When Kanan was an infant, there were days when he didn’t want to go down for a nap. What I got was a fussy baby until he finally gave in, but his schedule was thrown off because of the catch-up nap. But it has been many moons since I experienced that and Kanan has turned into an amazing sleeper. He naps everyday for 1 and a half to 3 hours and still sleeps 11 to 12 hours at night without waking up (and if he does, he just finds his pacifier and goes back to sleep. ) Well that changed yesterday and I am in the process of analyzing the situation and determining what exactly happend. Why would I go through such trouble? You ask. Well, when an 18 month old is already down to just one nap, skipping it can really mess things up.

Oddly enough, yesterday went fairly well despite his refusal to go to sleep. He made a big fuss about going down. I tried twice to put him down. But when the second time seemed futile, I decided that given I had nothing really planned for the day, I would experiment with the results of giving in. What was I supposed to do anyway? Let him cry it out for 2 hours? I don’t do that. Sorry CIO moms, I’ll let it go 15 minutes max. Kanan faired very well. He was cheerful and playful and full of energy. By 525, I was looking at my bright-eyed child and thinking, did he squeeze in 5 minutes of sleep before he started screaming and this just helped him enough? But the truth screamed in all its glory at 5:30 when Kanan stopped mid-play, stared at nothing for about 30 seconds and then threw himself to the floor and started crying non-stop. I knew then and there that it would be a rapid race to bed. I quickly bathed my screaming child, dressed him in a dry diaper and some jammies and took him out to say goodnight to Grandma and Grandpa. They were worried. You are going to put him down at 6? What if he wakes at 5? But I did anyway. I raced him into the room for story-time in fast forward. I got to page 3 of Winnie the Pooh’s Big Adventure, and looked down at Kanan to see his head slumped forward, eyes closed, and mouth open. My son was passed out!! So I put him in bed without dinner and the boy slept fitfully but continuously until 620 this morning when I woke him because I had to leave for work. I had to help him go back to sleep twice because of how fitful he was. Lack of sleep produces worse sleep in children contrary to what many people believe.

So what happend?

My conclusion—- Sesame Street.

We watched Sesame Street for the first time yesterday. And of all the times to introduce this lovely puppet show, I did it  yesterday after lunch and before he was supposed to go down for his nap. Why else do I think Sesame Street is the culprit? Well because after I did release him from his barred crib, he came out merrily to the living room and pointed at the tv and said “eh-eh?” Which is his baby jargon for “I want this.”

So, we will see what happens today. Hopefully he will go down for his nap at daycare so I can spend time with him tonight. Its one thing for him to not go down for a nap on the weekend because I see him all day. But when I don’t see him all day due to work, the last thing I want is to lose an hour and a half of quality time with him because he needs to go to bed while my daycare provider reaps all the benefits of gaining more time with her favorite child. And yes, I do believe my child is her favorite. Its an extra sparkle I see in her eyes when he’s around her even when the other kids are around. Or maybe its just my own bias interpreting everything completely wrong. Either way—I want my child to stay up until 730!