Nap is a Mom’s Favorite Word
This is a guest post that was contributed by Lauren from Three Makes a Family. Mom to an adorable baby boy and wife to a French Chef (Oo-La-La!), Lauren is a new mom sharing her journey through parenthood. From pregnancy to labor/delivery and afterward, she supplies her readers with advice, tips and tricks and so much more- check her out!
Sleep seems to be a hot topic for new moms. We all want to know how to get more of it and especially how to get baby to sleep with little or no effort. Mom can’t sleep if baby isn’t sleeping! Long gone are the days of sleeping in until 10am (okay, I mean noon) and now you treasure the small increments of sleep that you DO get. Because you find yourself sleep deprived, you look forward to one time of day the most, NAP TIME!
I genuinely look forward to nap time, it is what keeps me going on days when I am really tired. I look forward to a break (or maybe even some adorable sleepy snuggles!). But I find myself torn when it comes to little man’s naps… I could take a nap with him and get some much needed rest or I can use that time to get something done like dishes, laundry, cleaning, or maybe even do something for myself. (GASP!)
That being said, half the time this decision is made for me. Little man still loves to nap on me, and sometimes won’t nap unless he lays with me. When this happens, he has made the decision for me that I will rest. So I either take a nap too, or just rest with him and watch TV (or obsessively scroll through Pinterest on my phone). On the occasions that he lays down on his own, I am always at war with myself. Do I take that time to rest when I could be doing a million other things?
Nap time is the one time during the day where you have a chance to do something for yourself. So even though you may be tired, there is a part of you that is selfish and wants to use that time to have some “me” time; to do something that is not baby related, something just for you! And sometimes it is just as, or more, important to take care of yourself than to rest. Taking care of a new baby all day is mentally, physically, and emotionally draining at times. It is important that you take the time to mentally rest and recharge your batteries as well. You can’t expect to take care of a baby without taking care of yourself!
So to all new moms, please remember to try and do something just for you. Paint your nails, read a book, call a friend, day dream on Pinterest, watch the last half of the movie you started 10 times already, catch up on Netflix, eat ice cream in one sitting before it melts, or do whatever will recharge your batteries and make you feel more like a person and less like a mom for a few seconds.
It won’t always be so tiresome, you will get better sleep as your baby grows. I keep reminding myself of that. My son has just turned 7 months so he is still very little and as he gets older he will be sleeping so much better, which means I will be sleeping fine! He will also get better at not needing me so much when he is awake so that I can do things around the house as I need to. And hopefully, he will become a champ at taking a nap in his crib. But for now, this mama’s favorite word is NAP…
Post written by Lauren at Three Makes a Family