marine corps virtual 10k 2020
October 19, 2020 (Updated January 4, 2024)

Virtual 10k + Fall Eats + Toddler Advice Please!

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

61 comments

Hello friends! Our big excitement this weekend was that Matt and I ran the virtual Marine Corps 10k!

marine corps virtual 10k 2020

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Is there anything better than post-race watermelon? So delicious and hydrating!

I’m continuing my partnership with The Watermelon Board this year, and as in year’s past they provided me and Matt with bibs for the race. We’ve run the 10k with them a number of years now – and I ran the full Marine Corps Marathon in 2016 with them, too! That was a TOUGH race, oof. Reminder to all: don’t climb an insane mountain the weekend before a marathon… 😉 

Anyway! The race looked different this year since of course it was virtual! We missed the excitement of running in a crowd and finishing at the big arches up the hill in Rosslyn, but Matt and I still had a lot of fun running on our own. My mom came over yesterday morning to hang out with Riese so we could run, and we had absolutely perfect weather for it! 

out for a run

Such a treat to get to enjoy such a nice morning on the run with my best guy. Thank you again to my Watermelon Board friends for the bibs! 

garmin watch picture with 10k

Anyone else doing the virtual Marine Corps 10k or full marathon this year? Or any other virtual races? How’d they go? 

Our other big excitement this weekend was that Riese had her very first soccer class! 

toddler soccer

She had a blast and we had fun making a big morning of it – great weather to stroll around town! 

walking to soccer

After Riese’s class, we walked over to Swing’s Coffee – I’ve been hearing about their coffee for a long time now but we still hadn’t tried it! We both got mochas and loved them. I asked for half the sweetness because I always find they are too sweet, and it was the perfect amount!

Two thumbs up for Swing’s – we’ll be back, but next time we will be smart and order online ahead so we don’t have to wait! We were not the only ones with the coffee idea, apparently!

Sidenote – anyone else on team 1/2 caffeine for lattes? For the past few years I’ve gotten all my 2 shot lattes as half decaf, because 2 shots makes me super jittery. I also can’t have any caffeine after noon or else I can’t fall asleep at night. Guess I’m getting old!

mochas from swings coffee

We enjoyed our coffee (plus one of their blueberry lemon scones, which the 3 of us shared – super good) while walking to Evening Star cafe for an outdoor brunch.

We basically had the place to ourselves and their brunch hit the spot – I had the smoked salmon eggs benedict with home fries, and Matt and I shared some salad, too. Riese helped us with everything – we were all hungry! 

brunch outside at eveningstar cafe

As for other recent eats, looking at my pictures we apparently had a lot of eggs this weekend!

One night we did breakfast for dinner and had ham and cheese omelettes with some sliced green bell pepper – we didn’t feel like cooking and were hungry for something fast. 

ham and cheese omelette with green pepper

This reminds me now that it’s fall and apples are amazing I should make my Apple and White Cheddar Omelette again – an old fave! 

Riese and I also had egg burritos with cheese, scrambled eggs, and black beans (with some red pepper and a little leftover kale for me too) one morning. I need to make more of my Make Ahead Breakfast Burritos for the freezer… love having a hearty breakfast option quickly at hand. 

egg burritos with black beans

As for lunches, I hadn’t made a tuna salad sandwich in ages – this hit the spot.

tuna salad sandwich with grapes, carrots, and bell pepper

I have also been really into fall-focused grain salad bowls with roasted squash! You can get all the details about the ingredients of this bowl on this recent Instagram post (plus there’s a giveaway you can enter)!

roasted squash and bean grain bowl

As for other dinners this weekend, we were making meals that I’ll be featuring on the blog later on, so stay tuned! 

I will leave you with some questions, because we would love some advice from you fellow parents! Two questions:

