After sleep school, I have tried to commit myself to sticking with Matt's "routine" and making sure he has his regular naps during the day. I have had to sacrifice quite a bit to achieve this, namely having to stay home in the mornings and then making sure if we do get out for a quick jaunt around lunchtime we are home by 2 for his second nap. It means that really, I don't get out of the house much. But my baby sleeps better at night. Not perfect, but truly amazing in comparison to what he was doing. So I don't want to screw it up!
On the other hand, because I am planning my day around Matt's naps, poor Michaela is getting a bit neglected. And there are few things are feral as a neglected 2 year old. Her temper tantrums are becoming increasingly violent and my patience is being stretched very thin- I only have so much! One of the things she is taking a stand over are her naps. She has cracked it and screams when its nap time. It wakes up Matthew and then I can't get him back to sleep and his afternoon/evening becomes hell.
I can tell she is tired. Her eyes are seriously glazed over. But she that strong-willed determination that comes with her age. So I am not sure what to do. Run her ragged and let her skip her nap? Sacrifice Matt's sleep to try and get her to sleep?
It has become a daily battle that I dread. I know there has to be an easier way. I am sure that part of the problem is that she does not get enough one-on-one time with me and is not being "stimulated" enough during the day to feel satisfied. But I don't know how to fit it in. The house is a mess. I am exhausted. Meals need to be prepared. Laundry needs to be done. All the while I am trying to keep her as quiet as possible so Matt gets his sleep!
As we head into winter, I am not looking forward to being cooped up in our tiny little house to hide from the freezing cold. I'm feeling like I need to make a routine or a plan for our weekdays to make sure I fit everything, even though I hate routines and am too spontaneous to ever stick to one.
I don't mean spontaneous like doing crazy things all the time. I mean that even though I have "plans" for my day, I like to go with the flow and do things on the spur of the moment, even throwing everything out the window and doing something completely difference instead. I guess teaching has brought that out in me.
Its pretty hard to do that with a baby and toddler I guess.
Lola does the same thing at nap time. She doesn't do this everyday, but at least 1-2 times a week. I can't imagine trying to quiet her, she is so loud. I say, skip it, it's not worth the battle. While those days really stink because I don't get time to myself, she usually goes to bed an hour or so earlier, so I get a little more time then.
ReplyDeleteOn the brighter side, I'm glad to hear that Matt is sleeping better at night. That is great news!
Oh, geez. I doubt this is any consolation, but as I'm watching my friends have second kids, they're ALL going through this. It's a good thing you have such cute ones. By the way, the other day I noticed that my generic Ny-Quil bottle has a note on it that warns that you shouldn't give it to kids to make them sleepy. (It did NOT give any warnings against a bourbon-soaked washcloth.)
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