Nap snatched!

My dear Boy-o napped in the afternoon every day until he was four. Four years old. God bless his little napping self. I had at least an hour to sit and regroup and charge the mama batteries while he and Girlio dozed. Then he decided the nap was not for him, and we had quiet time play (read: I let him watch tv so I could still - sort of - recharge my batteries while Girlio slept). But now we have a new unfortunate turn of events. At the tender age of 21 months, Girlio, our resident sleep hater, is showing all signs of giving up naps. I cannot get this child to sleep for more than 20 minutes in the afternoon, and even this has become a stretch. I've tried not letting her carnap on Boy-o's school mornings. I've tried letting her carnap (and whichever sleep expert touts this 'sleep begets more sleep' business has not ever met a child like mine!). I've tried letting her cry in her crib until an appropriate amount of naptime has passed. And believe me when I tell you that 15-20 minutes of napping and 40-45 minutes of screaming toddler does not a battery recharge make. I could drive and she would probably fall asleep - but this would be heinously boring for Boy-o, sucky for the environment, and still not address the battery issue. So there we have it.  

I'm in mourning.  I'm flummoxed.  I'm incredulous.  I'm outraged.   But none of these things seem to be doing a bit of good.   The kid is just not a sleeper.  I can kiss my afternoon blog or run time goodbye for good (insert prolonged period of whining and kvetching here).   Apparently I just need to invest in some super-mama powers (lithium batteries?).  Because friends - the nap - it's been snatched.

And I say in my best Maria voice "oh HELP!