The Phantom Nap

Mimi's a good sleeper...well, at least at night. 

Our bedtime routine is rather extensive, but we keep with it because it works (generally).  Around 8:30 or so we change Mimi into her pajamas and warm up some milk in a sippy cup.  That's the cue for story time.  As Mimi selects her night's books and then runs over to cuddle on Mama's lap, Papa (that's me) heads over to Mimi's room to secure "mofu" (Mimi's blanket), Nyan-nyan (Mimi's kitty), and Baby (Mimi's, er, baby).  The mofu is a necessity for bedtime reading; she simply will not tolerate a story without it.

Mama and Mimi cuddle under the mofu for at least 3 stories (sometimes up to 7 or 8).  Once Mimi's lids begin to droop, which almost almost always coincides with her milk running low, it's time to brush our teeth.  Papa brings out the Dora toothbrush and scrubs the uppers, downers, and fronties.  After that, Mimi gives them a go on her own (this lasts for all of 4 seconds).  Toothbrush set aside, Papa scoops up Mimi and mofu, and then Nyan-nyan and Baby.  Baby must have her hat on.  If not, Mimi will ask Papa gently, but firmly, to cover Baby's little head.  After all, we don't want her getting sick. 

Baby, Nyan-nyan, and mofu in-hand, we say goodnight to Mama with a few blown kisses and a "Bye-bye!"  Walking down the hall towards the bedroom Mimi always gives her Papa a kiss (granted, at his request) before laying down her sleepy head in the crib.  Papa covers her with mofu, wishes her sweet dreams, and closes the door.  On most nights she's in dreamland straight away. 

In the morning I usually find Mimi with Nyan-nyan and Baby at opposite corners of the crib (does she have them box at night?) and mofu covering her head from the morning light. 

The only reason Mimi's head wasn't totally covered here is that I'd already come into the room to wake her.  This is my third attempt and, as one can see, she's still trying to hide under that mofu.  

Thankfully, Mimi really is rather good about bedtime.  It's one of the very, very few ways (I can count them on one finger) that Mimi tries to make our life a little easier.  The full night's sleep helps her to explore the fascinating world around her.  She has the energy to wear Desitin tubes on her feet instead of shoes... 

and to bring Papa her breakfast even when he's all the way in the back room working on a blog post.  Plenty of rest means that Mimi has littered rice in only half the house on her journey, not the entire home.  Lucky me. 

Yes, we seem to have bedtime figured out.  But naps, I'm sad to say, are now a different matter.  Mimi used to be quite good when it came to nap-time, consistently tramping off to dreamland between 1 and 2 each afternoon.  These days, though, it's hit or miss.  On some afternoons she'll go right to sleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.  On others, she'll giggle and squeal from 1:30 to 3:00 without the faintest hint of a yawn or droopy eyelid. 

What we do the morning before seems to have little impact.  On days I think I've worn her out with trips to the museum or park, she'll stay wired through the entire afternoon.  On lazy days when all we did was read, she'll go right down.  And vice-versa.  There seems to be no correlation between morning activities and the guarantee of an afternoon nap. 

I have even taken to going through her bedtime routine each afternoon to help send her off to dreamland.  It worked well at first, but it's definitely not a sure-fire solution.  It's not like Mimi fights me over nap-time, or screams to be let out of her crib when she fails to fall asleep.  On the contrary.  She almost always lets me know when she wants to nap - by saying "ne-ne" - and when she's unable to fall asleep it's almost always because she's too full of giggles.  A stern warning to go to sleep works occasionally (well, it's worked 2 times out of at least 20 so far), but usually, if Mimi gets the giggles, there'll be no nap that day. 

In short, I need some advice.  Nap-times are my "little window of sanity" in the otherwise frenetic and manic days ruled by toddler-logic.  If the readers out there have any tricks, any suggestions, please share!  I'll update in the future.  Thanks!

So, You Think You Can Make Me Nap?

A Look Inside Mimi's Brain at Nap Times

Saturday: 1:00pm
Where are we going?  Oh, the kitchen, to get my bottle?  Foolish parent.  Don't you know it's Saturday?  Mommy is home.  You may not think I understood this, but I know she was on call last weekend and now that she's here, I'm going to make the most of it.  


Alright, we're in my room now.  You've given me warm milk and turned on the sleep sheep.  I hope you know that laying me down in my cradle with warm milk and soothing ocean sounds may have worked in the past, but not today, buddy.  That's right.  Go ahead.  Shut the door and go out to the living room to watch your precious episode of Top Gear while I down this bottle of milk.  I'm going to get your hopes up by being quiet, lull you into a false sense of security, and then blow your little mind.  

(5 minutes pass)

Oh, look who's back?  It's Papa.  That's right.  Pick me up and give me a kiss.  Cradle me and put me down in the crib on my back.  Where's my blanket?  Ah, very good, you didn't forget.  That's right, go ahead and leave.  Now I'll just sit back and (yawn) bide my time.  

(5 minutes pass)

Wah, what?  Damn!  I let that fat bastard lull me to sleep.  Well, it's time to let him know that that crap ain't gonna fly on a Saturday afternoon with Mama home.  

I'll start off soft.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  Soft and quiet with a few little whimpers of discontent.  Let him think I'm just turning over or kicking off my blanket.  From there I'll take a solid 5 minutes to work myself into a wailing frenzy.  

