Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Need More Advice

I have a testimony of naps.  When Rhett gets his naps (he's still taking two), he's a happier baby. When he's a happier baby, I'm a happier mama.  And when he doesn't get his naps, well, ain't nobody happy.

But this devotion to napping is quite time-restrictive.  During wake time #1, we run.  During wake time #2, we do errands, and during wake time #3, we play with dad and do dinner.  The longest period of awake is only about three hours, which doesn't leave much time to do "big" things.  And since that one is right during rush-hour, well, we don't leave the house much.

So how do all of you people doing "big" things do it?  All I want to do is go see the Cherry Blossoms. That's it.  But if you know DC, going downtown from suburban Maryland isn't a three-hour tour (or is it???).  Do you hope the little ones sleep in strollers?  Do you forgo naps and just hope they don't have serious breakdowns?  Any advice would be appreciated.  Please.  Pretty please.


7 comments:

  1. You go girl!!!! And you realize at some point he'll fall asleep and his nap routine won't be ruined forever. And then you'll smile at the beautiful cherry blossoms and they will look even better with your little guy enjoying them too!!!

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  2. agree with nat. keeping a schedule is great, but some days we just have to forgo it. either nap him earlier or later, or just put him to bed earlier. he'll be back on schedule the next day.

    he might be at the age where you can give him something to eat if he gets cranky. ever tried a graham cracker with him? i remember giving my kids a full cracker and it would take them like 30 minutes to finish it off. a bib would be good if you decide on that. :)

    or. . . get a babysitter and you and chuck enjoy a little date.

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  3. I'm a big believer in having the kids conform to MY schedule. I have been lucky in that my 2 are pretty flexible. Sometimes Jack goes down for a nap at 11am/1pm/3pm. He has never been a great 2 a day napper, but I get a good 2 hours out of him now. Ellie was a great napper - like 3-4 hours in the morning and afternoon. She was also very flexible and would go down even if she fell asleep in the car. Jack is not so nice at times.
    I'm with the above comment, go see the cherry blossoms and know that he and you won't be scarred forever by one day of nap missing. He may have a meltdown, but it's o.k. There's always tomorrows naps waiting - but the cherry blossoms will soon be gone.

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  4. We elect to take a nap from them :) You can't always be home for nap time when you have more than one. Expect he'll nap in the stroller. Come on, if I can take 4 kids to DC you can manage your little man :)

    You know his routine, take lots of snacks, favorite blanket, whatever is makes him comfy. I've found my kids LOVE a sling and almost always sleep in it so that's my saving grace.

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  5. He might be ready to drop to one nap. That may make things easier for you. See if you can keep him up until lunchtime and put him down after he eats. One nap makes life a lot easier because you can either go out and about all morning long. . . or all of the late afternoon.

    p.s. My parents were in your ward this past weekend and my mom can't stop talking about how cute Rhett is. She keeps saying, "Now there are cute babies, but he is REALLY CUTE, like REALLY REALLY truly adorable." (My mom doesn't say that too often!)

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  6. You should definitely go. We're planning on going too. David started taking just one nap almost right after he turned one. I had to help him a little. Like your friends said, snacks help a lot. Now David sleeps right after lunch, usually around 1pm and can sleep for almost three hours sometimes longer, I love it.

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  7. I agree with the others! Go and see the cherry blossoms!! But I do love naps too. So keep em up Rhett!

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