Project Naptime.... take 2

Mr. Ibis is with the boy right now and giving me a break. I'm trying something new with naptime... which means I might be getting very little Me time in upcoming weeks. Which means I might be getting very little blogging time. But I will do my best.

It's not really that new, what I'm doing. But it's new in the sense that I have read some more good articles and Miles is older and I'm dedicated to figuring this out now. His sleep at nighttime is really okay, but I'm using the same technique at bedtime for consistency's sake. Basically the gist of it is "Staylistening," staying with Miles while he cries, listening to him express his emotions in his own way, gently reassuring him physically and verbally, but not (in the case of naptime) picking him up and carrying him around. Just hugs, petting, and lots of verbal reassurance and kisses. For now I'm staying right by him the entire time, even through the nap (reading a book), so he understands that nap =/= being abandoned.

The issue is that I've been letting him take all his naps in the Ergo for weeks. This is "easy" for me because I get to use the computer and whatnot while he sleeps, but it's time consuming walking him to sleep, and ultimately I can't get that much done because he's right ON my body and wakes easily. But I would be willing to keep it up indefinitely if I weren't in need of work. When I either find a job or find kids to babysit, Miles is going to have to find a new way to nap... whether it's with me or with Judy. So we have to work on this.

I could not have done this any earlier, I think, because his crying completely rips me to shreds. I hate it. But I just keep reminding myself I'm right there... I'm not going anywhere... he's safe and he's just taking a nap, right next to mommy. Wait, who am I reassuring again? Ha.