  1. Riese says she is ready for a big girl bed, so we are looking into buying a toddler/regular twin bed for her. (The crib we have has a toddler rail we can swap to, but we feel like it makes more sense to just go all in with a big kid bed while she’s into it.) Any recommendations? We want a white one so it matches her other furniture but otherwise open to recs. Also would love recs for how to actually keep her in said bed vs. her getting out and trying to come hang out with us after bedtime. And thoughts on how to keep her from falling out! 🙂 
  2. I think we are in the 3 year old sleep regression (is that a thing?) – it has been super hard to get Riese to go to bed lately. She comes up with every excuse ever once you do the whole routine and get her in bed (has to go potty (even though she still wears a diaper to bed), needs a snack, wants to come to our bed, she’s scared, etc. etc.), and lately she has also wanted the lights on so she can read all her books, but then she stays up crazy late and doesn’t want to go to sleep. The past couple weeks she’s been up until 9 or 10 a lot of nights, which is obviously not ideal for any of us (she doesn’t put herself to sleep when she’s done reading, but rather calls for us a lot). So… any thoughts/advice? We’re wondering if having a big girl bed may help because she can get out and look at the books she wants on her own (without calling us in every 5 seconds to get her more books), but how do we actually get her to stay in her room and also to go to sleep?! She is still napping, so maybe she’s not as tired by bedtime, but she really seems to need the nap still and is a mess without it (plus right now her nap time is my work time, so it’s kind of necessary for all of us). Her bedtime used to be around 8, but it keeps getting later and later and later! 

Thank you in advance! <3 See you back here Wednesday with a cozy new recipe that I think you will love! 

