The other day around nap time, Matthew fell asleep in the car on the way home from lunch. This was not uncommon – he does that quite a bit. I usually have to carry him in (awake), change his diaper, put him in a sleep sack, and then rock him back to sleep a bit.
But this day was different. Matthew was a little punchy at lunch and I was a bit frustrated – I mean – we were at chick-fil-WHG and he loves it there. Nothing makes him happier than his grilled nuggets, cinnamon applesauce, and friendly people. This day, he was screaming and yelling, and was very obviously irritated with me for some reason. We left abruptly (sorry, S!) and headed home. He was asleep in the car within 60 seconds.
Ah – that was the problem – he was beyond tired!
But this time, when we got home, he didn’t wake up when I got him out of the car. I made the decision to not give him a new diaper, to not put him in a sleep sack. Instead, we sat in the rocker and I rocked my sleeping baby, and then put him in his crib – day-time pants and all (he’s never slept in day-time pants – ever) and he slept his normal nap time of 3 hours.
It was so reminiscent of when he was a tiny baby and would sleep through anything – and I savored it!
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All the Sun For You 
September 17, 2012 at 8:28 am
LOL, you’re a better Mom than I! If Stells is sleeping and in … well… anything, child is put directly into the crib – do not pass go, do not collect $200! So cute!
September 17, 2012 at 10:51 pm
I did this again today – and I’m taking a note from your parenting and just dumping him in the crib. It’s working. I’ve been a softie 😉
September 17, 2012 at 8:37 am
Chloe always sleeps in her clothes for the day, is that unusual? I never thought anything of it. What do you put him in to sleep during the day? He sure looks adorable all passed out in his crib, clothes and all.
September 17, 2012 at 8:49 am
No – I don’t think it’s unusual. I think what we do is unusual!
We do what we do because of sleep training – we wanted every sleep situation to be the same to trigger that, “oh, I’m supposed to be going to sleep,” thought that I don’t think babies even have. HA! However, it did work – so maybe that’s why.
We strip him down to a t-shirt and diaper and put him in a sleep sack before rocking him to a drowsy state. We would transfer him from the car directly to the crib if he wouldn’t wake up – but he does every.single.time except this one time.
Honestly, I think we’ve over-complicated it because we now have to do this when we’re out of town, etc. which is OK, but won’t be OK when he’s bigger and has outgrown the sleep sacks (this coming winter, I’m sure). We will start transitioning to full clothes while napping this winter. This works great for now, but it will become a problem!
September 17, 2012 at 9:16 am
I gotcha. One time I put Chloe down in just a diaper (no sleep sack) and she managed to take the thing off!! There went the days of just napping in a diaper. 🙂 And even if Chloe is exhausted, she always wakes up during the transfer from the car to her crib, but luckily she’ll go right back to sleep. Good luck when you decide to transition. I’m sure he’ll do just fine!
September 17, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Wow! He slept through coming inside? That’s like some kind of record. My kids wake up if you even walk by their door. LOL. He must have been so tired. Poor lil guy. He looks so sweet sleeping. Love babies sleeping! 🙂
September 17, 2012 at 10:49 pm
This is a new thing – he did it again today (slept while coming inside). He has to be super tired for it to work that way though. I usually need to rock him back to sleep. I do think he’d wake up if more if we didn’t have his sound machine going full blast in there.
September 17, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Aw, my girls sleep like that on their side too. So sweet!
September 17, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Don’t you think they look younger when they sleep on their sides like that?
September 17, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Zonked! What a little angel. I want to squish him. 🙂
September 17, 2012 at 10:48 pm
He did the same thing today and I did squish him 🙂
September 17, 2012 at 9:26 pm
He takes 3 hours naps?! That’s freaking astonishing! Poor, tired, baby–he’s so adorable.
September 17, 2012 at 10:47 pm
I worked hard to get to those 3 hour naps! During the week, he sleeps 2.5 – 3.5 hours. On weekends, it’s 2 hours because Dad’s home and there’s just so much fun to be had 😉 I’m boring, apparently!
September 18, 2012 at 4:42 am
What a doll!!! We usually just take off shoes and bottoms when we transition Sofia to the crib for a nap. For a while there we were putting her in the sleep sack for naps, too, but since she doesn’t get that at daycare we eventually quit and noticed no change whatsoever.
But, girl you gotta quit going to Chick-fil-A! Or at least quit mentioning it. You’re killing me over here!!
September 18, 2012 at 4:46 am
P.S. I love the sheet!
September 18, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Is it because you love Chick-fil-WHG or because they discriminate? I believe in full disclosure (I am honest to a fault) and know that going there goes against my personal convictions, but it’s the only place with a healthy kids’ meal and Matthew loves it. I think I mention it to get the guilt out there and present. That’s the half-Catholic in me. HA!
September 20, 2012 at 2:18 am
I love them. I love their nuggets. I love their lemonade. I love their peach milkshakes. I don’t love the personal beliefs of their CEO, but I separate the two. I don’t actually feel any guilt for going there.
September 20, 2012 at 7:43 am
Well – I love them too. I separate the two as well becuase… it’s just chicken. I don’t think there’s a better chicken sandwich on the planet – truly!
September 18, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Does he normally only nap if he has a sleep sack? My girls need sleep sacks for the association or else they just roll around and yell.
I wish I could transfer babies asleep from the car! Either I lack the finesse, they sleep too lightly, or both!
September 19, 2012 at 9:36 pm
We do the sleep sack for the association, so I didn’t know if he would sleep without it or not. He seems to when he’s super tired.
I don’t have finesse – he’s just THAT tired. I have toyed with going back to two naps a day because he’s so crabby the hour before his nap (does not matter if it’s 11:30 or 12:30 – still crabby). He took 2 naps today for a total of 3.5 hours, and still went to bed on time. What does that tell you? I’m starving this kid for sleep. That also says no finesse on my end – just a super sleepy baby!