Mr. Sandman, We Need Some Sleep!

Sumner has never been a good napper.  When people ask me about his schedule, all I can do is laugh!  I am such a scheduled person which makes him not being on one very strange.  But, I just didn't have the heart to force him to take naps when I stayed home with him.  The times that I tried he just cried and cried until I picked him up.  So, for the first five months of his life, he lived off of random catnaps, usually in the swing or riding in the car.

Right before I went back to work his "naplessness" started to become a problem!  He would fight sleep so bad and be so fussy!  He would rub his eyes and whine but never fall asleep!  When Mrs. Zeigler started she said she would help me get him on a schedule.  By the end of her first week she saw an improvement!  By the end of the second week he was taking two or three really good naps.  Well, on the first Saturday of my break he didn't take a single nap! He was so ill!  Same thing happened on Sunday.  I was beginning to realize I might be the problem behind Sumner's lack of naps.  He is at the age that he understands what is going on and who he can get his way with.  When I try to make him take a nap and he doesn't want to he will cry until he sees me.  Once I walk into the room a big smiles comes across his face and he starts to kick with excitement!  He knows mama will come get him. So, I decided I was going to take him to the doctor first thing in the morning just to make sure there were no hidden reasons behind his refusal to nap (ear ache or teething) and if there weren't any, I was going to let him "cry it out"! I was opposed to it at first.  But, when I saw  how miserable it was making Sumner, I knew I had to do something.  He needs sleep! He wasn't getting sleep!  I had to help him get sleep!

First thing Monday morning I took him to see Dr. Griffen.  She checked his ears, nose, throat, mouth, and everywhere in between!  She said he was absolutely perfect! She told me the only problem he had was that he was a little spoiled! She said the reason he sleeps with Mrs. Zeigler and not me is because he knows who will pick him up and who won't.  She said it wouldn't take but just a couple of times to teach him.  So, like it or not, I was going to do what she said.  When we got home he started getting fussy so I decided to try and lay him down.  He screamed like someone was killing him for 30 minutes, and finally fell asleep for only 20 minutes, started crying again (and I went and got him)... UNSUCCESSFUL!!  Around 5:00 he got fussy again so I laid him down.  This time he only cried for about 15 minutes and slept for 20 minutes, woke up and cried again.  This time I didn't go in and get him.  Boy did that make him mad!  After about 10 minutes he fell asleep again and this time slept for one hour...SUCCESS!

Tuesday was about the same as Monday.  I was beginning to feel a little hopeless that I would ever get him to take good naps without pitching fits.  But, on Wednesday I saw a major improvement!  His crying spells were shorter and his naps were longer!  By Saturday, he was taking two, two hour naps with little crying!  5 minutes tops!  It is wonderful! I have found the secret is rocking him just a few minutes to wind him down before laying him down.  If he is a little drowsy when I put him in his crib he will fall asleep easier!  I also offer him his paci but he doesn't keep it very long.  I also play a projector and lullaby while he sleeps.  I am going to try and work on him 3 am wake ups next!

Waiting on Dr. Griffen