- anne

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61 comments
  • Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
    Oh man, I am no help on either of your questions and I hope that isn't a typical regression because I would dread going through that, especially since we're having a baby in December so will have enough sleep issues to contend with as is! Our son is getting very good at stalling, but he still falls asleep pretty quickly. There was a period of time when he'd scream and cry when we left his room after putting him to bed. I went in a few times to comfort him, but I think he was just trying to manipulate us honestly... they learn that at a young age! So we learned to just let him scream and cry (I know that probably sounds mean, but we knew he was tired). After about 5-7 days, he stopped fighting bedtime and just accepts that it's time to go to bed... And he still LOVES his crib so we are keeping him in there until he is potty trained and shows interest in a big boy bed. When he does need a big boy bed, we are planning to get him a white one from Ikea that has storage under it because his room is on the smaller side as is... Hope someone can help you out with your sleep regression question! These kids are always keeping us on our toes!
    Reply
    • Anne
      They really are! Thanks Lisa!!
      Reply
  • Ann
    Congratulations on the big-girl bed milestone! Three is definitely old enough to have a regular twin or full size bed. We transitioned our (now 4-year-old) daughter to a full-size bed right around her third birthday. You can purchase inflatable "bumpers" to prevent kids from rolling out, but honestly, unless Riese is a super active sleeper, it's probably fine to just put her in the bed and see how it goes. Another option to get her used to the new dimensions is putting the mattress on the floor by itself first for a week, then adding the box spring, and finally adding the bed frame. Getting kiddos to stay in bed is another story. Dropping the nap would be the best solution - we went through this phase with our daughter, and while it took a week of crabby/sleepy afternoons, she did adjust and is now asleep at 7:30pm. If that's not an option, a ready-to-wake toddler clock light can be a helpful cue for getting out of bed in the morning as well as staying put at night. Aside from that, all you can do is repeatedly but firmly return her to her room when she pops out, and resist requests for more songs, stories, back rubs, water, etc. Keep the lights off, but allow her to have one or two nightlights so the room is slightly illuminated but dim, and encourage her to look at books until she's ready to sleep. Good luck!
    Reply
    • Anne
      This is helpful, Ann, thank you!
      Reply
  • Megan Miner
    hi! on beds - i'd go for a full or queen instead of a toddler bed or twin. More room to roll around, for all the things they bring to bed, and for you guys to lay in and snuggle for books, etc. We put the toddler rail on the crib and had the big bed in the same room and let Brett pick when he was ready to move over to it. We put a gate on Brett's room to keep him in at bedtime. We still have to go up once or twice but if it gets out of hand we just tell him no, he cries, but then goes to sleep. Usually since he's tired if we get to the crying part (much less frequent now) it's only for a minute or two and then he conks out. I also do things like say, if I have to come up here again I'm going to take a toy out of your bed (or all the toys if he's really out of hand). When that makes him upset I tell him I'll put the toy back once he's asleep. Good luck!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thanks Megan! I love the idea of having the crib and the big bed and giving options - one of my friends did that with success - but Riese's room is too small so we will have to go all in and hope for the best... these tips are helpful, thank you! Will definitely consider a full size bed because I like the idea of reading in there with her (right now she always wants to read/stay in our bed), need to do some measuring and see how it will fit!
      Reply
  • Amy
    We use a timer at night with our boys who are 6 and almost 4. We put them in their rooms and they are allowed to read for 15 minutes by themselves. When the timer goes off, it's time to shut the light off. It seems to work pretty well. As far as getting out of bed, just be firm with your boundaries. Before we got the bed, we started out by saying a million times "you stay in your bed until mom or dad comes to get you, just like in your crib." Our youngest pushed the boundaries a bit, but every time we just reminded him of the rule and put him back in his bed. The transition was way easier for both boys than I imagined it would be. They both moved into twin beds with a bed rail on one side and the wall on the other.
    Reply
    • Anne
      I'm hoping I'm more nervous about the transition than I need to be and that it will go smoothly... we'll see! Which timer do you use?
      Reply
      • amy
        We use a digital countdown timer. The company is Time Timer. I got it on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Time-Timer-Magnetic-Portable-Management/dp/B072M2LNR7/ref=asc_df_B072M2LNR7/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198075824790&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12312947254045312076&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1018289&hvtargid=pla-356234147163&psc=1
        Reply
  • Catherine
    I feel you on both of those toddler questions! I did find that switching from a crib to a toddler bed (taking the side off of the crib) helped at first with bedtime. She did get out some, but she wasn't as upset and was more content when we left the room. We put some pillows next to the bed at first -- she did fall out once or twice. But since the pandemic, we really let bedtime slide and, like you mentioned, she came up with endless stalling techniques and wasn't getting to bed until 9ish. (My daughter is now 3 1/2). We ended up deciding not to vary from the set routine, despite tantrums, but it only took a couple of days for her to get it. We also starting giving her dinner earlier so we could start the whole routine sooner. This means we don't eat together as a family, but that has really seemed to help with her attitude. She doesn't nap, so she was really falling apart at the end of the day. We have a Hatch light for her room and she sometimes like to pick a color for falling asleep and one for waking up, but it's been hit or miss. The light scared her at first, and now she often just ignores it and doesn't wait for it to change to come into our room.
