Don't take the nap away!

The signs are there. Michael used to go down at 7:30 or so at night, fall asleep on his own in about a half an hour and then sleep through till about 7:00 the next morning. He would also go down for about a 2 and ½ hour nap every afternoon. It was a beautiful thing. Then he started playing before falling asleep at night. We still put him down between 7:30 and 8:00 in the evening, but he’s often still awake at 9:30. He entertains himself in his room, and then falls asleep on his own but it’s still a sign. He’s also waking up earlier - at around 6:15 in the morning. At naptime he plays and plays in his room. He’ll play for two hours and never fall asleep. If I go into his room and sit in a chair insisting that he lie still in his bed he’ll fall asleep after 15 minutes or so. Then he’ll still sleep for about two hours. However, I think the signs are there. He’s ready to drop the nap.

• He doesn’t fall asleep on his own for his nap any more.
• He is fine, behaviorally, until bedtime even when he doesn’t nap.
• He’s staying awake after bedtime for at least an hour or more.
• He’s waking up earlier in the morning.

He’s willing to play quietly in his room while his sister naps giving me a break in the afternoon. Why am I still going upstairs and putting him to sleep?

I do it because it’s Ava’s therapy time. That time between when Ava wakes up and when Michael wakes up is when I work with her on her speech. If I stop putting Michael to sleep he’ll hear her get up and want to come downstairs too. Then I lose the therapy time.

I need a plan for working with Ava while Michael is up, but I haven’t figured something out yet. I need to find something to entertain him quietly that won’t interest her at all. The problem is, she wants to do everything he’s doing. Until I have a brilliant idea I’ll just muddle along with the current setup. But it won’t last much longer. I think Michael’s afternoon nap is on its way out. Suggestions?