Naps

Hi Leanna! I'm finishing my degree while raising a baby myself! It is NOT an easy thing to do, but it's worth it!

A big rule of mine is that my schoolwork will NOT take away from my time with her. That means that I only study while she's asleep. Most of my work is done at night, which is something that I'm sure you'll have to do. I don't know what sort of hours you plan on taking, but I attend classes at night or sign up for online courses (which have been a Godsend!!).

I strongly believe in the value of an education. Especially with being a single mother, I have a responsibility to my daughter to give her the best life possible. That means that I finish my degree. But my number one responsibility is to raise her the way that God has asked me to. She is already missing out on one parent, I'm not going to let College take away the other one!

I'm not sure how old your precious son is (adorable avatar, by the way!!), but I'm sure that even if he's not taking a second nap during the day this fall, he would still benefit from having an hour or so of "down time." That way you both stay a little sane!!

Hi! I've been debating this very topic myself! My daughter turned 3 a couple weeks ago, and there are some days when it's such a struggle to get her down for a nap! So I was thinking that maybe she's just ready to forgo the naps & I'll get her to bed earlier. (currently, her bedtime is around 9 and she takes a nap from about 2 until 3:30). I talked to a few moms who had children younger than Andie who got rid of the naps, & they said the first few days or week are a little rough until the child gets used to the new routine, then it worked really well for them.

But you know? I NEED that downtime as much as I think/know Andie does! lol So I just got to the point that on the days we struggle with her going down at naptime, I tell her that she doesn't have to sleep if she doesn't want to, but she needs to stay in bed until I come back in to get her up. And let her pick a few "friends" (stuffed animals) to play with in bed. I might hear her in there for a half hour or so, but usually she falls right asleep! lol

It's up to each individual child, but I plan on keeping this naptime/downtime/rest time up until she's in school!! (crossing fingers!) Good luck!

I'm trying to remember when Andie went to only one nap...I'm thinking it was closer to her 2nd birthday, like maybe 1 1/2 or so? I know she was still taking 2 naps when she turned 1, though.

Both my DCs prefer to get all their sleep in at once. DS used to take a looooong afternoon nap around age one quit long before three, but always slept for more at night. DD1.5 takes a short (well short to me!) 1 hour nap each afternoon still.

I don't recall when the switch from two to one was, but it was more of a 'oops DD isn't sleeping again, for the 10th day in a row, guess we will stop wasting her time.' I let them decide, based on tired cues, not on intrest in napping.

Every kid is different, if your lucky you get a kid that matches your schedule, if not, well I sure could use a nap time myself!


http://home.earthlink.net/~guin_dt_sales/id25.html
link to sleep needs and the 'rule of thumb'

my son is 13 mos right now. He cut from two naps a day to one nap a day on his own at about 11 mos old. The cool thing is ..that one nap is LONG....lol. He used to take like a 2 hour nap then his second nap was maybe 30-45 mins. Now he just takes one 3 hour nap!! so he still naps the same amount or more..only its just once a day!

Same thing here... one long nap instead of two short. I have a 2 and 3 year old. Very (in)conveniently my 11 month old stopped taking 2 naps the week I brought her brother home. Then my son stopped 2 naps a day around his first birthday. Now my 3 (almost 4) year old has a nap once or twice a week on busy days. I tried skipping the almost 3 year olds nap to be able to be out at the park, etc. and he started falling asleep in the middle of the living room..LOL. Very cute. We decided he isn't quite ready for for it cold turkey. I admire you for going to school and being such a devoted Mom. Don't worry too much about doing some studying durring waking hours. Children do benefit from learning to entertain themselves for short periods of time, otherwise you get a bad case of the "I'm bored"s later on. Vanessa

My daughter is 13 months old today, and for the most part, she's still taking two naps. Her sleep schedule has been all over the place for the past few weeks, though, so she may be going to just one nap soon....I'm not sure!! But I think the "quiet time toys" are such a great idea! Nap or not, a little quiet time can be a necessity!! (For Mama AND Baby!!)