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thank you Catherine! Good idea with the pillows next to the bed just in case... appreciate the tips!
      Reply
  • Melanie
    Hi...what an exciting stage in your little girl's life! As a Mom of 3 girls and now a granddaughter who is 4 here are my tips: 1) Make sure the room is completely child proof (outlets, cords, dressers attached to the wall, small toy pieces etc. ) anything they can put in their mouths needs to be out of reach as they will get out of bed and explore while you sleep. 2) You can use the door knob covers that prevent them from opening the door or the baby gate (I prefer this option). 3) If they come out of the room or cry at the gate or cry in general make sure they are ok but say nothing and do nothing other than escort them back to bed, pat them lovingly and leave the room (night lights are good and so is soothing music and toys that project images on the ceiling/walls). Do not have conversation, drinks of water, give them toys or books etc. 4) This is the hardest, do not let them come sleep in bed with you at night. Make times in bed with you special times like Saturday or Sunday morning after they slept in their own bed. Of course if they are ill you may need to make an exception. My feeling is the key is routine and setting the same expectation each night of what will happen. Wishing you all the best!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thank you Melanie!
      Reply
  • Carrie Taggart
    Biggest regret with both of kids in the room department was getting a twin size bed. Once they reach middle school age they all prefer and sleep better in a full size bed. I tell people skip the twin bed stage and get a nice full bed that will last them for years!
    Reply
    • Anne
      That's a good tip... I'm going to do some measuring to see if we can squeeze a full bed in there, because it does seem more cozy!
      Reply
  • Krista
    Hi! I would keep her in the crib as long as possible unless she’s trying to escape. After the crib I would transition to a toddler bed. I always think baby steps are better for these big transitions. We transitioned my daughter at 3.5 into a toddler bed and she never tried to leave her room, I think because at 3.5 she could fully understand she was supposed to stay in her bed until we came and got her. For naps, I would cut the nap time down and try not to let her sleep past 3. It’s definitely getting in the way of bedtime sleep and that’s why she’s not tired at night. Good luck with it all!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thank you for your thoughts Krista!
      Reply
  • Sara
    Hi Anne! When we transitioned kids to a bed, we purchased full beds and skipped the frame to begin with. This kept them close to the floor so easy to get off and if they roll off they are closer to the floor. As far as keeping them in their beds that’s another story...?
    Reply
    • Anne
      That's a good idea re: skipping the frames at first!
      Reply
  • Erin Miller
    I would definitely go straight to the full bed and skip the twin and toddler bed. As far as bed time, i think she is ready to give up her nap. When my kids starting falling asleep later and later (usually right around 3 years old), that was the sign that the nap needed to go. I think her constant stalling is because she isn't very tired. When we took the nap away, all 3 went to bed at 7pm. When you first take the nap away, it's a little rough by late afternoon. But they all transitioned pretty quickly and went to sleeping a solid 7pm-7am night very quickly. Good luck!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Did you still have quiet time or anything? Nap is honestly the thing keeping us all sane right now with almost no childcare + trying to work...
      Reply
      • Anne
        Our kids are 4.5 and almost 6. We went through this with both of our kiddos around this age and it's so hard. They really need a nap but a nap pushes their bedtime so incredibly late. Eventually it all works itself out but we had months of late bedtime before she dropped the nap. Both kids still take a quiet rest time in their individual rooms which means they can read and play quietly in their room for an hour or two.
        Reply
        • Anne
          I need to figure out how to make the quiet time thing happen without her falling asleep (or completely fighting everything) - ironically she was fighting nap super hard today and is now in my office having quiet time reading her books while I work because it was the only way to get her to stop flipping out. So... today will be a test to see how bedtime goes with no nap!
          Reply
      • Sarah
        My daughter is four months older than Riese and currently in the process of dropping her nap. The bright side is that she goes to bed at 7 when she doesn’t nap. The less bright side is that I desperately need that nap time! On weekends (she is at daycare during the week) we put her in her room with a dim light on at her old nap time and tell her that it’s rest time. She has to be quiet and stay in her room, but she doesn’t have to sleep. This seems to work much of the time, but not always. All to say, I feel your pain, and good luck!
        Reply
        • Anne
          Thank you Sarah! So tough to figure this stuff out!
          Reply
  • Leslie
    We switched my 2.5-year-old to a big kid bed (twin sized) recently and I was super anxious about him falling out. We put it up against a wall on 1 side and lined the floor on the other side with pillows. He hasn't fallen out or escaped once. We still have the baby monitor, so if he wakes up he just calls to us and we go get him, but he's only woken up twice in the 2 weeks he's been in the big kid bed (no worse than when he was in the crib!). So maybe just rip off the bandaid and it'll go better than you think! Re: sleep regression, look into following @biglittlefeelings on instagram, they have some great tips for having a toddler and i believe they have a highlight on bedtime. Good luck and know you're not alone, it can take us an hour to do "bedtime" some nights, it is exhausting!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thank you Leslie, I'll check out that IG resource!
