Nap Time: In Transition

I've never had sleep problems with Ella when she was younger. In fact, I was even a proud parent everytime I hear mothers whining about how tired they were because their babies were not sleeping enough...until Ella reached 1 year.

Even before Ella was born, I have been hearing advice from elders that parents and caregivers should prevent babies to sleep a lot for long periods during the day in order for them to sleep the whole night. That is not the case with my daughter and I somehow thought that there could be something wrong with that old wives tale.

"For babies, early to bed does not mean early to rise! Most babies sleep longer with an earlier bedtime. Many parents are afraid to put their baby to bed so early, thinking that they will then face a 5 a.m. wake up call. But keeping your little one up too late backfires, and more often, a late night is the one followed by that early morning awakening." --excerpt from the No-Cry Sleep Solution

I researched and found one too many methods of sleep training babies, including letting them cry it out. I didn't like the idea of making my daughter cry herself to sleep because I know as a Psychology student that leaving them to cry during the stage of trust vs. mistrust gives them a bad infanthood experience. Good thing I learned about Elizabeth Pantley's "TheNo Cry Sleep Solution".

By the time I read the Introduction of "The No-Cry Sleep Solution", I strongly believed that this sleep training is closely inclined with how I really wanted to impose sleep routines on my daughter. And for the first year, I have been relying on the book's concepts for keeping my daughter sleeping during the times I specified her to sleep. But now that she is 19 months, I noticed that it has become very difficult to place her to sleep on her second nap time. She would trick us into not letting her sleep when the time comes. And when we force it to her she would squirm hard, sometimes hurting herself, and cry too loud. I stayed firm in forcing her to sleep, still following the Pantley's first book, even though it was was seriously bothering me. And then I learned about Ms. Pantley's new book "The No Cry Nap Solution" and decided to give it a try.


"During the early years of life, nap schedules are in a continuous state of change. After a newborn period of all-day napping, babies eventually settle into a regular two-nap-a-day routine. Most children switch from these two daily naps to one nap sometime between the ages of 12 and 24 months. However, that year of difference is a very long span of time. This shows that age alone is not the only factor to consider when changing your baby’s nap routine."

"Signs That Your Child Is Ready to Change to ONE DAILY NAP.
• When you put your child down for a nap he plays or fusses before falling asleep, and then takes only a short nap, or never falls asleep at all
• Your child can go for car rides early in the day and not fall asleep in the car
• When your child misses a nap he is cheerful and energetic until the next nap or bedtime
• Your child naps well for one of his naps, but totally resists the other nap"

--excerpts from The No-Cry Nap Solution

So now I get it. I should really change Ella's sleeping habits. Ms. Pantley saved me again! Will post about results soon!

Love lots,