No More Naps


We knew this day was inevitably going to come but now it is official, Emilia has stopped her daytime naps! On rare occasions she will go down for an hour or two if she is really tired or after a late night but normally she's perfectly content to last the whole day. Around the time we noticed she wasn't sleeping we started to do "quiet time" in her room. That worked really well for a few weeks and she did a good job of playing quietly with her toys. Then she began leaving her room after a few minutes and sneaking into Daddy's office (where we keep the iPads). I'm no perfect parent by any means but I do have a bit of a problem with too much iPad/TV time. We do allow Emilia & Eduardo to play with their iPads but we TRY to limit it to when we're travelling. Anyway, long story short I figured there were far more stimulating things she could be doing in the afternoon so now Emilia doesn't nap anymore and we have mummy/daughter bonding time where we do some kind of quiet & calm activity together. Yesterday it was playing with Play-doh, other days it's been baking, tea parties or reading. It just depends on her mood and what we feel like! I was a bit worried at first that I wouldn't be able to get anything done and that I'd lose a huge chunk of my day (this is normally when I get all of my blogging/editing done) but I actually find myself really enjoying this special time with just the two of us. (And thankfully Emilia is so independent it's not too difficult to multi-task! ;)


...And then sometimes we do things like this! She wanted to do "crazy dancing" so this is what we came up with! Have any of my other mamas reading experience the end of naptime? What are some replacement activities you recommend? I would love to know your tips/advice! 

46 comments

  1. The video is so funny! Haha! :p

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  2. That instagram video is too cute! Emilia is growing up so fast but I'm sure you love the mommy Emilia time :) The brownies video of today was too cute as well!

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  3. Arts & crafts could be fun too! Sticking cut out pics from magazines with a glue stick should be manageable for Emilia.

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  4. Hi Anna,

    My little boy is 4 and he dropped his naps when he was 2 and a half - it was hard! I really was worried about losing that precious time to myself. I also worry about too much TV but it's such a sanity saver sometimes and I think us mums have to use all the tools at our disposal! On the days he doesn't go to preschool ( he goes 3 days 9-2:30) I let him have 45 minutes of TV after lunch while his little brother sleeps and run around like a mad thing doing housework etc and if I'm lucky sit down with a coffee! Both boys also usually have about half an hour of TV after breakfast and half an our before tea. This basically allows me to keep the house clean and feed the family!

    I tried doing quiet time after lunch but it doesn't really seem to work for me as I still have to deal with constant interruptions. After his lunchtime TV slot, if his brother's still asleep we'll play something quiet together like a board game or something. I really enjoy that one on one time knowing I've done all my jobs.

    Anyway love your blog and Saccone Jolys! It's nice watching another family with a similar life!!

    Caroline xx

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  5. Aw Anna, I can't believe how grown up Emilia is getting!! I saw that video on your instagram and thought it was super cute :) http://fullofgeek.blogspot.co.uk/

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  6. Emilia is soooo cute. I love watching your vlogs!

    http://sillymindofmine.weebly.com/

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  7. Although I'm only 17 and not a Mum, this post was so so adorable! Xx

    yas-elle.blogspot.co.uk

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  8. this is so lovely Anna! I'm a big fan and I admire your parenting and love towards your family❤️ ily!! x

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  9. this is so lovely Anna! I'm a big fan and I admire your parenting and love towards your family❤️ ily!! x

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  10. Aww it's good for mummy daughter bonding time once you could go shopping or something

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  11. So sweet! I love it and I can't believe Emilia doesn't take naps anymore! I remember watching the vlog with her being born and the name reveal! Time flys.
    Lala xx

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  12. loved the blog post ����

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  13. Hi Anna! You and Jonathan are doing such an amazing job raising Emilia and Wardo!! :) I love you guys so much. I watch your vids daily. I hope all goes well with this change. As for the ipads i totally support you on that. Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

    xo Claire

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  14. I'm not a Mom but I handle with about 20 kids aged 3 to 5 daily as a kindergarten teacher. :D
    This quiet time / activities sound great! It's important for children to learn to relax and quiet down especially when they're not napping anymore.
    Reading is super good bonding/relaxing time! :)

