Telling Time Is Overrated

My almost 5-year-old is officially a non-napper.  Out of the past 30 days, I think she's fallen asleep once, and that was with the heavy incentive of going to an evening event if she'd taken a nap. 

The lack of naps is okay -- I expect it and even (sort of) welcome it; think of the options open to us in the middle of the day, now!  (As long as Lauren skips her nap as well...)

What I don't welcome, however, are Mia's grumpy, evening meltdowns over such earth-shattering things as the lack of any fresh, cold water from our refrigerator for her bedtime nightcap.  Baby, I KNOW you want fresh, cold water, but we JUST refilled the pitcher and that means the water isn't cold yet.  It takes time.  We DO have THIS water, though, and you can either drink it gratefully or scream in your bed about the injustice of 60-degree tap water.  

Guess which option she chose?  Screaming injustice.  Over the temperature of water in her sippy cup.  And that's just one example of the irrationality that's come with a month of no naps. 

I've tried to compensate with earlier bedtimes, but the fact remains that she's tired.  Grumpily tired.  The other side of this problem is that she wakes up in the morning -- every morning, whether she's still tired or not -- at 7AM.  On. The. Dot.  She's learned how to tell time (basically) and when she starts getting to that light-sleep of early morning, she peeks at the clock until it hits 7.  At which point she hops out of bed -- probably still over-tired -- and begins her day. 

I know she needs more sleep.  She knows that 7AM equals wake-time.  WE ALL KNOW she's been grumpy.

What's a mama to do?

Trickery, that's what.  Besides putting her to bed earlier on a fairly regular basis, I'm resorting to tricks. 

She knows how to read her clock?  Well then, I'll set that clock back half an hour so she'll be staying in bed until 7:30.  That'll buy her an extra half-hour and maybe maybe help her catch up on some lost sleep.

Oh yes I will.  In fact, I already have.

Last week, I punched buttons on her clock until it was half an hour behind the rest of the clocks in our house.  (They're all set to varying degrees of inaccuracy, anyway.  The only clock that's absolutely right is a big wall clock in our kitchen.  The ONE clock on which she can't always tell the time because it's not digital.  She can see the hour, but the minute hand is still a mystery.  God Bless mysteries.)  I crossed my fingers that my theory would pan out in the morning -- we were desperate for Mia's grumps to disappear.

At 7AM the next morning, I held my breath as I heard her rustling around in bed.  I tiptoed past her bedroom and whispered goodbye to Justin as he left for work.  I shushed Lauren as she woke and ate her breakfast. There was always the possibility that Mia's internal clocks told her when to wake up regardless of what her digital clock said, and I didn't want to disturb the last few, precious minutes of sleep she could squeeze from her night.

But then -- at 0730 and 14 seconds -- she came out of her room.  Her clock had just switched from 6:59 to 7, and she was ready for the day.  I waited for her to realize that daddy was already gone to work -- she never did.  I waited for her to realize that the wrong cartoon was on tv -- she never did. 

The only thing she saw to comment upon was this: Why is Lauren awake before me, mama?  (Mia is almost always awake before Lauren.)

Oh, you know...I paused...I guess she just woke up a little earlier.  (QUICK!  Change the subject!)  What do you want for breakfast?

And so it goes.  Mia now wakes up at 7:30.

Only, she thinks it's 7.

I'm becoming more and more confused as the days pile up, but at least Mia's netting another half-hour of night time sleep, y'know?

Y'know?

Guys....?

Oh fine.  Yes, effectively, I'm deceiving my child. 

I'll make up for it by only moving her clock back 30 minutes at daylight savings time, closing the gap.  But let me enjoy this nap-replacement for a few more days, okay?

What can I say -- I'm Sarah.  I'm sneaky.  And this is how I keep life Heavenly.