Just when I thought everything was going so well... both boys sleeping well.. Jiale getting used to school.. mummy back on track with outdoor time.. lotsa messy/free play everyday.. bonding time.. mummy's self-imposed limitation on online time..
Then the bomb dropped.
Sigh. Life is so unpredictable with two young children. From his 2-3 hours daily nap, he has not been napping at all for the past three days. HOW did he just wake up one day and decide ok, today is the day that I shall not nap anymore?!
Actually, it's not so much about him not sleeping in the afternoon.. He still obediently remains in his room for a good 1-2 hours and so I still have my rest time (albeit not totally relaxed cos I never know when he will walk out for a 'visit'). I am more worried about:
Him not getting enough sleep
I believe sleep is the MOST important thing for a young child and that he needs to have a daily nap as long as he is not 3 years old yet. Better if he can have a nap until he is much older. I do realise there are some children who will drop the nap earlier, as children have different timelines. But I just feel it's so unjustified.. I have been so protective of his naptimes.. scheduling the family's activities around the boys' naptimes and ending up everybody rush here rush there especially during weekends. Sigh.
Routine all messed up
Since he is still in his room for quiet time during the afternoon, and he has to go to bed earlier in the evening, it means I have less time with him! And guess what, just a few days ago, I thought why not do an extra activity with Jiale after Didi goes to bed at 7.45pm? We have 45 minutes before his bedtime anyway! And I decided to use sticker activity books cos he likes stickers and it's quite fun and can learn things and he can't write yet. So I went through the (many) sticker books on his shelves and selected one. It has been untouched since then! Cos the very next day he stopped napping! I didn't even tell him my plan!
Urmm, actually I not only went through his shelves.. I also went through the (many) BPs and ordered (many) more sticker activity books!! FAINTZ! I thought we would finish them quite fast if we were to do this every night..
Playground time and other forms of going out have also been affected. Used to go out after their naps, usually around 4pm. If we were not meeting Daddy for dinner outside (usually one weekday a week), we would reach home around 6.30pm for dinner and baths. Now, Jiale has to be in bed by 7.30pm latest (just now he was rubbing his eyes at 6.50pm).. Means they drink their bedtime milk at 5.30pm, bathe at 6pm, dinner after that, then it's bedtime for Jiale. Where got time to go out???! Didi gets to stay up later till 7.30pm cos he is still napping well (thanks goodness!!). So strange right, the older one has an earlier bedtime : /
Don't know how to read bedtime stories to Jiale anymore. For the first two nights, I refused to read cos I was angry and upset and tired and told him 'kids who don't nap, everything also cannot, everything also don't have. Mummy won't play with you, mummy won't read to you. Nothing.' Today I have turned over a new leaf and tried hard to be a nice mummy. So, after dinner, I told him I would read books before he went to bed.
BUT. Because Didi was still awake, he wanted to join us but he was not interested in books. So he was climbing up and down the sofa... Of course Jiale decided that it was more fun playing with Didi than listening to mummy read! He told me 'no books' : (
After Jiale went to bed, I tried reading to Didi. Put him on my lap.. but he just snatched the book away and tried to escape! Like that how I read..??!!
We might have our plans, but the children have their own plans : /
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