(5 minutes pass.  Significant teeth clenching in the living room occurs.)

That's right.  I can hear the two of you arguing.  You want to come get me, but you're still going to try to wait it out.  Idiots.  For that insolence I'm going to up the ante.  Here comes 10 minutes of contented babble.  I'm going to make you think I'm playing.  And then I'll play my trump card - 5 minutes of pure, unadulterated silence.  

(15 minutes pass)

I can still hear you, you fools!  Listen to you!  Talking about the morning's trip to the Ferry Building and the upcoming visit with Grandma and Grandpa this afternoon.  The two of you sound so content.  It's almost as if you're savoring this time you have without me.  Well, I'll soon put an end to your ignorant delusions.  Here it comes.  I'm gonna scream at the top of my lungs until you burst through the door thinking I've given myself a hernia or contracted appendicitis.  

(7.5 excruciating minutes pass)

Ha-ha!  Look who's come skulking into my room.  It's Papa.  And he's picking me up.  Excellent.  Papa - please understand that it hurts me to say this - for a man with so much supposed experience and learning you really are quite easy to manipulate.  Honestly, why don't you challenge me a bit.  After all, I'm 16 months old now!  

These parents of mine need to get craftier and I can absolutely guarantee that they're not going to do so without some serious tutoring on my part.  I can already tell that they'll try to put me down again around 3:00 or 3:30 before Grandma and Grandpa come.  Let it be known I'm not going down.  And if they try again halfway through the visit, bollocks to that!  I'll wail from the very start.  They'll be lucky if they get 5 minutes alone in the living room!  

Honestly, it's not that I "enjoy" inflicting such pain on them, but they're ignorant.  They need to learn.  It's not my fault I can't talk yet.  This is the only way I can show them the error of their ways.  They'll just have to hang tough until they get their act together.  I'm more than willing to wait.  

Oh, and at dinner, just to mix things up again, I think I'll put some udon noodles in my hair.  That will keep them perplexed for a bit.

As you may have guessed, it was a challenging weekend.  Sumie was on call the weekend before and I think that Mimi has been too excited having her home all day to get any rest.  Despite the bedtime battles, it was a wonderful weekend.  More on our Ferry Building visit and trip to the flea market in posts to come.  Also, even without a nap, Mimi had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa.  It's amazing how she can still find energy to play despite going non-stop all day.  She is, despite her age, definitely hard core.

Wake up! I Wanna Play!

Twice a day this phrase blares from the confines of Mimi's bedroom.  Closed doors and solid walls cannot hold it back.  Granted, she does not put her request so concisely and ungrammatically.  In the morning, Mimi brings out her father with either a massive and piercing wail - which could wake a heroin addict from even the deepest stupor - or with sweet and gentle babble, which I imagine is her personal commentary on the skill with which she's thrown her bedclothes to the floor.  In the afternoon, between 2pm and 4pm, Papa will be called from his book or his writing with a gentle to aggressively insistent "ih-hi, ih-hi, ih-hi, aaaaaahhhhhhhh!"  No matter what, though, when I go in to get her, I'm always greeted with a sweet smile.  It helps to take the sting off those cut-short mornings and interrupted afternoon naps.  

Yesterday though, for the first time, this same phrase was uttered in my home with Mimi sound asleep.  That's right.  I said it.  I was bored.  I didn't want to read.  I didn't want to watch Top Gear.  All I wanted to do was play with my loveable, but insane, little girl.  And so, I wanted her to wake up.

I opened the door to her room.  On any other day this would be absolute folly, bordering on the edge of suicidal behavior.  But I didn't care.  This was going against every previous fiber of my being.  Each afternoon and each evening - and I don't think this is going to change, actually - I start yearning for Mimi's eyes to get heavy.  When they do, and she finally submits to the crib, it means I get a little precious time to myself.  This time is worth its weight in myrrh (and this calculation is done with each half-hour equating to 2 metric tons).  Here I was with time to myself - I could listen to music, play Gran Turismo, eat a burrito, read European history focused on the 1930s and 1940s, search for vintage audiophile gear, the possibilities were endless - and yet all I wanted to do was submit myself to the whims of a little girl who says "Wee!" like a chain-smoking and drunken Frenchman.

To be honest, our playtime gets more fun each day.  With each new activity I see more and more of her individual personality coming out.  Of course, sometimes it's unpleasant (random passion for or hatred of certain books, for example), but most of the time she surprises me and leaves me laughing.  I never really know what's going to happen.

Here are a few pictures of Mimi at play.  The first three were taken at the Children's Park in Golden Gate Park, which is just phenomenal on a sunny day.  Like her father, Mimi has a passion for water.  Despite the many toys and distractions, she always makes a beeline for the flooded section of the sandbox.  This makes for a messy stroll home, but she loves it!

And then there's the backyard.  Fewer distractions here, so yesterday Mimi decided she'd be mesmerized by the sky.  This was cute until our next door neighbor decided to introduce herself, for the first time, just as Mimi was pretending to be a pseudo-philosophical college student high on some very introspective pot.   

Me wanting Mimi to wake up, despite it resulting in less time to myself, has been a welcome development.  It's rather sad to think that before I know it Mimi will have little interest in playing with her father.  She'll just want to text her friends.  And that's why I need to make the most of the time I have with her now.  It's also why she's not getting an active mobile phone until she's 27.