That's how long our nap time battle was today. The toddler bed is still just a week old so I'm chalking it up to that right now and hope that the excitement of this "game" of getting out of bed and running to the corner ends soon.
Usually this is how nap time has been going. We do our normal bedtime routine which consists of a show first. I have been changing Camden's diaper while he's watching the show since he lays still and he'll have his cup of milk at this time as well. Then, we head to his room and are ready to read books. We'll read some books either in the chair or in his bed. I begin giving multiple warnings that lay down time is approaching. I turn on his music, and stay there for a song with the lights still on. Then, I turn off the lights and lay (or try) to lay Camden down.
This is when he starts his game. As soon as I get of out the room (after putting the gate up) he pops up out of bed, comes over, opens the door, and then runs to the corner of his room once he thinks I'm coming back in. I'll walk in and lay him back down with no emotion, not even looking him in the eye, simply say "It's nap time" and lay him down. So at first I did this maybe 3-5 times. Usually by the 4th time he'd get the point, and on cue, ask for another diaper change - sometimes he needed it sometimes not. But I swear the kid times it just so I have him all settled and he needs one.
Now fast forward about a week until today - the 3 hour battle.
We did everything as normal but Camden would just not lay down. Even when we it was time to read books he just wasn't into it. Perhaps at that moment I should have taken it as a sign as he wasn't ready quite yet but he was up at 6 a.m. so I figured he'd be pretty tired by noon. I guess I was wrong. For the two hours I went up periodically and would put him back in his crib. During those two hours he managed to destroy his room and just do anything to set me off. I didn't show emotion but just quietly removed things from his room.
I took out a bin of books (which he stood on to try to get his piggy bank sitting on his dresser)
I then removed the piggy bank all together so he wouldn't break it
I took out his hamper (which he emptied onto his floor)
He got into his PJ drawer and put on a pair of pants over his already backwards PJ's that he was wearing
I went up two times after hearing a boom to find that he plowed through the gate that is at his door.
I went up several times and took the vent cover out of his hand because he likes to pull it off
I had to get him from behind the chair about 25 times and put him back in bed.
I took the iPod out of his hand (which he managed to get from off of his dresser)
So now he has all of that stuff missing....so what does he do....
He goes into the closet and gets the swim diapers out
Then I hear a weird noise and go up to find that he had taken every single wipe out of one container (I then took the pile of wipes downstairs and folded them up and put them into a plastic ziploc bag)
Now it's almost been 3 hours and he's saying "Camden downstairs" and although up until this point I wasn't saying anything to him I said that if he naps he can come down. No nap = no downstairs and I was going to hold firm!
Alex then comes home and he hears her and starts crying and saying "Camden downstairs" again. I decided at this point not to go up anymore and let him "cry it out" because it would tire him out. Before he was giggling, singing, talking, etc. Now I knew he was getting upset. But I let him go. And he cried for 10 minutes or so. He was saying something that I couldn't understand but then realized he was saying "Mommy lay down bed". When I went up he was standing at the gate, eyes closed, hands over the gate still saying it. I went in, laid him down, and he was out.
He napped in his bed for an hour and then I went up to get him when he started crying but he wasn't "up" yet. He was tossing and turning, not easily consoled so I brought him to my room, laid him down with me and he was out again. He slept a total of 2 hours until 5 P.M. Then, he was pretty good for the evening so I was hoping for a good bedtime experience.
So far, bedtime went off without a hitch. Camden had to be tired!!!!!!
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