      Reply
  • rOBYN
    I would recommend getting a full size bed for her. It will not having to buy a larger bed later. Toddler beds are only for a short time. With a larger bed, she won't roll off. Same way adults don't roll off either. Keeping a very consistent bedtime routine is key! I had one child that was an escape artist and the other just wanted to sleep. Same routine every night even weekends will help tremendously. If it's bath, brush teeth, read for 10 minutes and then alone quiet time for 10 minutes, it has to be the same every day. Let her know what's going on. Children love routine! They know what to expect and gives a sense of control. Even my teenagers love routine. When she gets up (she will!) keep putting her back to bed. It will be tough for a bit, but keep up the consistency. It pays off big! Share the routine with grandparents too. Kiddos love to alter things when mom & dad aren't around. ;)
    Reply
  • Nora
    Not what you want to hear but time to drop the nap! Early bedtime at 6:45 or 7 and you will LOVE having your evening back!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Gah! I can't decide if evenings or nap time are more important... :)
      Reply
  • TrackBuddy
    Oh man - sleep - our kids have always owned us on sleep. So your mileage may vary, but this is what worked for us: - we got rid of the nap as soon as the staying-up-till-10-thing happened and just dealt with the crankiness - we put up a baby gate INSIDE the room, arced around the door like an atrium, so the door could swing open and they could see out, but not get out of the room - then you just have a period where they're getting out of bed constantly but at least they stay in the room - we had a nice bed rail that worked super well. can also put the mattress on the floor for a while. - note that for the second kid, we got her out of the crib at 18 months and put her on a mattress on the floor (babyproofed room), with the arced gate as described. We had a few crazy nights but then she acclimated a lot faster than the first kid (where we transitioned her into a bed probably around 2.5 or 3, I can't remember) - also, we use the moshi app now (still, for the almost 6 year old) as part of the bedtime "wind-down" routine. It's not cheap but it works amazingly well. GOOD LUCK!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thanks Diane, appreciate the tips!!
      Reply
  • Krista
    Hang in there Mom and Dad! Riese is just trying to get you two to give an inch. Stay strong. My daughter (now 4) went through this. I realized she was playing a game and we did the usual bedtime routine (potty, bath, teeth, pjs, book). Then, tucked her in and rubbed her back for a bit. Then, it was time for mom/dad to leave even if she was asleep or not. She got out of bed 40 times the first night but I just, calmly, walked her back put her in bed, said "good night" each time, gave her a kiss and walked out (yes, it made for a long evening). The next night it was 20 times out of bed, next night 10 times, the next night 5 times and then 1 time. Repeating the calmness of getting her back to bed, kiss and leave. She realized this wasn't fun. :) Of course every now and then she fights bedtime but it's not often. We did cut out naps around 3 yo most days. I will say it made bedtime easier. We transitioned her from toddler bed to a full sized bed. We put a pool noddle under the fitted sheet (both toddler and big bed) as a "bumper". We didn't want to spend extra money on something that wouldn't be needed in the future. It worked. Good Luck!
    Reply
    • Anne
      A pool noodle is genius! Thanks!
      Reply
  • Jenn
    Bed time routine and stick to it. No exceptions (except when she's sick maybe). For us that's one book from each parent, a sip of water, and a good night song. Lights out with nightlight on and door closed. We don't go back in. We did this routine while she was still in the crib so by the time we moved her to the bed she just never thought to get up. It's really hard at the beginning but they will OWN your evenings if you let them.
    Reply
    • Anne
      She is definitely owning our evening right now. Ha.
      Reply
      • Jenn
        She is! But it’s not too late to set a firm routine. I do not think the answer is to let her play with all the books she wants. That sends a very confusing message to her toddler brain that night time is play time. All steps in the routine should point to sleep.
        Reply
        • Anne
          True... will try some new strategies! Thanks!
          Reply
  • Natalie
    My son is 3.5 and we transitioned to a toddler bed about a year ago (because he was climbing out of the crib). It's been a struggle, but I notice the days he naps, it is SO much harder to get him to go to sleep at night. He goes to daycare and they still do naptime with the kids, so I can't totally drop his nap, but on the weekends he does not nap and bedtime goes much smoother I think because he is just tired!
    Reply
    • Anne
      It will be nice to have no nap on the weekend so we can do more fun stuff without rushing home, at least! During the week... yikes, need to figure out how to get my work done!
      Reply
  • Roadrunner
    Congrats on the virtual 10K! Nice to see the bibs. (By the way, we love the cut up watermelon that you can get at the grocery store. It is awesome for adding to hydration after a serious workout. So bravo to them, too.) And nice to see all the advice from fellow blog readers! Good luck with the transition to the big girl bed!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thanks! And I agree, love watermelon in all forms. :)
      Reply
  • Lauren Insley
