Sleeping doesn't come easy

Do you have a good sleeper? Did it just come naturally for your child or children? Or was it, like me, a fight to the finish?

I have mentioned many times in blogs my napping up and downs with Calan. It seems every time we get into a routine something like teeth or a growth spurt or Calan's just plan stubbornness got in our way.

I am a believer in sleep training. I do think our children naturally want to sleep, but they don't know how or when and that is where parenting comes in.

There are a lot of sleep transitions in a baby's first year. It seems like you are always preparing to drop another nap. Currently, Maisie takes four naps that with three about 90 minutes long and an evening nap about 60 minutes. Calan takes one 3-hour nap. Obviously, in the early months napping is directly linked to eating. By that I mean, how many times I feed Maisie during the day is basically how many naps she has up to 7 p.m. After that, it is night sleep and just eating and sleeping without waketime.

At our house, our days are based on an eat-play-sleep cycle. This breaks the needing to nurse to sleep that many mothers get trapped in. However, with Calan, he was never one to go down for a nap without a fight. If I put him down to early or to late, he would play in his crib for his whole nap. This literally started around 4 months when he discovered his feet and couldn't get enough of them. Maisie is actually a pretty good day sleeper naturally. She does require a few extras like a blanket in order for the nap to go smoothly, but for the most part, if she plays during her waketime, she is out like a light when it is nap time.

On the flip side, Calan was and is a pretty good sleeper at night where Maisie's night sleeping is less than desirable. But, until her weight is where it should be, I'm not working on extending her night sleep. I take it for what it is.

It took me awhile to except the fact that I just can't make my children sleep. I can do everything to make sure that they have the best opportunity to sleep (well fed, dry, comfortable, etc.), but I can't make them sleep.

Calan is a decent sleeper (minus his annoying body-rocking thing), but I wasn't a lucky mom. It was hard fought. It took time and consistency.

My advice is to hang in there for any mother who is struggling with naps. Don't let your children decide their naps. You know how important sleep is for them and they need it. Even being in their crib playing is more restful than being overstimulated with their toys, and let's be honest, you need the break too. Don't stress if there are ups and downs with naps. As long as you stay consistent and expect age-appropriate napping, things should work out.

Now I'm off to get Miss Maisie to sleep.

Which didn't take long and didn't require a blanket over her face.