Tuesday, June 12, 2012

No Other Story I'd Rather Tell

I had a great blog post that I was going to write for you today.  I came across a new study from Boston College that gives some statistical merit and academic credibility to what most of us at-home dads have been saying all along - we are not victims of the recession.  A lot of us chose this life.  But that post will have to wait until Friday.  I have a much better story to tell you instead.
My daughter has been having issues taking her naps recently.  I think it's a combination of getting older and not wanting to miss any of the action.  Being just over two years old, she is now more aware of the fun things that could happen if she stays awake.  It started when her naps shifted from starting at 1pm to starting at 2pm.  No big deal, right?  Well, it just means that I have to accomplish different tasks in the morning that I used to have time to do when she was asleep.  It also means that dinner preparations are happening later because I don't want to rattle the pots and pans while she is sleeping.  While it may not seem like a big deal, if you ask any at-home parent on a rigid routine if late naps or no naps are a big deal, and I feel like you'll get a bold round of "Huzzahs!"  I brought my daughter upstairs today for her nap at 2pm.  She looked very tired, and I thought that everything would go smoothly.  It did not.

I changed her diaper (that's a whole different story I'll be writing about for a different website later this week) and we brushed her teeth.  We said our prayers and sang "Jesus Loves Me" before I tucked her in. As soon as my feet crossed the threshold of her doorway, she was standing up in her crib.  Here we go.  She fought me for forty-five minutes.  Each time I laid her down, she would pop back up.  I was getting frustrated.  Instead of losing my cool, I scooped her up at 2:45pm and held her in my arms like I did when she was a baby.  She wiggled her way out the first time.  But I soon caught her again and this time, it was daddy's famous bear hug.

I rocked her with the patented Real Matt Daddy Slumber Inducing Rocking Motion - right arm under her head with my hand supporting her back with vertical motion, left arm under her legs with a rhythmic patting of her bottom with the left hand, and the secret weapon, side-to-side motion from pivoting my torso left and right.  No child will not nap!

I began to sing her a song that I wrote for her when she was a baby.  It's called "When You Are Tired" and it describes the entire bedtime routine from start to finish.  She didn't need the words.  Humming was enough.  She just looked at me for a while with her beautiful blue eyes as if to say, "I remember this song."  She was asleep in five minutes.  She heaved a big sigh and let go of all of her toddler business that was floating around in her little mind - all the thoughts of candy and story time, snacks and juice - and she drifted off to dreamland just in time for me to write this story for you.  And there's no other story I'd rather tell right now.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

9 comments:

  1. Love the patented rocking thingy. I thought I cornered the market on that one. lol

    One of the greatest gifts my little man gives me is when he hums and sings the Beatles' Hey Jude or Let it Be songs I used to sing to him as a baby during his nap time.

    Changes in nap time routines are milestones.

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    1. Slight variations have been around for a while, but the patented version includes both horizontal and vertical axis motion thanks to the addition of the trunk rotation.

      If you don't write your own lullabies, you can't go wrong with the Beatles.

      Yes, and they suck. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. This really puts a different perspective on putting your child down to sleep. I will remember this the next time my 8 month old daughter really fights! Thanks!

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    1. I know bedtime is often a pain, but if you make it FUN the kids can look forward to it. I know some parents who dance to Greatful Dead every night at bedtime. The kids look forward to it, and they dance out all of the "sillies" that would normally keep them awake. Thanks for reading!

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  3. Love it! I had to comment because although my husband is not a writer this is his experience also. He is the stay at home/ work from home/ parent and he is caring for two girls (10 months old and 4 yrs old). So many of your posts sound like his comments and your experience helps me see things a little more from his perspective. Thanks for sharing. BTW I found you through triberr...

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    1. Thanks for sharing! Tell him to come to the at-home dad convention!

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  4. Hey Matt. I had a very similar experience yesterday and today with our two year old (~27mths) daughter!! Nap time has become quite an adventure over the past month or so, with the nap time pushing out from 1pm to 2pm+, and the length of the nap shrinking to about an hour to an hour and a half. Fortunately, our daughter started summer session pre-school three days a week (T/W/Th) a few weeks ago, so on those days naps had been easier and longer...until this week. It's just been so tough to get her to settle down and relax. You can definitely tell she is tired, but she is too worried about missing something.

    It was very tough going from two naps to one six to eight months ago, and we are dreading losing the afternoon nap...though the struggles to get a short nap only three or four days a week is getting old real fast too. Probably also going to make the transition to a big girl bed in a few months, so that should also be interesting (and painful).

    Take care Matt! Keep up the great work!!

    Brad
    www.AModernDad.com

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    1. My daughter is the same age. You are not alone. I am right there with ya! I just try to do things in the morning like go to the park or get outside so she can run off some of that energy. We tried the big girl bed while on vacation and it was not that bad. We just tucked the sheets under the mattress really tight to kind of strap her down while sleeping. She still got out, but I think it helped with the unconscious rolling. She sleeps like daddy and rolls over several times a night. Thanks for stopping in!

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  5. That is absolutely precious. I remember these times with my kids and it's something I wouldn't change for the world. Your time with her is a gift!

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