Eli: Eager to nap

One thing I cannot tolerate is bad sleep, which is part of the reason why I started sleep training Tobey at 8 weeks and Eli since birth. Best to train them so early that they won't remember the crying or the waiting to be picked up. When tempted to just skip the ups and downs of sleep training, I always kept in mind the long-term goal of sleeping through the night plus the benefit of kids who are supposed to be happier and more ready to learn when they are well-rested.

The training paying off. All I have to do nowadays at home is to say, "Eli, time for nap." He literally will drop his toy and run for his room. Now he can climb into his crib and he likes turning on his music box with his chin. ? He lays on his tummy and starts sucking his fingers. I say bye, walk out, sometimes we wave at each other. In and out in 30 seconds.

The funniest part of his running to his nap was when we had family visiting. The first day Tom's parents were here and I said it was naptime, Eli of course runs for his room, but Tom's parents already "moved in". Over the next couple of days, he would run for his room but then u-turn and run to Tobey's room where he was sleeping for the week. Then when everyone was gone, we had to train him to run back to his room. Poor guy, we're confusing him. But I am glad he's been sleeping more consistently. He hasn't done his pre-dawn waking in a month or two and I can bank on his naps being 90 min. if not 2+ hours if it's a 1-nap day. I would choose a good sleeper over a good eater any day and apparently I got it in Eli. I feel quite blessed.