So, it seems that it is official: Little O no longer needs to sleep during the day. (Please excuse me while I step out of the room to scream…)

Ahh, that’s better. No, right, I am going to put a positive spin on this. It means that we can spend a whole day out and don’t need to worry about rushing back home for lunch and naps now. Baby E is more “portable” and can sleep (for more limited) naps in the stroller, which Little O has not been able to do for some months.

So, it’s a good thing. Right. Yes, it is a good thing. (If I repeat this mantra enough, it becomes true, right?)

We’ve had some warning that this was on the cards. In early June, he seemed suddenly to decide not to nap during the day any more. This went on for almost a week and then I picked him up from preschool one day and he did not look too good. A fever came on quite suddenly and he had a bad night. The fever was still lingering the next day, so I kept him off preschool and he snuggled under his duvet on the sofa, watching Thomas the Tank Engine on the iPad. I knew that he must be feeling bad, as he did not move for at least 12 minutes; normally, he would only manage to keep still for a maximum of 20 seconds. That day he took a daytime nap. And then again for the next few days.

But then he stopped napping during the day again. This continued for a couple of weeks: no more than two days a week with a nap.

He only napped once last week but at preschool they did not give him “quiet time” as we had been doing: putting him into his cot in a semi-dark room but with a few books to look at. Instead, they took him to the playground… which meant he had not rested at all when I collected him and by 5.30pm each day, he was in a state.

This week he has caught a cold and also had a fever on Sunday and Monday. But still he was not napping. Then today he had a nap, even though he was fever-free. I woke him after an hour and a quarter (which has been enough time in the past for him to recharge his batteries, bt not enough that he cannot sleep at night).

He seemed pretty active still come bedtime. But we went through our usual routine and off he went to bed around 7pm. At 7.15am he was standing up in the cot and giggling. At 7.30pm he was standing up in the cot and calling to me and then giggling. At 7.45pm he was standing up in the cot and singing. At 8pm he was standing up in the cot and giggling again. At 8.15pm the singing resumed. I went in again to try and settle him down and decided to open the window a crack to le some fresh air in. At 8.30pm he was sitting in the corner of the cot and mumbling to himself. Somewhere around 8.45pm he finally decided that lying down was okay. Just before 9pm he fell asleep. (Don’t worry, I snuck back in later and closed the window – him contracting pneumonia is not top of my to do list right now.)

So that seems to be that for the daytime nap. I think this is proof that he doesn’t really need it any more, but he definitely needs some kind of quiet time, a little downtime to take a break from all the action of the toddler lifestyle.

Now please excuse me while I go and sob quietly in the corner plan some exciting new activities for us and our new-found freedom.