one napper moms

I think we are headed this way as the morning nap has been very poor lately and non- existent over the weekend. During the morning nap is when I would get dressed, put my contacts in and get situated for the day. They have pt 2-3 times a week in the am right after when their morning nap used to end. So I obviously need to get dressed, on days we do not have anything going on, I don't care. So what I want to know is, if I start eliminating the morning nap, how do you manage getting dressed and all?

Also, I would have to speak with the pt but I am pretty sure that at least 2 days a week there is no other time slot for us. So on those days if there is no morning nap, how do I do this? Normally it is nap, pt, lunch and then nap. So I can't make lunch any earlier if I can't change the pt appt. and they won't have a good nap if they don't eat lunch. This really sucks!!!

edited to say more questions in #5

 

I either get showered and dressed before I go get them in the morning, or DH plays with them for a bit after breakfast and I shower/dress then. I was very sad when two naps came to an end, and at first it was a struggle to make it all the way till nap time, but it's true what everyone says, one nap is much easier. You may have to rearrange your PT schedule though. The best scenario would be to have PT sometime between breakfast and lunch, and then do nap after lunch. We usually have some sort of morning activity (playgroup, library, preschool,etc) in the morning. Good luck, it's an adjustment, but it really does make it easier to get out and do things.

 

My little girls have "quiet time" in their cribs from 10-10:45 every morning. That way, I can get a shower, pick up, or do what I need to do w/o worrying about 2 20 month olds. I will put some books &/or quiet toys in their cribs.

 

Give them a good snack right before PT, then maybe do lunch after their nap. Grace has EI 2 days a week, so we do a good snack at 9:45am, go to EI (10:30-11:30), nap, then eat lunch at 2pm. Other days they eat lunch around 11:15am. They nap just fine either way.

I go to the gym in the morning (5:30am) and shower there. So I'm normally back home by 7:30-7:45am and ready for my day. If I don't go to the gym then I just get up and shower before DH leaves for the day.

 

Ok, right now they are taking the morning nap. (They did go to be a little late last night, we were out) So, I am not so sure what to do anymore. Should I just try the one nap thing for a bit anyway after today?

I would try to get dressed before they get up, but they get up so early. They usually get up between 5 & 6 am, I go get them at 6am. So even though I am sure that would change when they go to one nap, for now, I watch them on the monitor during that time. Dh can't/won't because he is suppose to get up for work at 5am but never does (for another post though). So there is no way I am getting up before that to get dressed. I shower at night and I suppose I could do the quiet/crib play time for a little bit when I need to get dressed as their room is right nest to ours.

This brings up another question though, dh should get up at 5am and he does not know how to be quiet. So I am worried that if say they start doing the one nap and and want to sleep until 6:30 or 7 but can't because of dh, what do I do??? I am worried they won't get enough sleep.

 

I usually get out of bed about 20 minutes before they do and hop in the shower. Then I put on my makeup and do my hair while they are eating breakfast in the high chairs. If we don't have anywhere we are going that day sometimes I wait until I put them down for their nap and take a bath or shower. Just depends on my mood and whats going on that day.
I was dreading going to one nap but now I really like it. They take a longer nap and there is so much more free time in the morning to play, shop, go to the park.....whatever. It makes it a lot easier for me.

 

QUOTE(~ilyse~ @ Dec 17 2007, 02:20 PM) [snapback]537244[/snapback]
This brings up another question though, dh should get up at 5am and he does not know how to be quiet. So I am worried that if say they start doing the one nap and and want to sleep until 6:30 or 7 but can't because of dh, what do I do??? I am worried they won't get enough sleep.

I would treat any waking because of dh as a middle of the night waking. In our case, we don't go in and let them go back to sleep on their own. In our case it's the two older kids that are the loud early morning people getting ready for school. We have loud fans in the little ones rooms so they don't hear most of it. You could use a loud humidifier without water, a white noise machine turned up loud, a fan on high, anything that makes a loud constant noise.

As for when to shower, I usually shower at naptime. Or, if I have something I feel the need to be REALLY clean for in the morning, the little ones just have to wait a little longer to get up.

 

Are they teething? When mine cut their first molars at that age, they would fight naptime. It happened again when they cut their canines. The later nap would still happen because by then they were falling over tired but the morning one was hit & miss. When the teething ended, they were back to two naps reliably. We didn't go to one nap until 20 months and then it took about 4 weeks to fully transition so 13 months sounds much too young to me.

edited to fix typo

 

Do you use any type of white noise? We have a humidifier going in their room all night. So maybe that would keep them from waking when you DH is noisy?

