Pros
- Little Bean actually goes straight to sleep at bedtime instead of the usual routine of – “Mummy I need a wee”, “Mummy I’m hot”, “Mummy I’m cold”, “Mummy, dolly needs her hat” . . . before finally falling asleep around 9pm!!!!!
- We can now go out for the afternoon instead of trying to stay near the house – Little Bean would never sleep away from home and that could get VERY stressful indeed!
- Little Bean no longer has bed-hair in the middle of the afternoon!!
- I get to have some one-on-one time with Little Bean when Beanie Boy is sleeping
Cons
- I miss my ‘me’ time in the afternoons to get work done and keep on top of the housework
- If we do go out for the afternoon Little Bean generally falls asleep in the car and wakes up in an even worse mood.
- Little Bean becomes irritable with everyone, friends, relatives – basically anyone who gets in her path.
- By 5pm most days Little Bean can be impossible to deal with, instead of winding down and relaxing she goes into hyper mode and drives me up the wall.
- From 5pm most days Little Bean becomes rude, switches off to instructions and is very mean to her baby brother.
- We have tea time at 6pm because that is when Daddy gets home from work so that we can all eat together but this can be very hard work as Little Bean is at her most stubborn, strong-willed self when she is tired.
- When tired, Little Bean whines like no other! Any request that I follow-up with a ‘no’ and the whining starts and DOESN’T stop until she falls asleep at 7.30pm.
How did you cope when your child was growing out of naptimes? Is there a miracle cure????
