morning naps

When I was pregnant with Baby Kate, I was tired.  So very, very tired.  I taught school until my due date and classes started early.  This did not mix well with being so painfully tired.  My way of coping with the exhaustion was with morning naps.

The only way I could even entertain the thought of getting up and dressed was the promise of going back to sleep later.  And by later, I mean in fifteen minutes and not at the end of the day.  So I set my alarm clock an hour earlier than necessary, showered and did my hair the night before, streamlined my morning routine to a mere fifteen minutes, and crawled back into bed until D woke me up to leave.  There were a few days that I had to forgo my precious morning nap and, let me tell you, they were bad.

Fast forward one year and I am still taking my morning nap.

All the parenting books tell you not to let your baby grow accustomed to sleeping in your arms.  Babies need to learn to rest in their cribs and it is your responsibility to teach them.  And at night, I was 99% on board.  Katelyn was effectively "sleep trained" months ago and it has been wonderful.

So when it came time to "nap train," I was prepared.  I knew that she would need to cry a little to learn to nap in her crib.  I think I tried it once.  I sat out in the living room and listened to my baby cry for me.  It was impossible to sit there when I knew that if I just picked her up, wrapped her into a blanket burrito, and snuggled her, she would peacefully drift off to baby slumber land.  And my peacefully sleeping baby would be nestled comfortably in my arms while I smelled her baby fresh hair and kissed her baby soft forehead.  So I caved.

And I have caved everyday since.  My spoiled little princess gets to nap in the comfort of Mama's arms.  Every day at ten AM, I bundle little Kate, rock her to sleep, wedge her between the backrest of the couch and my side, and we both enjoy some morning zzz's.

Some days I think I will put my foot down and insist that Katelyn will sleep in her crib.  I could get so much done during that napping hour.  But I don't care because I know that someday my baby won't be a baby anymore and she won't let me swaddle her in her lovey and cuddle her to sleep.  And not too soon after that, all of my babies will be grown and they won't let me cradle them while I sniff their hair or kiss their cheeks and I won't get to sleep with a happy little infant in my arms until they have babies of their own.

So for now, and for the first time in my life, I am enjoying my morning naps, living in the moment, and loving it.