N: Naps

This is a part of my ABCs of (my) Parenting series.

Naps used to be a bad word in these parts. Just the mentioning of naps would cause to me to tense up and start to stress out. It was bad. Jeffrey has always been an exhausting child (he started moving at 6 weeks and has.not.stopped), so I was always just waiting for naps so that I could recuperate and be ready for him again. Sadly, though, sleeping was not on his mind. At all. Lots of fighting naps and crying (mostly on my end, I'll admit). With the swing, things weren't awful. Then, he started moving too much for the swing. So, I had to adjust. My carriers were used quite a bit during this horrible transition time. Then, things started getting easier a little bit at a time. He stopped fighting and would allow himself to fall asleep while nursing or would actually stay asleep during the transfer from the car seat to the crib. When he dropped the second nap, my whole world changed. Since then, sleep as a whole has gotten so much better! He'd let me know when he was ready for milk and would ALWAYS pass out. Now? Oh my goodness. He has napped around the same time all week. Sometimes I have to push him a little bit and start duplicating the bed time routine, but it's never a fight. He's been napping for about 2 hours each time, too! It's insane to think that we have some sort of a schedule occurring now!

The word 'naps' is now a happy thing! I know that I'll have time to myself without worrying about those monitor lights turning red, and he wakes up super rested and ready to get playing again! I'm loving it.