I am a stickler for routines. Especially when it comes to making sure that K takes his afternoon naps daily.

K’s nap times are the only time in the day where I can have some ‘me’ time; enjoy a cup of decaffeinated coffee, bury my head into a good book, start work on new lap books or just leisurely net surfing. Thus I started to get a little concerned lately, when K started sleeping later for his naps and waking up a little too early in the afternoons. I believe this could be largely due to his transition from a toddler to a pre-schooler, and his sleep habits are slowly changing. I really dread the day when he will finally drop his afternoon naps

However, this week, I decided to go a little lenient on K’s nap routine when contractors came over to my place to fix a new air condition system. My helper took over the supervision at home, while DH, K and I went for lunch at Mr Prata @ Evans Road to satisfy my prata craving. Found out that K did not really like prata and preferred eating the bits of sugar on his plate.

We drove around town to get some errands done, sent Dh home afterwards, while K and I proceeded to seek some afternoon fun at Sentosa.

I planned to drive into Sentosa so that there will be more time to explore the Nature Walk and then check out the beach thereafter. We ended up taking Sentosa Express into the island, as K wanted to take the train into Sentosa instead. Public transport is still very much a novelty for him, although I think it will most likely change after a couple of years from now when he has to take his school bus to school.Sentosa was surprisingly busy for a weekday afternoon, we had to share the train with throngs of tourists and students. By the time we reached Sentosa island, it was almost 3 pm. So I decided that we skip the Nature Walk and head straight for the water play area at Palawan beach.

It was a blazing hot afternoon. I found myself searching for shaded areas to hide, while I watched K have a splashing good time in the water play area, without being the least bit bothered about the sun. I slapped on lots of sunblock for K and myself, although that did not prevent us from getting a couple of shades darker after our visit.

After 2 hours, we headed back to our car, parked at at Vivo City. He was so awake and alert all through our excursion and did not show any signs of sleepiness until he got strapped into his car seat. He fell asleep barely 10 minutes into our drive back home and only got up when dh opened the car door.

Tried to get him to sleep early that evening, but he took almost 1 hour before drifting off to sleep. And then woke up, fussing every other hour from 11 p.m. till like 2 a.m., and then woke up at 8 a.m. the next day. Was a moody and fussy kid the next morning.

Maybe it is the break of routines that cause the sleeplessness or simply the mere excitement of the day that kept him awake? I guess I am right to trust my instincts to stick strictly to his afternoon naps daily, afterall, keeping to K’s nap routines is the best for him and I treasure my ‘me’ time too much to ever want to give it up.

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