A Breakthrough!

That's right! We've had a breakthrough! After trying for weeks and weeks to get Chase to take a nap that lasts longer than 30 minutes and that he doesn't absolutely fight me for, I finally got him to take three naps today and one of them was 2-hours. AND he went right down for all three of them! I could not have been prouder of him! So what was my secret?

Well, I've been reading books on the subject (only one of which was somewhat helpful) but yesterday, I decided to hit the internet to see what solutions I could find from real moms. One mom said that she hung blankets up over the windows in the baby's room and it instantly made a difference. I realized that my room (where Chase is currently sleeping until Charlie moves out of the crib) probably is way too bright during the day. And with me as his mother - who has to have the room pitch black when I sleep, to the point where I cover my eyes at night - I should have known that this was the problem.

So, I hung blankets, towels, whatever I could find over the windows and moved his pack-n-play to the darkest corner of the room. The first time I put him down, he went right to sleep without a fuss. I thought we were on to something, but then he woke up 45-minutes later. Forty-five minutes is definitely an improvement, but I was skeptical and needed to see a long nap before I would become a believer.

THEN, I put him down for nap number two. After thirty minutes, he woke up so I was SUPREMELY disappointed. I decided to leave him in there for a few minutes just to see what happened. I figured he was going to stay in his pack-n-play for at least an hour. What he decided to do with that hour was up to him. Long story short, he feel back to sleep after only 10 minutes of fussing. The best part is, he stayed asleep for two hours! HORRAY! HALLELUJAH! It's a miracle!

The third nap lasted 45-minutes as well, but that's ok. The first and last naps of the day should be sorter, so I'm ok with that. Anyway, Chase was an absolute joy today. I could tell he felt good and he was much more alert and attentive. So yeah us! It looks like a crypt in our bedroom, but if it works for Chase, then so be it!

And in other happy news, Charlie Monkey melted my heart tonight. He put his hands on my face, turned me to him and said, "Kisses Mama!" Then he leaned in and planted a big kiss on me. An unsolicited kiss! My heart jumped in my throat! What a sweetie!

What a day we had. A not so good start (long story for another blog) but a great ending. Here's hoping for another good day tomorrow!