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  15. Our daughter Fern has recently stopped her naps too, nooooo!! Yesterday she painted some artwork for our livingroom! Usually we do lots of painting/crafts(God bless Pinterest)/singing/shaving foam play while her baby brother Ted is snoozing(like an angel haha)! X

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  16. I can't believe how grown up little miss Emilia is getting! She is the split image of you as well Anna!
    Whenever I babysit my baby cousin, who is a year older than Emilia is, we play child friendly board games or draw. I have found that no matter how prepared I feel I am with him though he always prefers to play a completely made up game using his imagination!

    Lovely blogpost as usual!
    Francesca xxx

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  17. This is so cute! You're such a lovely family :) x

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  18. Anna these photos are gorgeous! They're such lovely pictures of the two of you. Maybe painting would be good? My mum always let us do lots of painting and colouring in when we were younger and I always loved that. Hope you're having a good start to 2016!

    Lucy xoxo
    http://lucyannblogspot.co.uk

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  19. I absolutely love both your blog and channel. With the help of your videos and Lucy's I am aiming to get fit this year. You are such an inspiration and when I see you working out it really gets me motivated.

    Lots of love,
    Emily xo
    www.emilynewstead.blogspot.co.uk

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  20. Awww how cute. You are a perfect family

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  21. Hi Anna, my little 3 year old Maya stopped napping a while ago too, however when my 1 year baby old has her morning nap, Maya is allowed to watch tv so that i can get their lunch and afternoon snacks prepped. During baby's afternoon nap Maya and I do fun stuff like making mini pizzas, homemade play dough (which you can freeze and cut out using cookie cutters to make fun shapes), the other day we made bath bombs which she LOVED, we listen to audio fairytale stories snuggled up together on the sofa, we pretend to do each other's make up, the list goes on. I love having little girls :) you're a wonderful mama xxx

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  22. You could do some drawing and colouring in with Emilia. When my little sister had quite time she would either read a book (but just make up the words in her head) or just doodle. P.s. I love your videos and tell Emilia and Eduardo to stop being so cute xx

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  23. I love pinterest for cute seasonal activities and have a board for most of the events, with the next being Valentine's Day if you want to check them out. Here's my profile: https://uk.pinterest.com/hansla1000/

    But otherwise, I love painting, finger painting and with different vegetables ect., sensory ideas are always entertaining and also music. Have you thought of piano? Obstacle courses for when it's a little warmer but you could also do it with indoor furniture too :)

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  24. You are such a loving, attentive mother. Your children always look joyful and have the sweetest nature about them. Great parenting to both you & Jonathan. Happy New Year Saccone-Joly family.

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  25. That's amazing! What a good girl! I love spending one-on-one time with my oldest while the younger baby naps. Way to go Emilia!

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  26. I may not be a mom, but I do remember what my mom used to have me do when I no longer did nap times. She would let me color or build something out of materials we had around the house (paper, legos, trains, puzzles, etc.) And i loved it. It was my creative (quiet) time of the day.
    ♥ Mae
    maepolzine.com

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  27. That video made me smile- those are the moments Emilia will remember as she grows older.

    Caitie x
    www.what-caitie-did.blogspot.com.au

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  28. This is very sweet!!! Your family puts a smile on my face everyday (: thank you xxx

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  29. Dear Anna, You make such special moments for Emilian (and Eduardo, of course). It is so nice to think how someday they can watch the videos and relive the moments...forever. <3

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  30. Dear Anna, You make such special moments for Emilia (and Eduardo, of course). It is so nice to think how someday they can watch the videos and relive the moments...forever. <3

