On cranky-tot not napping and taking advice

Initially, moving in the new house didn’t affect baby girl’s sleeping – it seemed like a seamless transition (no surprise since she’s regularly staying with the grands without sleep interruption).  For the most part, even still, the move hasn’t had much impact on her life, except for the good.

BUT, we’ve been in a really bad phase the last 2 weeks that’s driving me nuts (reading prior posts may explain it better).  She’s always been a good sleeper and naps were always easy to come by, but lately I can’t figure out when she’s tired.  And when she seems tired, she still won’t sleep.  She’s in a crap mood and she’s bringing hubby and I down with her.

As I’m struggling, I finally get to catch up over the phone with a friend I rarely get to see – even less now with the move.  Talking about the troubles, she suggests that perhaps taking toys out of the crib will help.  I didn’t quite understand the concept, since baby girl has always had toys in bed with her and it’s never previously prevented her from sleep, so I piped up about it.  She calmly suggested that with her age, she’s likely starting to become more engaged with toys than before and it could be keeping her awake wanting to play.

The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind, but I have noticed that baby girl has been much more enthusiastic about picking her toys for bed and car rides.  So, on to the next tot training course, or retraining for that matter… and just in time for us to move on to our next session of training: “Life without Paci”.

We may be going through a growth spurt or a new developmental phase, too, which likely isn’t helping anyone … she’s starting to repeat more words (about time)!  So, the lesson I learned from this experience is that taking advice can be a good thing, but I need people to approach it from less of a know-it-all stance to more of a “ask questions, size up the situation, and advise based on experience” stance.

Since the no-toy rule was put into place (which turned into the “one stuffed animal” rule), she’s been napping much more easily again, too! Wish me luck with the rest of it, and if you have any advice or experiences to share, please weigh in…