Status Update on "The Crib Napping Chronicles"

I don't even remember what day we are on in this journey of transitioning nap time for the Bee from the swing to the crib.  I'm kidding of course--I know we are exactly at day six.  I know this because a) I am a nutcase about keeping count of things and b) because I am a perfectionist and I'm pissed that we were only successful on one day.  Friday.  Day 5.

If you read my other post about this transition, you'll remember that I listed out a few new things I had learned about Bee over the first three days.  Now I can add one more trait to the list--the element of surprise.  Bee is using this new trait to his greatest advantage.

You see, the first four days were truly hit or miss with the naps.  We'd maybe get 30 minutes in the morning, or 45 minutes in the afternoon...Thursday he decided to completely forgo any napping at all--thank God I have an incredibly patient nanny who didn't seem to mind playing CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer) for a few hours while I tried (and failed) to locate my sanity somewhere outside of the prison that was also my home.

By Thursday evening, I thought Bee was finally giving in.  He was exhausted.  He had gone from taking (usually) two, two hour naps a day in addition to sleeping 11-12 hours at night one week to basically following the sleeping schedule of a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay the next.  By 6pm Thursday, his eyes were glassy, cheeks were pink, eyebrows were red, he cried through his dinner and was rubbing his eyes in the bath.  YES!  I thought, tomorrow will be the day that Bee finally gives in.

Guess what?  That little turd that I love so much did exactly that.  He slept for 90 minutes Friday morning and for two hours Friday afternoon.  I was walking, no prancing, around the whole day.  Texts were sent to all of my friends along with a photo of a smiling, well rested Bee.  I was gloating, full of confidence.  It took every mature bone in my body not to stick my tongue out and say, "Neiner, neiner, neiner" to my charming little Bee.

This is where the saying "never get too confident" comes into play.  Just as I was so happy and full of pride, Bee was planning his next move--he was already not one, but two steps ahead of me.  He had given me exactly what I wanted on Friday, two perfect naps.  He wanted me to get comfortable because his next move was coming up...

Day 6.  Today.  Morning nap was approximately 20 minutes.  No afternoon nap to speak of.  WTF?  I was so CONVINCED I had finally cracked the code.  Sadly, I was mistaken.  My little love nugget, who turned exactly 8 months today, played a new move--element of surprise.  Just when I got cocky, he reminded me exactly who he believes is REALLY in charge.

Unfortunately, I have no weapon of mass destruction to fight this element of surprise.  I have only my determination and desire to instill good napping habits in Bee.  It did not happen in the four days that some of the books suggested.  We have met some unexpected roadblocks (namely, poop time being right in the middle of nap time) along the way.  We'll get there--and I may need to accept that Bee may never be 100% on napping, or even 75% for that matter.  That will be a hard fact for me to digest (as I am a complete perfectionist, OCD and driven to complete and unarguable success) so I'm putting it out there...looking at it staring back from the screen at me and rolling it around in my head...I know the benefits to Bee to become a (semi) regular napper.  Perhaps a side benefit to this process is that I might accept success not at 100%/A+,but something closer to 70%/C average.