And I'd tell DH to be quiet or he can handle their early waking. I get up to go to the gym every morning at 5:15am and I'm quiet enough not to wake my duo up.

 

Not sure on the teething, I am thinking they might be. As far as noise, they have a humidifier, white noise machine, a cd player, the works!!

 

We just went to one nap consistently here. They would go back and forth until about a month ago. They would always go up for the am nap and if they slept they slept. This was my time to get ready!

Now though, I get up with dh and after leaves for work I go ahead and shower and get ready. It isn't the greatest cause I am up about an hour earlier than normal, but if I want that time to myself it is what needs to be done.

 

If I have something to do the next day where I would need to be dressed and ready before nap I will get a shower the night before or at 6am ( I have early risers) most likely I will shower the night before so my hair dries as it is pretty long but I do both depends on how i feel. If I have nothing to do and will be in that day when they go up at 10:30/11am they will usually tell me when it is naptime...I put them down, jump in the shower and eat. I will do wash or little things but they normally only nap an hour or so, so I don't have much time.

 

Just like everyone else, I was dreading the dropping of the morning nap. My boys have always been fabulous nappers, and at 18 months were still going strong with 2 naps a day. We had one week, however, when they started sleeping in every morning until 8 or 8:30, and I found I just didn't have time for a morning nap while still preserving the 1pm afternoon nap. I dropped the morning nap that week, and found I actually liked having the whole morning for activities. The best part is, they now nap for 3 hours in the afternoon, which gives me tons of time to get things done around the house!

I do find it hard to get ready in the morning, though. As long as dh isn't in too big a rush to get to work, he plays with them for 15 minutes or so in the morning so I can get ready. Other times I find ways to adapt. I've been known to throw a Baby Einstein on so that I can go to the bathroom alone - I just make sure I'm within earshot with the door open in case one of them needs me. One week, while dh was away at a conference, I came up with a morning routine where I brought them into the bathroom with me while I got ready. I even managed to take a super-quick shower while they played with their bath toys on the floor! They then came to my bedroom with me so I could get dressed. It was a bit hectic, and not something I would want to do every day - but it's good to know I can manage to get everything done on my own if I need to.

I thought I'd also mention that my boys did go through many periods when I thought they were dropping their morning nap, but they went back to their normal routine a few days later. Your little ones are still very young, so if it's important to you to try to preserve the morning nap for now, just keep trying. Some days they may not nap, others they might - then eventually they may start napping in the morning consistently again.

Good luck!

 

Haven't read all responses yet, but I'll tell you how I got ready back then. SUPERYARD! They were enclosed and watching sesame street or something with their snack! Worked like a charm! Started at 9 mos. and quit using the Superyard at about 2.5! Good luck!

 

I envy that you have actually had more than one nap a day up until now!
My kids never took more than one nap. They went from sleeping on and off all day as newborns, to not sleeping to taking just one nap a day. I am happy to get even that much time to myself.

Our nap is now around 11:45 and lasts about an hour. That is when I get dressed and ready for the day. Yeah, my getting ready for the 'day' starts at noon. B)

Anyway, try taking your showers at night, that is what I do, I was always a morning shower person, but DH leaves too early in the am for time to squeeze a shower in.

Also, I second what dfaut said, get some sort of playard for moments when you must do something else. We have the playzone from one step ahead and LOVE it!!

Good luck, and don't worry you will manage!!

 

Ok, so they had a morning nap today and they are not doing very well with an afternoon nap. Ack. I just feel like a failure. I know they must be so tired and they won't make it until bedtime without a nap now. They have been up since 10am.

 

mine have always been one nappers and I will either get up after DH gets out of the shower (if we have something to do in the morning) or I shower when they nap...I also have been known to put on Sesame Street and shower inside of 5 minutes!

 

Quiet Time in cribs never worked here. If I needed 10 minutes break it would mean they'd be screaming in their cribs. Anyway, I happen to have my borrowed copy of HSHHC here and just wanted to say that it says at 12 months 82% still take 2 naps, but by 15 months only 43% take 2 naps.

If I want a longer shower (hair included) I have to do it while DH is still here unless the nanny is here. For a short shower I sometimes take it with the kids in the bathroom or with the bathroom door open and the TV on (our shower is off of the living room)