Some days, I wake up with my 1.5 year old daughter. I feel well rested and excited to take on the day. We have breakfast, I have coffee and we head out to the park, Grandmom’s or Yai-Yai’s house, go shopping or somewhere kid friendly for an adventure. Other days, I wake up on the opposite spectrum; still tired, moping through the day- awaiting nap time like I am a child on Christmas eve, waiting for morning to come. Most days I am somewhere in between, where something gets cleaned or accomplished.
Fun at the park
Hayride fun!
My point is, whether I am out of the house all day, working in the house all day, or glued to the couch, when those little munchkin eyes close for nap time the beaming glorious gates to heaven on earth open.
Ahhhhhhh, yes.
Sleeping Beauty!
Now, a typical nap time for my toddler can last anywhere from 1 to 2.5 hours.
But you never know what you’re going to get. Always, I typically spend the first 10 minutes holding her, admiring her beauty. I also admire the fact that she isn’t screaming, covered in food, shoving a book in my face or tugging my shirt for milk. Sweet child, sound asleep. Oh how I could sit here for this whole nap staring at you…or better yet, join you in this daytime slumber.
This is typically when the excitement really sets in- I am free. Free to shower alone. Free to eat in peace. Or even free to fold the piling baskets of laundry without a little gremlin unfolding every piece as I go. I could catch up on my full list of unwatched shows on my DVR, or feel free to fall asleep. Free to go up on the treadmill (right after I dust it off of course). Perhaps I will scroll aimlessly on social media, free of a sticky little finger in the way…
Free to do anything I want!
The issue I face is: how in the hell do I decide which of these to do?!
I could never do them all in time, I’m lucky to get one or two of my hopefuls in before her little head pops up and is ready to go again. So, what is most important to me? Well I am hungry, and I gotta eat, so there goes 20 minutes. Plus the 10 minutes I wasted staring into her sleeping soul and probably the 10 I spent checking up on messages and news feeds after I put her down. So, there’s 40 minutes. Now I may have 20 more minutes or over another hour.
But if I decide to start a task, it’s most likely a short nap day. Sometimes, more gets accomplished than I ever imagined. Two loads of laundry, a hot shower and a clean kitchen..whatever is on my to do list, done! These days are rare and make me feel like supermom- where’s my cape?
I think to myself, “I can do this everyday! Wait until tomorrow! If I keep this up all week, my house will be perfect and my life will be so organized!”
…and it’s nice while it lasts.
Some days during nap time, I watch a show from my DVR and a lifetime movie in the peace and quiet and feel just as powerful. Other times, I get down and hard on myself when I look at the dishes I didn’t do while she slept, or the laundry I didn’t fold, or the floor still covered in Cheerios.
My point is; freedom of nap time is often overwhelming.
Sometimes you have to choose between yourself or the house.
You won’t always choose the house, and that’s ok. You only get an hour or two a day to yourself. That precious time when you aren’t lugging around a toddler who is clinging to you leg or attached to your breast. Where you’re not constantly on duty- watching carefully everything that gets picked up, put in the mouth or hidden under the couch. It is time when you’re not witnessing your toddler insisting on feeding herself in what looks a crime scene. Or changing a diaper, which often feels like wrestling a small alligator.
Two hours, max, to do what you want in peace. Some days you might spend the entire time dreading the moment her little head pops up. You spend so much time thinking about what to do, and before you know it you’ve done nothing. Your chance is gone. Today, I decided to write this blog (while watching last night’s How to Get Away With Murder) and I’m glad I did.
No matter what you do in those 2 hours, do it proudly, because it’s your time and you deserve it.
Do you ever struggle with feeling overwhelmed when your little ones take their nap? Do you feel like supermom when you’ve completed a list of to-do’s in your small window of freedom? Are you able to go guilt free when you decide to catch up on The Voice or The Bachelor in peace?
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I am a 27 year old first time mom who lives in New Jersey. I had an all natural planned homebirth with the help of water and the self-hypnosis hypnobabies method. I am currently a stay at home breastfeeding mother to my beautiful baby girl and I’ll be sharing with you all some personal experiences and covering some other interesting topics, stay tuned.
