I did what any other new mother would do and quickly called my mom to learn about this thing she called a nap. My mother assured me that yes, in fact, most toddlers take 2-3 hour naps...every.day. Again my reaction was ???!?!?!?
To further my amazement, I shared this schedule with my husband. His reaction? "Oh, poor thing. Is he sick, is that why he sleeps so long??" LOL
When I told him, no, apparently that seems to be quite normal, the look of amazement came over his face. That astonished look of ours quickly turned to green. Green with envy!
You see, we have the child that doesn't sleep. Robinson has in fact transitioned to 1 nap a day- which is normal for his age. But you see, Robinson's nap is about 45 minutes-1 hour. That's a GOOD nap. Some days (more common lately) is 1 30 minute nap ALL DAY LONG. The non sleeping doesn't stop there. For his night routine, Robinson usually goes to sleep about 8-830pm and wakes up at 545-6am...no exceptions. Apparently, toddlers usually sleep 12-13 hours per night. Not Robinson.
I truly believe the saying that you don't know what you are missing until you are aware. Granted, I knew other children took better naps, but 3 hours every day?! I am in awe. There is SO much that I could do in 3 hours. I could work out; take a shower without getting up at 5am before my husband leaves for work. It would be like a spa day every day for me!
Before you start giving me the 'be grateful he's here with you' speeches, please know that this is a satire post. We ARE grateful for Robinson. He is truly a miracle and continues to surpass all of our hopes and expectations. I couldn't imagine a minute without him.
But is it all that wrong to be a teeny tiny bit jealous of those 3 hour naps? Don't get me wrong...I get my housework done. I have dinner ready and on the table when Rian walks through the door. Heck, during tax season, I have a plate warmed and ready when he walks through the door and the kitchen/dishes are already done and put away from mine and Robinson's dinner. I take care of my family- I'm just jealous of "me" time. My doctors keep complaining that I'm taking care of everybody else, but I am not taking care of myself.
I keep hearing: "you have to work out 45 minutes/day, you were a very active person before this and your body craves it" "you have to get at least 8 hours of sleep at night" "you have to find time to relax during the day" "your body is still in shock and it won't recover until you start taking care of yourself"
Well, guess what? My family comes first. And there is not much I can do for myself during a 30 minute nap. I'm usually walking around the house eating a sandwich while I do laundry or actually get to use the bathroom by myself. lol
Again, I'm not writing this for anyone to feel sorry for me. I'm just stating my side of the story when so many people seem to be willing to tell me that I need to take care of myself better. It's on me. I got this. I will take care of myself- once Robinson is able to go to pre-school!
So here's to you, Moms of 3 hour nap takers. I salute you and hope that you cherish every moment. Meanwhile, Robinson and I will be at the park swinging.
Happy Mardi Gras!!
Your post made me laugh out loud! Too bad we aren't closer and can't get our little ones together - then we could alternate days and share nap times. Morgan Kate is only napping once a day and like Robinson - it's usually for only 30-45 minutes. On a good day it's an hour. I don't think she's ever napped for three hours in her entire 17 months. Ha!
ReplyDeleteHaha, every child is different. Yes, I've heard of these babies who sleep 12 hr nights {sleeping all through the night!} and then take 1 3-hr nap a day.
ReplyDeleteMace sleeps ~10 hrs {and thankfully is only waking up once each night now}; and he takes 2 naps around 1.5 hrs ea. Although he's growing out of it and with me he'll only take 1 nap a day on the weekends {but yes, sometimes these will be 2-2.5 hr naps}
The way I look at it- he sleeps for the nanny...she must be boring. BUT when he's with Mommy, he wants all my attention so he musters up every ounce of energy and willpower so we can have more playtime =) Love it!
Oh and LOVE LOVE LOVE that last photo of R on the swings!
Brandon naps for 3 hours most days. He only started that in December. Before that he would only take a 1 - 1 1/2 hour nap. I have to say the 3 hour nap is nice.
ReplyDeleteHe is usually up as early as Robinson in the morning. He sleeps about 10 1/2-11 hours at night.
I feel your pain! Evan is not a napper! He may take a 15-20 minute cat nap a couple of times a day. To his credit, though, he's out like a light by 9pm. Of course he often wakes up at about 5:30am-ha! Robinson is such a handsome boy--that makes up for the lack of napping! LOL
ReplyDeleteJackie! I just found you! Okay, I just found you thanks to your comment on my blog. Ah, the magic of comments.
ReplyDeleteBefore you slap me for my kids being 2-3 hour nap takers, I'm going to point you toward a post I wrote in 2007 called "Hierarchy of Suffering." Consider it a response to your need to couch your nap complaints with "Yes, we're glad he's alive."
http://bit.ly/topthis
I see other bloggers use that post as a rebuttal to "You should be grateful..." jabs. It's totally spammy to share it, but seriously.
Now I have to send your blog to Maguire (I don't use his real name online) so he can harass Rian. ;)