The End of an Era

The past couple of months, any moment that includes the girls going to sleep has been a nightmare. I knew what was happening, but thought if I ignored it or finagled around it, I could delay the inevitable. Nap time became a daily chore. I tried everything; lying down with them, separating them, threatening them, staring them down...you name it. Most days, after well over an hour of trying, I would eventually get them to sleep. Each of them would sleep for at least an hour-and-a-half, a short and sweet taste of silence for me. The downside? Bedtime. Refreshed from their afternoon nap, many nights it would be 10 or 10:30 before they would start calming down and dozing off. That put them in their beds for 1 ½ to 2 hours before falling asleep! And, of course, those 1 ½ to 2 hours included me making multiple trips back to their bedroom to console, threaten, fix blankets, answer questions, pick up Bebes or random stuffed animals, give one more sugar or hug, and so on. By the end of the day, I was too wiped to do much more than sit on the couch and lose myself in a TV show of my choice. Nothing was getting done.

So, earlier this week, I finally accepted that the nap era has come to an end. It just became more fight than it was worth. And, how has the week gone? Tremendously well! The girls play well during the day, and although they start getting a little cranky after dinner, they're out just about the moment their little heads hit the pillow at 8 o'clock. The evening has once again become "me time" for mommy, and I'm back to getting things done!

I remember the dread when the morning nap became painfully unnecessary. I treated the loss of their afternoon nap as much the same, but really it's been easy. I think the more painful realization that comes with this change is that it is just another sign that they are growing up. Much too quickly if you ask me.