Teeny has launched into a new behavior in the last two weeks, and it's wreaking havoc on our lives right now. For some reason, he's decided to boycott his nap while at daycare. He goes to daycare three days a week, is watched by his grandma (S's mom) two days a week and is home with us on the weekends. When he's with us or his grandma, he sleeps fine. And until two weeks ago, he napped well at daycare, too. But - something has changed.
After lunch, the teachers at Teeny's daycare put down cots for all of the kids, give the their loveys (Teeny has his beloved bear, Boo) and the kids sleep for a couple of hours. But - even though everyone else is asleep - my son now just lays on his cot and plays for two hours. His teachers have tried separating him from the group, rubbing his back, singing to him, all to no avail. He doesn't start getting sleepy until everyone else starts waking up, and at that point, it's too noisy and chaotic for him to sleep.
The problem is, he definitely still needs his nap. At home, he usually sleeps two hours in the afternoon. On the days he doesn't nap at school, he's a mess when I pick him up. He's defiant, whiny, difficult, and obstinate - all normal two-year old behaviors, but not normal for him. By the time I fight him into his car seat to go home, we're both exhausted. He then falls asleep so hard in the car that he usually doesn't even wake up for his dinner. That can't be healthy.
It happened again yesterday when I picked him up, but this time with a new twist. As soon as I got him strapped into the car seat, he started crying "I don't want to fall asleep in the car! I don't want to fall asleep in the car!" over and over again. Until he finally fell asleep in the car.
Boy, I hope this is just a phase. I miss having my nights with him. I only get a couple of hours a day to spend with my little guy on work days, and I lose that time when he falls asleep in the car and goes straight to bed. Come on, Teeny, please take your nap. I miss you!
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2 comments:
I wonder if a new blanket could help. Sometimes little things like that can break a bad cycle.
Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestion, Jess! He does have another little blanket he likes (Boo, his primary lovey, is a blanket with a bear head). He won't sleep without Boo, so I'd have to add the second blanket to the mix. I have concerns about our daycare keeping track of two blankets, as last week, they inexplicably managed to lose the pants and shirt I sent him to school in.
I debated this morning and decided against bringing the other blanket to school. His teachers tried a new tactic today - when Teeny wouldn't settle down, they threatened to take Boo away. That's all he needed to hear - he went right to sleep and stayed that way for almost two hours. Here's hoping he keeps it up!
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