So my first is apparently pretty weird, for a gifted kid: she sleeps. She sleeps alot. She is the kind of kid who has such high sleep needs she took 3 naps a day until 15mo, and 2 until age 2. At 4 she still requires a nap nearly daily, and she's miserable if she doesn't take one. She sleeps 11 hours or so at night.
BUT. Her baby brother? Not so much. He is reliable about needing a nap at about 1pm every day. It lasts anywhere from 40 minutes to 3 hours. I pray every day for the 3-hour nap, because getting him to sleep again in the afternoon is near impossible, and he's cranky anytime he's up for more than 2 hours. I really want him to stay up until 6:30, because otherwise he won't get to see DH at all in the evening. He also pretty much refuses to sleep in the mornings, even though he acts really tired and clearly needs a nap to be truly happy with life. He just won't take one. I swear, I put him in the swing 99% asleep, his arms swaddled tight (because he will NOT nap with free arms, even though he hasn't been swaddled at night for a couple months) and left him there for 30 minutes before, only to listen to him babbling or giggling at--the ceiling? until I give up and fetch him out again. I have tried conapping--I usually fall asleep, but he does not. I have rocked him and nursed him for literally HOURS trying to get him to nap. We have done white noise, music, extra curtains, mobile, crib entertainer, silence, sleep positioners, swings...
I, like my daughter, am a high-sleep-needs person. The concept of a child who won't sleep when tired boggles my mind. Every time he fails to nap I feel like I've somehow failed him. But at the same time I am terribly frustrated that every day I waste hours of my life rocking in a dark room in a futile attempt to get this kid a morning nap.
I am betting a lot of you will be familiar with gift child sleep issues, since apparently refusal to sleep is common among gifted kids. What I'd like to know is -- at what point should I just give up, at least on the morning nap? He's 6 months old on Saturday. Clearly I can't say for sure he's going to be gifted... but I suspect he will turn out to be.
BUT. Her baby brother? Not so much. He is reliable about needing a nap at about 1pm every day. It lasts anywhere from 40 minutes to 3 hours. I pray every day for the 3-hour nap, because getting him to sleep again in the afternoon is near impossible, and he's cranky anytime he's up for more than 2 hours. I really want him to stay up until 6:30, because otherwise he won't get to see DH at all in the evening. He also pretty much refuses to sleep in the mornings, even though he acts really tired and clearly needs a nap to be truly happy with life. He just won't take one. I swear, I put him in the swing 99% asleep, his arms swaddled tight (because he will NOT nap with free arms, even though he hasn't been swaddled at night for a couple months) and left him there for 30 minutes before, only to listen to him babbling or giggling at--the ceiling? until I give up and fetch him out again. I have tried conapping--I usually fall asleep, but he does not. I have rocked him and nursed him for literally HOURS trying to get him to nap. We have done white noise, music, extra curtains, mobile, crib entertainer, silence, sleep positioners, swings...
I, like my daughter, am a high-sleep-needs person. The concept of a child who won't sleep when tired boggles my mind. Every time he fails to nap I feel like I've somehow failed him. But at the same time I am terribly frustrated that every day I waste hours of my life rocking in a dark room in a futile attempt to get this kid a morning nap.
I am betting a lot of you will be familiar with gift child sleep issues, since apparently refusal to sleep is common among gifted kids. What I'd like to know is -- at what point should I just give up, at least on the morning nap? He's 6 months old on Saturday. Clearly I can't say for sure he's going to be gifted... but I suspect he will turn out to be.