Naps Are For Babies

...and apparently today, Camille was not feeling like a baby. Or something else might be up, I don't know. She has a cold, but it didn't seem like that was keeping her up.

All I know is this: she did NOT want to take a nap. So she didn't.

I know napping can be a battle of wills, but I think naps are important enough they're worth the fight. Naps are good for babies. Naps are good for mommies and daddies too.

We went to a local book festival this morning, and she fell asleep in the car on the way home. For about five minutes. When we pulled into the drive way and she woke up, I joked, "See, you already took your nap for today! Ha ha!"

Oh evil prophecy.

She ate lunch, and I laid her down. She wasn't thrilled, but sometimes she'll complain a bit and then fall asleep. But sometimes if her diaper needs changing or something is making her uncomfortable, she'll keep crying. So when she didn't stop, Lee went to check on her. She'd been standing at the end of her crib and apparently her feet had slipped between the rails and she was stuck sitting there, with her little legs sticking out into the room. He freed her, but when he tried to lay her back down she screamed.

We gave her a little longer to work it out on her own. She'd cry. Then talk. Then quiet for a few seconds and I'd think she was finally asleep, then she'd cry some more. Finally, I went in. She was standing up and crying. She'd also managed to pull several pieces of dirty clothing from her laundry hamper into her crib through the rails. She'd been busy.

I picked her up. She fell asleep. I put her down. She screamed. It reminded me of having a 3 month old.

I left the room to give her another opportunity to cry it out. And to figure out what to do. We had to face the reality that she might not fall asleep. This had never happened to us before.

So we decided we'd make her stay in bed for the length of her usual naptime - two hours. Most of the time she wasn't actually crying, just complaining. She may have even nodded off for a few seconds. But she didn't sleep.

What really surprised me was how happy she was the rest of the afternoon. Shouldn't she have been tired and fussy? I guess I should be glad she was in a good mood, but I also don't want to think she's outgrowing her nap - it's too soon! The tiredness finally caught up with her when we got her ready for bed tonight, and she was asleep in my arms before I even laid her in the crib.

But right now, she's coughing. Damn cold. Let my baby sleep. She needs it.