    We did the toddler bed transition in August for our 2.5 year old. We decided to covert the crib and put a longer bed rail up. We went that route because we plan to up grade her bed when we move her to her big girl room. The transition went way smoother than I ever imagined. We also have a major staller at bed time who would have a fit almost nightly in the crib to no crying at bed time. She has only gotten out of bed a few times but usually stays until we get her. This may not be the norm but I wanted to share a positive experience. She still stalls like hell though and usually "potty " as a tactic too, though we just say 1 more time. Also I have been applying @biglittlefeelings techniques regarding prep and other things like choices which seem to be helping. In retrospect I feel like the toddler bed transition was less change all at once versus a whole new bed and freedom.. Good luck, I am sure it will be easier than the anticipation.
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thanks Lauren, appreciate your thoughts!
      Reply
  • T
    Ok, I haven’t read the other comments and it looks like you’ve gotten a lot of advice so I’ll keep it short, but..... 1. We were having similar horrible bedtime woes and dropped the nap at 3 and it was a lifesaver. Bedtime went from 10pm struggle to 8-8:30, and slept longer in the morning too thank goodness. 2. We went straight to a regular twin and bought a “2-pack extra tall foam bed rail for toddlers” and I stacked them on top of each other under the bottom sheet and no falls (we’d had a couple falls previously so I wanted something extra high). It’s nice and cozy and then you just pull them if you don’t need them anymore. Good luck! Soccer looks so fun!
    Reply
    • T
      Meant to add - bought the bumpers off Amazon, brand is babumper!
      Reply
      • Anne
        Excellent, thank you!
        Reply
    • Anne
      I like the foam idea, seems more cozy than hard rails! Thanks!
      Reply
  • Andrea
    Exact same thing happened with my daughter when she was almost 4 - she started going to bed at 10 pm!! Once I cut her nap, everything was fine and she resumed her normal 8 pm bedtime. So If she is still napping, probably time to cut the nap so she goes to bed earlier :( if not, wake her up earlier. She might need less sleep... I skipped the toddler bed and went right to a queen with bed rails so she wouldn’t fall out - I figured why buy two beds? Also locked her in her room using a child safe door knob (controversial, I know - others do the same with a tall baby gate) for about 6 months until I was confident she got the idea to stay in there.
    Reply
    • Anne
      Yeah... I think the nap is definitely the culprit. Thanks Andrea!
      Reply
  • ALYSSA
    Hate to be the bearer of bad news but dropping nap was the only way we had success with this problem as well. Two of my children dropped it right away at age 2 and my middle kept napping until 3! That was awesome. My 2 and 4 year old still nap at daycare and it definitely makes bedtime challenging. I must prefer the weekends when they are awake all day. Plus, I love the flexibility of not having to worry about scheduling the day around naptime. We lay in bed with our kids while they fall asleep. It's not for everyone but after having them gone at daycare all day we enjoy the time. They are only little once and before I know it they won't want these snuggles! I love the conversations we have during this time. We also use bed rails. Even my 6yo still needs them. My 2yo somehow threw herself out of bed the other night. I just heard a huge thump and then crying.
    Reply
    • Anne
      Gah. I was really hoping dropping the nap would not be the advice, lol. Thank you!
      Reply
  • ANGIE
    Our first got out of his crib really early, so instead of investing in a bed right away, we got him a good-quality twin mattress that we put on the floor for awhile and then progressed to a bed with a bed rail. To keep him in his room, we put a gate in front of his door and left the door open. We had to go and encourage him to get back into bed several times a night for the first few days, but after that he got it. In terms of bedtime, I think she may be ready to give up her nap or at least take a shorter one. My kids were all over the place with napping, but we have been militant about bedtimes and when they started having trouble going to sleep, we knew it was time to either shorten or eliminate the nap. When we were phasing them out of naps, they would still ask for them occasionally or just fall asleep, and we let them. But we no longer insisted on the naps.
    Reply
    • Anne
      Thanks Angie! Need to figure out the nap situation clearly...
      Reply
  • Poppy
    My advice (from a mom with two kids): get a double bed. You will appreciate the space to lie in bed and read together, and you may also need to sleep together if Riese is sick. It's been a lifesaver for us and it will see her through until college. You can get a platform bed so that it's low to the ground so there's no fear of her falling out and getting hurt. We put the knob guards on the handle inside of our 2.5 year-old's room. I got a two pack from the Dollar Tree, and she can't open it, so that works well for us. I'm sure she'll do great.
    Reply
  • Kerry
    That’s a rough stage for sure. No nap and they are losing their mind by 6 pm, nap and they never go to bed. As a mom of two older kids, I will tell you to dump the nap and go with the earlier bedtime, perhaps as early as 6:30 or 7. A few rough weeks and she will get the hang of it. Some kids will do quiet time in their room alone so you can get some stuff done. My kids never would. They got introduced to the afternoon hour of cartoons. And they turned out to be very intelligent decent humans, despite an hour of the evil T.V!!!! Do what you gotta do. The best thing for your kid is a sane mom!
    Reply
    • Anne
      Lol to the decent humans besides TV! Love it. I agree the best thing for kids is a sane mom... Thanks Kerry! <3
      Reply
  • Elizabeth
    You may want to switch to her having a quiet time (with books, puzzles) rather than a nap time. She is pretty old to still sleep plus go to bed on time and the quiet time will be beneficial for her and you.
    Reply
    • Anne
      Any tips for how to keep her awake for quiet time, though? She falls asleep pretty much immediately and is such a mess without a nap... thinking we may just cut the nap shorter to see if that helps vs. giving it up entirely because I think she still needs it!
      Reply