Sleeping Beauty

Thank you so much for all the wonderful suggestions and ideas and books and advice.  This is one {of the many} reasons I love my blog–I know that if I need help there are many moms out there who’ve been there-done that before.  Thank you!

One of my co-workers {Hi, Sherri!} commented that this week was a big adjustment for MM because I was back at work.

Duh.

For 67 days I had been home with MM.  That’s 67 morning naps I had put her down, 67 afternoon naps, and 67 bedtimes.  All of  a sudden I wasn’t here and she didn’t know what was going on.

And I totally get that.

Our routine {and I have to admit, I’m a total Type-A parent and we have a very structured schedule to a fault} had been turned upside-down.

And then several of you said that the less sleep kids get the less they want to sleep.

Again, duh. Why didn’t I think about that?

She was so deliriously tired by the end of the day she couldn’t fall asleep.

I get that.

So yesterday {I was off from work} and today have been spent getting MM back used to our routine and I realize now that not only is that schedule important to me, but it’s also really important to her.

Yesterday she had two naps for a total of 4.5 hours and then last night she slept for 12 hours.  My sleeping beauty has returned!

Now don’t get me wrong, it took a little rocking in the morning for her to go down for her first nap, letting her sleep on my grandmother’s couch for the second nap, and reading *seven* books before bedtime, but we did it.

As you can see, my mother and grandmother also were good influences on her–they showed her they were excellent nappers too! {HA! They are so going to kill me for showing you these pictures!}

And this morning she went down with no fuss at all for her first nap.

I am so very, very happy because I know she is a baby who needs sleep.  When they say the average 18-month old needs 12-13 hours of sleep/day, I know that MM needs a minimum of 16 and sometimes as much as 18.  She has been the way since birth.  I guess that’s what scared me so…that all of a sudden she wasn’t getting what she needed.

Anyway, thank you all for the support and advice–it totally made things ‘click’ with me.

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