ok, folks, I need your help. Annalise has not taken a nap in FIVE days. Obviously the crib no longer confines her and:
1. There is really no other good place to put the dresser.
2. I could close and lock the door, but she knows how to unlock it.
3. I could put up the baby gate, but she knows how to get through that too.
4. She is at some exhausting 2 year old phase where consequences are meaningless compared to getting her own way.
5. I really needed her to keep napping for a few more months!
I should have seen this coming. She was getting to where if she took a nap, she'd be awake til 9 or 10 reading board books by the doorway.
Before
After
I think Caleb being asleep in the room with her rather than playing downstairs helped keep her in the room for that. The upside of all this is, at bedtime, the kid is practically putting herself to bed, she is so tired. She falls asleep as soon as she lays down.
I am stumped. Caleb napped until he was almost 4. It's like physically she doesn't need it, but emotionally, she isn't old enough to handle not napping (i.e. she can't "take a break" like Caleb does) - and I, both physically and emotionally, am not ready for her to quit!
Danielle stopped napping in her 2s, also. It was a very sad day when I finally had to admit regular naps were a thing of the past. She would fall asleep very quickly at bedtime, though. I feel your pain. Being pregnant must make it even tougher.
ReplyDeleteWhen Tyler was first learning to sleep in his bed, he would get up and come out all the time. For a couple weeks, we used these doorknob covers that you have to squeeze while you turn them in order to turn the doorknob and open the door. I would open his door after he fell asleep because I worried he couldn't get out if there was a fire or something, but he never figured them out. I don't know if that would help you any. Even if Annalise figured out how they should work, I'm not sure she'd have the hand strength to make it work.
I've seen those door knob covers. I might have to get one. I don't think she could squeeze it hard enough to open it.
ReplyDeletewell... I stopped taking naps when I was around 2 1/2 also.. but my mom still made me lie down and "rest". I know a friend that one of the rules in the house is you have to take at least a rest/quiet time until you are 5 yrs old. I think I'm going to make that one of our rules. I think I'd put one of those crib netting topper things on her crib and explain to her that she needs some quiet time. She's not going to like it and you might encounter screaming and gnashing of teeth, but once she gets into the idea that she cannot escape anymore it might actually be good. You could put a couple of books in there so she could play quietly if you wanted. If it came to it I'd move the dresser to my room temporarily in order to have her stay in the crib. We are planning on putting a door knob thing on Gwen's door because we don't have a gate at the top of the stairs. My mom and dad can barely figure them out.. so I know she won't. By the time she does she will be able to come down the stairs safely without me worrying.
ReplyDeleteI just thought of something else... what if you got a book on CD from the library as a "treat" and she has to lie down to listen to it? Gwen loves those and is pretty obedient when it means she gets to listen to a book on CD.
ReplyDeleteWe are definitely keeping rest time! I can't function on non-stop kids all day :) Thanks for the ideas!
ReplyDeleteShe's a nimble little thing, isn't she? I think you have a gymnast on your hands!
ReplyDeleteAll of mine quit napping consistently sometime in their twos, so we just switched to "rest time". They are required to stay in their room and play quietly. Wilson is 7 and still has his afternoon rest time.
Do you think you have it in you to teach her to stay in the crib? It may be a tough battle, but you may find it worthwhile. The CD is a good idea as an incentive. We've never resorted to physically restraining a child with gadgets (like the netting or doorknob thingies). They have to learn to do what mommy says. But I know that pregnancy is a really hard time to tackle that kind of training!! Just my two cents...
I totally agree that I would rather teach her just to stay where I have asked her to be. These days I kind of have to just get by for now! I did have success telling her to stay put behind the babygate - which she is completely capable of defeating - and she knows it!
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