Sleeping Beauty

We have been transitioning Frankie to one nap a day for about three weeks now, and it hasn't been easy. Mind you, I knew this, I was warned by several loving friends that this can be a month-or-more-long process with some frustrating setbacks.

She'd been napping from about 9-10:15 and 1-2:30 most days, with her night-time sleep going from 7:00 pm to around 6:00 am. Sometimes the morning nap would only be about 45 minutes, and the afternoon nap a little longer, so I thought at about a year she might be ready. Selfishly, I was also looking forward to the one nap a day (most kids when they go to one-nap a day take a 2.5-3 hour nap in the middle of the day) because I wanted to be able to run errands and go on play dates in the morning, and a 3-hour chunk of nap time is infinitely more useful than two 75 minute chunks of time (which sometimes were only 45 minutes). I'm 6 months pregnant, I'm tired, it's nice to have a full nap in the middle of the day if I need one instead of a 20-minute nap that would leave me feeling more tired than less.

I'd also heard from several friends that their little bundles of joy started sleeping later in the morning when they switched to one nap a day. For my little early riser, that seemed like a dream come true.

For the past weeks we have struggled, and have had overall much less sleep than the hoped-for more. Frankie started waking consistently at 5:30 (sometimes 4:30) and despite our leaving her in her crib until at least 6:00, would not go back to sleep. Some mornings she makes it until noon, and sleeps anywhere from 90 minutes to 2.5 hours (the good days), and then be back to sleep by 7:00 or 7:30. Other days she would not make it all the way to noon, and would sleep for 30-90 minutes in the am, and then another shorter nap in the afternoon. This past Sunday, she actually went up to the nursery worker at church who was sitting in a chair, laid her head down on her lap, and practically fell asleep standing up. All this inconsistent sleep has left my child over-tired, cranky, and needy (read: wants to be held by momma 24-7, cries if someone looks at her funny).

The last three days, however, have been a turning point. I'm beginning to think we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. She's woken up at more like 6:30, and has taken 2.5 hour naps. This afternoon she actually napped for 3 hours straight! Cue the triumphant, joyous background music!

Here's hoping that now that she's broken two more teeth this week (we're up to 6!), and is well-rested, my sweet independent girl will be back.