Naps

Normally at this time I would have just put Katie down for her afternoon nap and I'd be able to look forward to 2 - 3 hours of uninterupted relax/computer/stitching time. Unfortunately Katie has severly rebelled against her napping schedule and I don't know why. So she is playing here next to me while I attempt to write in my blog. We'll see how long of an entry I can type before she gets into something.

She obviously still needs the nap cause by late afternoon she is soo cranky. She refuses to go down at all. We had a hard time when she was a little baby getting her to take naps at all. She was a catnaper who would sleep 10 min. here or 20 min. in the car but try to put her in her crib/bassinette and she'd be screaming to be picked up. At about 4-5 months we finally had to put our foot (feet?) down and let her cry it out a bit. I hated to do it, but once she got in the routine of taking a nice nap in the afternoon life was so much better for the whole family. She was way less cranky every day and so was I! From that time until the last few days she has always gone down after lunch with maybe a token fuss but then slept for a good 2 - 3 hours. I'm not sure what changed but suddenly it is cry and scream the minute she is put down with no relief until I pick her back up. I've tried letting her cry it out again - but that doesn't seem to be working and I have to admit to going in there to calm her every so often cause I cannot bear to hear her cry. Today I'm going to wait an extra hour to try to put her down and see if that helps any. Maybe if she is sleepier she won't protest?

Bedtime at night has been hit or miss, some nights she crys and won't go down for hours (she had been on a strict 8pm bedtime, with no problems) and others she is her old self and goes down with no more than a token fuss.

I don't know what to do and the whole thing is really stressing me out. I guess I'm spoiled, but that 2 hours in the afternoon to do my own thing was really helping me deal with being full-time mommy the rest of the day. Now that I don't have it I have to admit to being a much grumpier mama both with Katie and with Alex. :(