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  31. Sounds like you're doing a great job! We do similar. Our little girl was born a month before Emilia and we have a rather boisterous 7month old too. So when he sleeps, if my daughter is not at preschool we often sit and read together. Sometimes we watch a film (not short tv programmes like CBeebies), which is more screen time but it's good for her to chill sometimes! I've found short tv programmes make her grumpy so I try and limit them but a film she is ok with. We snuggle on the sofa with a blanket and a snack :) x

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  32. I am not a mum but I looked after my niece for a long period of time last year amd she started not having naps. I used to put a 25 minute nursery rhyme dvd on for her while I did some cleaning and we used to carry the lego around with us while i hooverer and she loved to help. I always gave her a clean cloth do she could feel useful in the process if she wanted to help. Basialy I used to sit and colour with her, read stories, sometimes just sit and fiddle with her hand to rest but not sleep and often let her hold the dog leads and walk them as well as let her play with a ball in the garden with the dogs. By the end of the day shed be so tired all she wanted was dinner a bath and bed!

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  33. Hi Anna, my two are almost exactly the same age as your gorgeous children and my eldest Lachlan is also dropping his nap. On days that we're home and he's up whilst Alessandra naps we do things like puzzles, read, play shop, paint by water books, go outside, play with duplo, play trains and anything else he might want to do. He loves sticking stickers on paper, sometimes he'll trace over his name, make a collage of things we've collected outside etc x

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  34. I am not a mum but I looked after my niece for a long period of time last year amd she started not having naps. I used to put a 25 minute nursery rhyme dvd on for her while I did some cleaning and we used to carry the lego around with us while i hooverer and she loved to help. I always gave her a clean cloth do she could feel useful in the process if she wanted to help. Basialy I used to sit and colour with her, read stories, sometimes just sit and fiddle with her hand to rest but not sleep and often let her hold the dog leads and walk them as well as let her play with a ball in the garden with the dogs. By the end of the day shed be so tired all she wanted was dinner a bath and bed!

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  35. She's becoming such a big girl! You're doing so well with her, as well as Eduardo! I really look up to you and Jonathan and hopefully if I'm a a parent one day, I want to be like you! xo

    Klaudia // klaudiam96.blogspot.com

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  36. My sister in April over three years and was awake in the day for a few good months :)
    Regards, www.juullkaa.blogspot.com

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  37. Milestones are always bittersweet! Emilia is such a delightful little girl. My grandson, Finley, is the same age as Emilia. Their birthday's are just a couple weeks apart. He decided to end naps at 2 years old. Boy was it difficult. He is a wonderful little sleeper though. He goes down in the evening at 7:30 and sleeps until about 8:30 the next morning. I am glad you are finding special time with Emilia. You are a good momma!

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  38. My oldest daughter is 4,5 she has never napped for more than 45 minutes and she completely dropped her nap when she turned 2 :( fortunately she slept well during the nights. My 1 yo sleeps bad both day and night. #parentlife

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  39. Emilia seems really bright. She might like some matching games like memory or a board game like chutes and ladders. Quiet but fun games for the two of you.

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  40. I have a 2 year old boy that naps and a 4 year old girl that does not. My daughter still does a quiet time during her brothers naps. I try and put together a little boy of fun activities for her to keep occupied with. But this post makes me want to let her come down and hang out with me. She does her quiet time very well. But with school days coming up I know our time together is going to be limited!

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  41. Big step! Aw loved the Instagram vid it was so adorable! x

    www.veronicabizzarri.blogspot.co.uk

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  42. It's been a number of years since my daughter ended her daily naps (she's 27!) but I do remember various crafts we attempted! One fun thing that I remember creating with her were garden walkway 'stones'. We bought little tiles at a re-store and tiled and grouted 16 x 16 sealed pieces of wood. What a fun, creative project that was! We made different designs/words/pictures with the colored tiles. We still have a few of them and they do bring back fun memories. You can tile just about anything with the right adhesive and though it can be a bit too messy for an indoor project (the tiling can be done indoors, but the grouting should be done outside), they do last a long while and look lovely in the garden.

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