Mama's got a new bag of tricks

I went to battle with my 2-yo this week.  A very sweet, very lovable, very STUBBORN 2-yo.  He decided that he did not want to take a nap.  I do not know why he decided this.  Maybe it was a stance of independence.  Maybe it was an act of revenge because he was mad at me for dropping him off at preschool for the first time on Monday.  Maybe it was just defiance in its purest form.  I CAN tell you that the reason was NOT because he was not tired.  And trust me when I say that I had plenty of evidence to support this statement.

Every day, I tried all my old tricks...putting the gate up at his door, taking toys away, offering books to read, promising fun things after nap...to get him to stay in his bed and just GO to sleep.  They'd eventually work but it was taking a LOT longer than usual.  I mean, 30 minutes longer.  An hour longer.  And then finally, an hour and a half longer.  On this 3rd day of nap time battle, the calm, patient Court was lost.  I had been pushed too far.  I lost my cool.  I raised my voice higher than I would have liked.  My blood was boiling.  He finally went to sleep.  I sat down at my desk trying to update our checking account (PROBABLY not the best way to  calm my nerves) wondering why I was still so worked up.  And then, in the quiet still of my house, something changed.  I started to feel guilty.  You know that feeling.  You've been pushed and pushed and then you snap and  your child finally does what you've asked and in this case, is upstairs sleeping like an angel, and you start to feel guilty.  I called my mom and told her what had gone down.  She reassured me that my third child was not destined for therapy.  I felt better when he woke up, obviously well-rested and happy once again.   I vowed I would not let this particular 2-yo get the best of me again...at least as far as nap time was concerned.  I just hoped that he would be back to his old nap-loving self tomorrow.

Tomorrow came.  My sweet little 2-yo actually crossed his arms and said screamed "no, no, no" when I tried to get him into his bed.  But this time, I kept my voice calm and cool and took some deep breaths.  I looked around the room, somewhat frantically, searching for a new tactic before I snapped again, when suddenly out of nowhere, an idea popped into my head.  I told my son that I would be right back.  He stopped screaming momentarily and looked at me curiously.  I walked to the nursery and quietly pulled the pack and play out of the closet.  I carried it into my 2-yo's room and told him that this was a baby bed and this is where he could sleep if he wouldn't stay in his bed.  His brown eyes widened and his voice got louder with his "no, no, NO BABY BED"!!  I calmly put it together and then lifted him into his big boy bed.  I tucked him in.  He got back up.  I put him in the pack and play and told him good night and love you and quietly closed the door to his screams.  5 minutes later, I went back into his room and put him BACK in his bed.  Voila!  Success!  He snuggled down into his covers, thumb in mouth and asked for his lullaby.  I sang it sweetly and tucked him.  The sound of sweet success - quiet.

I will not tell a lie and tell you that he now never fights nap time.  Oh, be quite sure that he still does (quite consistently, in fact), but the pack and play has become a new fixture in his room.  It usually only takes once and he goes to sleep.  And I've started trying the tactic for other things too - like staying seated at the dinner table - and it works. 

For some families, I guess this is not an issue they would run across.  Maybe they haven't had to move all of their kids into big boys beds right before the 2-yo declaration of independence occurs.  And honestly?  I cannot believe that I never came up with this solution for my older 2 children when they were fighting naps - it seems so obvious now.  It just goes to show you that you never know when inspiration will strike and sometimes, something new and different is just what the doctor ordered.