As I sit here and write this, my 4 month old is napping peacefully. He’s been asleep for over 3 hours now (I think). Not a peep from the monitor and I have gotten so much done – I took out the trash, did some dishes, cleaned the mirrors in the bathroom, cleaned my appliances. At first it was a breath of fresh air. I had some time to myself to clean and blog. As time goes by though, my anxiety grows.
I have always said – after I learned better – “never wake a sleeping baby.” They know when they need sleep. If you wake up a sleeping baby, be prepared for some crankiness. This isn’t just about babies either. Always let your kids sleep. I like to think of it like sleep-karma. If I let them sleep, maybe some day they will let me sleep.
The Anatomy of Naptime
First 5 minutes – This could make or break naptime. I put them down and just wait in terrible suspense for the pitiful crying.
First 15 minutes – If they stayed quiet for the first 5 minutes, you move on to the first 15 minutes. Almost there mama. If they go to sleep now, you’re golden.
First half hour – You can look around and start doing something else. Play with the other kids, start watching a show, the infinite laundry pile, or dirty dishes
First hour – Wow! An hour! How relaxing. You might even get 2 or 3 things done. It’s also about this time that you start regretting not taking a nap yourself (that is, unless you have other kids, then you never get to nap anyway).
Second hour – This is the home stretch! You get that sinking feeling that ANY MINUTE the baby will start to fuss and wake up. You start to finish up any tasks because you know it won’t last much loner.
Third hour – Hmm, I wonder if they’re ok? Maybe I you should go check. Quietly…VERY quietly. But you don’t because you KNOW they will wake up then. Never wake a sleeping baby!
3 hours, 15 minutes – Ok, definitely time to check on them. You sneak in for a peek. Still asleep. Whew!
3 hours, 25 minutes – Well now I’m bored.
3 hours, 35 minutes – I better go wake them up. It’s just an old wives’ tale anyway.
At some point you wake the baby. You know you do.
30 minutes after you wake up baby – When are they gonna nap again??
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Could connect with u a lot Kristen! My twins are 3.5 yrs old. They take a nap in the afternoon once they are back from their preschool. Sometimes they sleep for 2-3 hours and this is when I happily keep up with all my chores. But in the evening they get super energitic and never get to bed early for the night’s sleep. And the tired mommy in me would think ‘why did I let them take such a big nap?’. Lol . But it continues the same everyday 🙂
Yes!! A long nap is amazing when it’s happening and a terrible idea at bedtime.