Meltdown!!

Today was Emilia's first day trying out the mat for nap time at daycare. Until today, she has slumbered happily in a crib in a quiet, dark room all her own. When I picked her up from daycare, I was told that "they have begun the journey of transitioning her to a mat." They reported that she did not nap at all - instead, she spent the 2 hours of "quiet time" trying to say hi to any friends within sight and resist with all her being, a nap.

Emilia: "Hi! Hi! Hi, Molly! Hi, Molleeeee"
Robin: "Emilia, it's nap time. We need to be quiet and lay on our mat."
Emilia:"La la la laaaaa..."
Robin: "Emilia, you need to be quiet"
Emilia: "You stop that! You stop that! YOU STOP THAT!"
Robin: "Emila, that's not nice to say. Be quiet please and take a nap."
Emilia: "Hi Thomas! Tommeeee!"

And so it went. Robin reported that she laid on her mat and stared at her for about 20 minutes during which time Robin thought she was sleeping with her eyes open...but nope - she did not sleep a wink... We were told we could be in for some ugliness at home tonight...but nothing could have prepared us for the complete and utter meltdown that took place...

We got home and decided to get Emilia in the bath before dinner. We figured she was going to drop early tonight considering the no nap day she had just had. The bath started out okay, but then came time to rinse her hair and this is where the meltdown began... She did NOT want her hair rinsed and unfortunately for her and her opinion about the matter, it wasn't a choice. By the time she was bubble free, she was losing it, splashing everywhere and throwing toys. She did not want to be dried off, she did not want lotion, she did not want her diaper, she did not want her onsie, she did not want her hair brushed, she did not want to be touched...she did not know what she wanted... So as she screamed and cried and kicked and gagged and pulled her hair and snot poured down her face, we tried to console her and asked if she wanted to be held or read a book or have a glass of water but she did NOT want anything and wanted even less, anything to do with us... So, we gave her space and moved away anything she could hurt herself on and let her "be" in her room.

The good, the bad and the ugly... It's real life...

She eventually came down from the peak of her meltdown and walked out into the kitchen wanting to picked up by Jeff. Jeff picked her up and she laid her head down on his shoulder. While he held her, I got her dinner plate ready. By the time I walked into the living room to let them know dinner was ready - she was OUT. We laid her on a blanket on the floor where she slept for the next 40 minutes. She woke up still pretty crabby and we decided to just do our best to keep her from having another meltdown. She ate her dinner on the couch and was much happier after this. By the time her bedtime came, we were all wanting to curl up in the fetal position.

Wow! One tantrum down... Advice welcomed.