Our apartment now needs an instruction manual. Robert and I once thought we'd covered our bases quite well in this place when we'd taken all of the books off the low shelves of the bookcases, covered the outlets with babyproof plugs and kept all of the poisonous household items in a locked cupboard. We hadn't even begun. Now, each and every cupboard and drawer has a childproof latch; every lamp is secured to the wall with a bungy cord; every garbage can is mounted on a wall/shelving unit or towel rack; the kitchen has a baby gate installed at its entrance; the oven is secured shut with a bungy cord attached to a hook that Robert installed into the drawer alongside, the bathroom doors have duck tape covering the lock on the inside...the list is endless! And despite it all, our little adventurer still finds trouble or danger on a daily basis!
It's been almost a year since Andrew reduced himself to one nap per day, usually in the afternoons. Then all of a sudden, near the end of the summer, he stopped napping altogether. I tried everything...music, books upon books, rocking, soothing, pacifiers, milk, food, teddy bears, blankets, laying beside him, on the couch, in the bed, etc., etc. etc. to no avail. So I gave up. I discovered it was much easier for me to just play with him than to spend an hour or so in "wind-down mode" to no avail. The good thing is that nothing is centered around naptime anymore. We are free to do anything, anytime in the day. The bad part is that I desperately miss my "down time".
At times I have felt envious, even a little jealous, of friends whose children virtually never attempt to open a prohibited door or cupboard, let alone sleep for hours on end every afternoon. But upon sharing my feelings with other mom friends, I realize that every mother of a young child has her challenges and that perhaps the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side. For example, Simona, mother of two-year old Mariachiara, who literally did not babyproof a single thing, and whose daughter has gone to sleep on demand pretty much since birth, is confronted with constant battle for each and every meal or snack. Mariachiara doesn't like to eat! Every meal time is an endless and exhausting game of trying to find what her daughter will eat and how to get her to eat it! Andrew on the flip side, loves to eat! He eats everything, and anything (except avacadoes) and devours everything on his plate at meal time at which point he dumps his dish upside down and declares "all gone" or rather "ahhh gahhh"! Mette's two-year old daughter Maya loves her afternoon naps. Immediately after lunch, she wants her "doudou", that's french for the cuddle toy that many kids development an attachment to, and goes to sleep wherever, perhaps the stroller if they are out, the bed if they are at home, etc. However, night time is a total nightmare. She resists in any way she possibly can. She's thirsty, hungry, has to pee, wants another book, etc. She often ends up crashing at 10 or 11 at night after hours of bedtime battles. She has tried to resolve the problem by either omitting the daytime nap or cutting it shorter; either way, Maya ends up being cranky and miserable all afternoon. Again, Andrew goes down at 7PM every night and very seldom wakes before 7AM. Robert and I have every evening free to ourselves, to eat a nice, quiet dinner alone, watch a tv program or a movie, etc. I have begun to adjust to no afternoon naps by using that time to take Andrew swimming. We live right down the street from the biggest aquatic complex in France, so what better way to spend a couple hours than a nice walk to the pool and some fun splashing in the pool, followed by nice, long side-by-side showers. And we even get to see the famed Olympic champion, winner of the 100m freestyle, Alain Bernard, training in the adjacent pool every time we go. We are considered "regulars" there at the pool now and I seldom even have to present my annual pass. The people who work there call Andrew the "champion nageur". (champion swimmer) He can already swim without water wings for as long as he can hold his breath! The funny thing is, these afternoon swims are really starting to tucker the little guy out, and he just started napping again when we get home from the pool!!!
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