Nap Time Drama-Update!

I know most people who read my post on Nap Time drama and have a little one themselves understood what i was going through:-)
I got the most feedback about that post, and i would like to give you a little update on how my nap time drama is going now.

Layla now goes to sleep on her own!  It's amazing and it just took some consistency on my part. I realized i was the one to blame for the nap time meltdowns, because i gave into them.

There were times that i wanted to cuddle with her to help her go to sleep, and while i will not ever say cuddling with your child is a bad thing, you need to know the difference between doing it for them and doing it for you.

I was doing it for me!  I was being selfish and wanted that closeness with her and also didn't want to deal with the meltdown that would happen if i layed her down in her crib and "made" her go to sleep.  Layla was following MY cues.  She knew that if she cried loud enough and long enough Mommy would come back in and  cuddle her until she fell asleep.  But that's when the dreaded transfer i talked about in the last post would happen.  I would try and transfer her into her crib and she would wake up and cry for me to hold her again and as soon as i picked her up she would instantly fall asleep!

How am I, or any mother for that matter supposed to get ANYTHING done, if you are engaging and playing with your child when they are awake and then cuddling with them and holding them when they are asleep.  There are no hand free times during the day to get anything else done.  So i put my foot down.

Layla now knows that when i put her in her crib and cuddle her up with her blankets(make sure your child is old enough and mobile enough to have blankets in their crib) and turn on her soft music that it is time for sleep. I wont say she wont stand up and cry for a couple minutes but the more consistent i am with this process the less time she actually cries.  Every day the crying got less until she finally just stopped.

She sometimes gets up and looks around after i lay her down to see where i am and see if she could get away with some nap time drama and get held again.  But she now knows, and this only took about a week and a half consistently having the same nap time routine, that when Mommy leaves the room it is time to go to sleep.  And she does.

Children are so incredibly intelligent and can pick up on things quickly, but they are taking the cues from you.  If you let them they will continually give you some nap time drama until you give in.  But if you put your foot down and gently ease into a routine that they can grasp and understand, they will feel more comforted and you will get a lot more done during your day!

So here are the Main things i think helped me in this process...

1. Have a Routine.
      -Nap around the same time every day.
      -The same Soft music playing every Nap time.
      -The same lead up to nap time everyday.(Bottle, snack, Sippy cup, show,song...something they can connect with winding down for nap.  We are still using a bottle but this will change when she turn one and we will have to find something else that she connects with napping)
2. Be Consistent.(The crying is hard to hear,I know!  But everyday it will get easier for you and your child, and in the long run your child will feel more comforted and safe by knowing the same thing is going to happen everyday.)
3. Don't rush in as soon as they crying happens. (I may still go in one or two more times with Layla, but it is just to lay her down again and cuddle her up with some blankets and usually after one time of me going in  and doing this she knows there is no point in the fight and just goes to sleep.)
4. Trust your instincts.(Your a Momma and you know your baby way better than I do, do what you feel is right for your little one.)

So Happy to be getting back into the blogging mode:-)
I hope you keep stopping in to see whats happening at Mama's Cozy Corner( and Mama's Cozy Boutique for that matter!)

Layla learned "So Big"....she is getting so big i cant handle it!!!