When Naptime Fails: A Dad's Adventures with a Tired Toddler

It was a no nap kinda Thursday. Beth’s out of town for a friend’s birthday so it’s just me and the little guy these next two days. We dropped Mama off at our friend’s house and when Corbyn and I got home, it was past naptime. I was hoping Corbyn would at least take a 90-minute nap but he had other plans. We drank some milk, read some books, sang our songs – we always sing Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and Twinkle Twinkle Litte Star – and laid down for naptime.

I got downstairs, turned on the monitor, and things were looking promising. Well, at least I thought they were. Corbyn was sitting straight up within a few minutes. Beth and I have taught Corbyn to stay in bed until we change the noise on his sound machine to birds and turn on the green light, so he wasn’t getting out of bed but he wasn’t going to sleep. After 10 minutes I went upstairs and asked Corbyn if he wanted me to sing him another song – that normally does the trick. I sang him a song – two songs really – and I went back downstairs. Within a few minutes, Corbyn was back sitting up and moving around his bed. This wasn’t good.

I texted Beth and she had a good idea – wait for 15 minutes and he’s still not asleep go up and see if he wants me to lay down next to him. So I did that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m too large of a human for a twin-size bed with a toddler but I made it work – think small! I tried laying next to Corbyn for 20-plus minutes with no luck and knew at this point that a nap was likely not happening. I left the room and anxiously watched the monitor, but when he started shouting for “Dada” I threw in the towel.

Some days you just have to roll with the punches – honestly, you should always do your best to roll with it. So I got Corbyn up and decided to take him to Trader Joe’s to get groceries for the next couple of days. But you know how a toddler who skips his nap goes. Excitement then screaming then happy then tears – it’s a rollercoaster. But hey we got to the store in one piece and he was happy at that point.

Quick trip through the store and then back to the car. Corbyn wanted to turn the A/C on in the back of the car – it’s a warm summer day in the upper 80s. The A/C was already on but he likes to touch the vent that’s above his car seat. Normally it’s just one touch and we’re good to go, but not today. Instead, Corbyn screamed for that vent. He opened it and closed it and opened it and…well you get the picture. So I tried to calmly ask him to sit down, I was hot and hungry and losing my patience.

I got the little man to sit down, buckled in, and we were heading home. Beth had set up this awesome activity for Corbyn with his dinosaur toys frozen in ice cubes – perfect for a hot summer’s day. Corbyn was screaming on the way home for the first few minutes. I was asking him what he needed but couldn’t understand – I mean, he’s two. A car cut me off and that pissed me off more. My emotions were up high and I wanted to cry. But I also have my son in the car and he’s depending on me. So I had to reposition myself and take some deep breaths – I’m working on that but I’m not perfect.

We got home and the rest of the night was much of the same – ups, downs, happy, sad, you know all of it. But I kept reminding myself that Corbyn was tired. He wasn’t giving me a hard time; he was having a hard time. Kids learn from the people who raise them. We did the outdoor activity – it was a blast, thanks babe. We had dinner, I put on a movie because it was a long day and I wanted to clean the kitchen. Then bathtime and an early bedtime.

Thankfully, Corbyn was asleep within minutes. The little dude was exhausted. It was a tough day. But it was a great day too. I got to do the thing I love most – hang out with my son. When people ask me “What do you do?” I tell them I’m a Dad. I’ll get to my profession later if they want to talk about that too (don’t get me wrong I love my job), but I’m Corbyn’s Dada and that’s what I love the most. I’m far from perfect, but I’m present. That’s all we can really do. So stay in there man, you’re not alone. We all have tough days with our kids. Take some deep breaths and give yourself some credit, you’re kicking butt.

The Burly Dad.