Quiet time...

In case you forgot, Paige does not nap. Paige's great Grandma (Mike's Grandma) told me that all 4 of her children did not nap past 2.5, and my dad tells me I didn't nap much after 18 months. So, we wonder where she gets it!

Anyway, I believe I wrote before about how I had implemented quiet time. I used to go into it frustrated and upset that it would be so short. Now that I know there is no illusions that sleep will be had, or that it will be very long, I take it as time for me to rest and lie down while I read her lots of books. I also remember that when the baby comes I won't have as much time to spend with her one-on-one. So I try to enjoy it for what it is. After I read her the books I tell her I'll be back in half an hour. That worked at first, but now she usually starts calling me 10 minutes in. This is not enough time! Firstly, she needs the time to chill out by herself. Secondly, she needs to learn to do this so she can do this when the baby comes. Some strategies I have tried are bringing a toy into her room and taking her out of her bed. I still close the door and watch tv or read a book, but she is stuck in her room doing imaginary play. The other thing I have done when she refuses to stay in her room (and i don't want to turn quiet time into jail time) is to bring her with me into my room where we both read books quietly. If she tries to talk to me I tell her "shh it's quiet time". So this is where we're at. I look at other mom's who have napping 2 and 3 year olds with jealousy at how much stuff they can do with that 2-3 hour time block. But, this is what we have to work with. I'm sure there are things that Paige does that other kids don't do which are frustrating to their parents. So I'll take it.