enjoy the long mid-day nap once he gets into the routine. Hopefully it’ll be a 2-4 hour break for you after lunch!