Spoiled rotten!

Spoiled rotten. And I'm actually not referring to Cavan, but rather myself. This morning brought me back to the reality of how parenthood is for most people--Cavan woke up at 6:45 am.

The absurdity of this is that she usually sleeps until 8:30-9:00, and therefore, I do too. I am probably the most well-rested mother I know (with the exception of being seven months pregnant and having to get up and pee six times a night.)

Here's my concern and dread: my peaceful zzzzs will soon be annihilated by a newborn. But even after the up-all-night newborn stage, will baby deux be content with 12 straight hours of sleep plus consistent naps every day (like Cavan?) Many parents I know are up between 5:00-6:00 a.m. with their kids--not just lounging around and nursing a baby, but full-fledged, we're-up-to-start-our-day routines. EEK! My sis's child is a micro-napper. Ten minutes here, 30-minutes there. No real schedule to rely on. DOUBLE EEK! Can I put in a request now for another sleeper. I'm a much better Mommy when I'm not tired.

How does this sleep thing impact my life? Well now, I have a leisurely morning before going to work. Sometimes I wake up before Cavan, take an adult-only shower, and casually sit at the computer and check email, etc. while drinking a chocolate Instant Breakfast followed by a Dr. Pepper. Then Cavan wakes up, I get her dressed, she has a sippy, and we read books before heading off to our respective schools. On days I sleep in with Cavan, we have the same routine as above, except shower time follows sippy time, and Cavan plays in her bedroom or the bathroom while I'm getting ready. We leave the house anywhere between 9:30 and 10:30 on workdays. I honestly couldn't design a better morning. And they say that you don't appreciate what you have until it is gone. Well, I do appreciate it. Every morning when I look at the clock I thank Cavan. Today was a reminder of how good I usually have it, but I certainly am not taking my snoozes for granted.

So when having to sign Cavan up for preschool next semester, I've had to make a difficult decision: morning or afternoon session? The morning session runs from 9:00-11:30 and the afternoon 12:30-2:00. In my perfect world, the family would just be getting out of bed at 9:00, so obviously, the morning is not ideal. BUT, with little bambino/a, I may be up at the crack of dawn and by 9:00 really wanting Cavan to go to school so I can nap with baby. Score one for morning sesssion. But maybe Cavan will still be a late sleeper, regardless of what time baby wakes up. God knows I don't want to change her schedule to start waking up at 7:30 am. Again, another obvious benefit for the afternoon slot.

However, Cavan consistently naps from 1:30-3:00 every day. Will she go down for a nap at 2:30 after school and if so, will getting up at 4:30 or 5 keep her up till all hours of the night? Or at three years old, will she be ready for a later but reduced nap cycle?

All I know is, it is 3:30 now, and I am ready for a nap. Can I curl up at my desk and sleep here till five? I promise I will go to bed promptly at 10 pm.

No more nappies and no more naps

About a month ago Cavan's daycare teacher informed me that she no longer wears nappies (diapers during nap time). She has been potty trained since last summer, except for night and naps, but this is a HUGE milestone! My mommy-pride was glowing. And for the last couple weekends, we have experienced this to be true—completely dry, even during a three-hour siesta.

But, last week Cavan turned over a not-so-pleasant leaf: she now has stopped taking naps at school. At first I blamed her friends—one of those other two year olds is a bad influence on my baby, and my precious Cavan surely has fallen victim to peer pressure. Well, not exactly...in fact the opposite. All of Cavan's classmates DO take naps. Moreover, Cavan is the bad influence on her little friends, trying to convince them to get off their cots and play with her.

So now, when we get home from school, my easy, darling daughter is held hostage by an IED (improvised explosive device)—in fact, very similar to the type terrorists use—unstable and unexpected. Today, she burst into tears as our car hit the potholes in the road, when I wouldn't let her climb our spiral stairs in her sock feet, when Spoons, our beagle bumped into her (though he didn't even knock her down), when I told her she had to put her coat on to play outside, and when I wouldn't let her play on our neighbor's swingset. That was all within the first 40 minutes after pickup. AAAHHH!!! Hubby comes home and asks "why is Cavan crying?" (Oh, she's still crying? I guess I just tuned out the last five minutes. Mommy defense mechanism). "No nap. 'Nough said."