When does napping end for toddlers? Have I sadly reached the point in time when 2 to 3 hours of naptime in the middle of the day = time for me = my sanity maintained?
Luckily, I may still have many months, or even years, ahead of me. Judith Owens, a pediatric sleep expert, wrote that "the majority of children (about 70 percent) stop napping at 5 years, 3 in 10 still need a nap at this age...Much depends on how many hours your toddler sleeps at night. Toddlers need approximately 12 to 14 hours of sleep in each 24-hour period." (http://www.babycenter.com/404_when-will-my-toddler-stop-needing-a-nap_7646.bc)
It's 16:04 as I write this. Miss C-Jaz woke up at 8:30, and she has not even dozed off yet. She fell asleep later than usual last night at around 23:00, so ideally she'd be waking from a 2 or 3 hours nap. We've waited all week for Ganma and Ganpa to return from Germany, and we were waiting for their arrival today. So, when we intercepted them at the tram near home, Miss C-Jaz has been on a 2nd, 3rd, even 4th wind of energy it feels like. She had lots of stories to share with them. They were shimmy shimmying (Ganma and Miss C-Jaz's dance moves), emptying luggage, looking at pictures, and now are eating pumpkin seeds.
Yesterday, Miss C-Jaz fell asleep in her stroller around noon as I was at the grocery store we call the COOP. I rushed home after buying groceries so that I could lay her down and I could get some time to write. Oddly enough, as soon as she hit the bed her eyes fluttered open and she was awake. That was it for her. Of course, at that moment I felt like I wanted a nap.
By the time 15:30 hit yesterday, I decided to freshen us both up and we were out the door, playground hopping. I actually discovered a new pathway to walk along the nearby canal, so it was a good afternoon. As soon as we reached home a couple of hours later, the walk was enough to knock Miss C-Jaz out for a nap. I couldn't let her not sleep so I made some dinner. Thankfully, she woke herself up at about 18:00. We kept her busy, took her back to the COOP, and she had a great time pushing the a kid buggy...so cute!
The day before last Miss C-Jaz had her usual naptime from noonish till 15:00, which led to a meltdown after dinner, but I don't think we were out much on that particular day so she was crankier than usual.
It's 16:24 now, and Miss C-Jaz is finally dozing off. "Yaaaayyee! Nana did it!" (as she would say, referring to herself in 3rd person as always). It'll just have to be a shorter nap, and I'll have to find time later for more writing and laundry, and hopefully even a work out.
By the way, my hubbie recently brought up the point that if someone who didn't know me, were reading my blogs I may be perceived as someone different in appearance than I really am based on what physical descriptions I've made about myself. I never really thought about that...
Well, Miss C-Jaz if officially asleep, along with Ganma and Ganpa. Soon enough, Daddy will be home and we'll all be back to shimmy shimmying (Daddy, especially, will be dancing with his uncoordinated two left feet thinking of Ganma's home-cooking).
Sweet Dreams Baby Girl!
