Where’s the off switch on this kid?

It’s time for another fun filled edition of Father Knows Best? Today’s question is about how I get Chandler to take naps. 

I took a long break form reading your blog and being a mommy and student i don’t have a whole lot of time to devote to going back and looking at what i missed so i don’t know if you’ve covered this but i wanted to ask you how do you get chandler to take a nap do you schedule it for him or do you just wear him out till he passes out on his own. 

Thanks for your question! First of all, I apologize that you took a break from reading Improvising Fatherhood. I assume this is my fault for not making the blog enticing enough. I will try to make my posts funnier and Chandler cuter. I’ll let Chandler know he needs to cute it up a bit more. 

Getting Chandler to sleep has turned into a very scientific art form. During the day Chandler stays awake in 2 hour spurts. “Spurt” is a very appropriate word here because that is pretty much all Chandler does for those 2 hours. He spurts from place to place. For 2 hours straight he moves constantly and vigorously. So he does a pretty good job of wearing himself out. 

Somewhere around the one and a half hour mark we start to watch him a little more closely to look for those signs of sleepiness. Symptoms of sleepiness are rubbing of the eyes, excessive fussiness, and antiquing. It’s the weirdest thing, but when he gets tired he likes to collect antiques.

Once the eye rubbing, the fussing, and the adoration of really old armoires begins, we go into swing mode. We put him into the swing which plays classical music and let him zone out for a bit before we attempt to put him to bed. If we didn’t do this, even though he’s very tired, he will resist going to sleep with all his might. But after a good 10 minutes in the swing, if he hasn’t fallen asleep already, he’s ready to as soon as you put him in his crib. 

This is the best part. Putting him in the swing is kind of like hooking him up to an IV unit filled with a sedative. So when I take him upstairs he just kind of clings to me and nuzzles his head on my chest. It’s kind of like if you got a chance to hold a baby tiger that just got hit with a tranquilizer and was about to pass out. I always cherish these moments because normally the only contact we have is me hugging and kissing him while he pushes my face away with his pudgy little hands and razor sharp fingernails. 

After I manage to steal a few snuggles from the boy, I suit him up in his PJs and put him in his crib. Usually this part goes smoothly and he is out cold in just a few moments. Occasionally he’s not quite ready to give in to my tyrannical nap time regime and sticks it to the man by standing up in his crib and screaming. If he does that I have a choice. Nature or nurture. I can either let him cry it out and fall asleep naturally, or I can try to soothe him and help him fall asleep more peacefully. I tend to lean towards nature, but every now and then I decide to rub his back while singing  Kelly Clarkson songs to him.

 Chandler usually sleeps for about an hour and then he wakes up and the whole cycle starts all over again. 

 Thanks for your question! If anyone else has a question about parenting go ahead and submit it by clicking on the blue “ask me!” button on the left side of the page. I can’t promise my answers will be right, but they sure will be fun to read.