The Demise of Naps??

Houston we have a problem!!!! Gabby’s naps are getting shorter and shorter, and yesterday’s nap was non-existent. There have been times on weekends and busy days that I have been grateful that she can go with the flow enough to put aside her nap and be satisfied with a half an hour shut eye in the car. I’m afraid that this ability is not working in my favor right now.

When Drew was smaller and I worked full time, I was strongly against his exposure to television. I worked very hard to entertain him in efforts to minimize his tv to no more than a half an hour a day (pediatrician’s suggestion). Now any mother knows that that is near impossible. In some ways I can say that it was kinda cute, or better yet naive, that I thought I could do that. Once Drew abandoned naps, I surrendered to about two hours of “quiet time” in front of the tv so I could get things done. Perhaps if he had ever, will ever, be the kinda kid who could play by himself without getting in trouble, I wouldn’t have had to make tv my life line.

Gabby, on the other hand, has no interest in tv. We have had family movie nights where she’s climbing the walls. I have had days where calling in sick was not an option and tried every princess show that ever existed. No luck. She is, however, able to play by herself for some time but it’s not the same as having her in one place with minimal threat of her getting into anything.

Then the other issue being that having these two maniacs on the loose creates even more trouble than either of them flying solo. Drew, who is easily hypnotized by the iPad, gets very upset when his sister comes around looking for a playmate during “quiet time.” Her efforts to get his attention start as something innocent like repeatedly saying hi. Then she starts to move in on the iPad, annoying Drew of course. Ultimately leading to an altercation where she starts hitting him or doing something even more annoying to get his attention. So now I not only don’t have my break to get stuff done, I also have to play referee to get them to co-exist while I do some things around the house.

Fortunately the sun is going down earlier and earlier these days. I’m thinking an earlier bedtime is in order. Is 6:30 to early to put these rugrats to bed?