Five Whole Days...

...with no naps.


Yes, it is true.  I have purposefully gone five entire days without giving my kids naps, and somehow, by the grace of God we have survived.  Or should I say, I have survived.  My kids are loving it but I am already grieving the loss of those two hours in the afternoon that I could call my own.


I think the saddest part of this new change is the fact that I've realized they don't need a nap.  I thought they would go a couple of days bouncing off the walls at the realization of their newfound freedom and then eventually by the third or fourth day I would find them passed out in a bowl of Cheerios, but no.  They seem to be thriving and it's incredibly hard for me to see.  I'm not sure how life can go on without naps.

I started what I thought was going to be just an experiment.  Both kids, but especially Cale, were having a hard time falling asleep and waking up frequently throughout the night.  I thought when 9:30 rolled around they just weren't tired enough, but since my bedtime is 9:00, I wasn't about to stay up even later until they finally settled down.  I need my sleep.  So I thought I would see if going without a nap would make the bedtime routine a little easier for all of us.  Fortunately, bedtime has been much more pleasant and so far each child has gone to bed without a fight and they haven't woken up during the night, either. Success!  But again, I'm still grieving the loss of nap time.

One thing I am looking forward to about this change is the fact that since they are now going to bed closer to 8:00, Alex and I finally have some time with each other after the kids are down.  I value alone time with him so much and I'm usually griping that we don't get enough time with just the two of us.  Now, we can pick one night a week where we put the kids to bed and can enjoy a romantic dinner for two.  It's not the conventional way to go about date night, but hey, I'll take whatever I can get!