Right after lunch and a quick clean up, I put Zachary (21mo) in his own bed. I usually have them moved to the big boys' bed and family rest time before the next baby comes, but this time the baby came a bit early! So he's still in his own bed, in his own room and will probably be there for a while. He knows the routine and after he finishes lunch, he runs to his room and jumps into his bed and laughs! Have you ever heard of such a thing? He is such a sweetie--quite a handful, but a sweetie!
The three other boys and Cara usually join me on the couch, but sometimes we mix it up and have in on my bed or one of their beds. Everyone goes to the bathroom or gets a drink if they need to, then get their blanket and/or pillow if they want one.
First we read from our current readaloud. Then we have some other books we read from if I haven't passed out! Isaiah is usually out after a few minutes of reading.
Today after we finished reading our readaloud, I wanted to rest so Justin and David were looking at a book (but no talking).
After a few minutes, Justin was getting disruptive sitting next to David, so I had him go to the other couch.
Then David read the book alone,
but that didn't last long. He was soon asleep, but I didn't get a picture of that because I was asleep, too!
Ahhhh. Love rest time!
8 comments:
Sounds woooonderful to me! I love it when I get a chance to rest/nap during the day. I just wish I could do it every day! :o)
The boys and Cara are growing up so fast...I can't believe it!
Love,
Beth
Ok, so... I need more info. :D
When do you start letting your kiddos rest with you on the couch instead of in their beds? How do you transition them?
My Kate just turned 4 in March, Christian will be 3 in May and Owen is 17 months. Owen definitely is in his own bed and sleeps well. Christian used to sleep really well in his bed, but lately does not. And Kate... well, that little firecracker hasn't slept for naps in many, many, many months. ;-)
I tried taking the 2 older ones in my bed... it was a disaster! No one got to sleep and it was very unrestful. I didn't try reading to them first though, just took them all in to lay down at the same time.
Hopefully I can find something that works as well as your system!
Hi Jennifer!
Inspired by your post, yesterday, my oldest two took a nap in my room, with me. (They are 6 and 4.) My youngest (20 months) sleeps in the crib because she is at that busy stage.I really enjoy this idea. Thank you so much for sharing it. Naptime was always a struggle for my older two and it never worked out very well for them. But with me right there with them, they both slept. Thank you so much for sharing your great idea!Blessings!
Just curious, but where does your baby girl nap during this time? On top of you?
Thanks for sharing more about your rest time.
Just Today:
I usually transition the youngest child before the next one is born. But this time they were 16 months apart and it was just too soon for him! So I will do it later when he's ready and she doesn't require so much attention from me b/c of nursing, etc.
When they first start coming to our rest time, I will just hold them on my lap or let them sit beside me while I read. By this time of day, they're usually so tired, they don't fight me and they're asleep within a few minutes. Sometimes it's more of a fight, but after a few days, they start to understand the concept and soon love rest time as much as I do.
Here's one key for me--I NEVER call it naptime! I never tell them to go to sleep or even say they can. They just think it's time to sit down for a while while I read to them. But when you make little ones sit still that time of day, you are almost guaranteed a good long nap out of them!
Lisa:
Yes, baby girl sleeps in my arms :-) We practice "ecological breastfeeding" (see a book called "Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing") and one key is taking a nap with your baby every day. It is such a special time to cuddle her and just let her nurse as much as she wants without me having to tend to something else!
Thank you so much! I will keep working with this. =)
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