Napping Strike

For a little while there, Emma went on a napping strike.  It was about three weeks after we transitioned her into her big girl bed.  It was out of blue and completely out of her character.  She was definitely pushing her boundaries and testing the waters.

Three or four days without her nap, I ran to my Facebook moms for advice.  Everyone had something different to share and entirely opposite experiences with their own kids - no two stories were alike!  I guess I assumed this was a two year old thing that every mom has gone through.  To some extent, I was right, but every circumstance and each child are different.  I was looking for the magic answer, to which there was none.

After trying several remedies to keep her in her bed, I was ready to pull my hair out.  NOTHING was working!  I prayed for answers and guidance, "Lord, what is my lesson here?  What am I suppose to learn from this?!"  Two days later, He reminded me of a little thing called imperfect progress.  I was eager for an instant fix and a perfect answer.  I wanted to be the perfect mom with the perfect child who had the perfect fix for what seemed like an easy problem.  Two weeks into Emma's napping strike and He told me exactly what I needed to hear.  It's ok to be imperfect.  I'm suppose to be imperfect.  If I had the perfect solution, I wouldn't need Him.  It's His design for me to turn to Him in every moment of my life [even if it's just about little ole nap time].

To some, nap time may not be as big of a deal.  For my household, nap time is the glue that gets us from am to pm.  Emma is barely two and definitely not ready to shed her precious mid day sleep.  I am grateful for all my mom family/friend's advice who got me from one day to the next.  It is so good knowing that I am not alone during my mommy meltdowns.    

For Emma, it was the spankings that worked.  After several consistent days of spanks, she took me seriously and quit getting out of bed.  We are now five days back into our normal routine!!!  Praise God, hallelujah, amen!

A couple of the exhausting/funny things Emma did during her napping strike: 

Week 1: Emma managed to pull every wipe

out of it's container - TWICE!

Week 2: In a desperate attempt for rest, I put her

in the pack n play.  I was sure she would fall asleep 

if she ever got still.  She indeed drifted off, 

but not before shedding her diaper, pulling her 

hamper lid in bed with her, and peeing everywhere.