The Importance of Naps

Have you ever heard the Samuel L. Jackson rendition of “Go the F&^k to Sleep”?  If not, here it is.  Go ahead, watch/listen . . . I’ll wait. (btw, this video is not safe for work or children . . . unless those children/workplaces have dirty mouths already) (also, the real audio starts at 1:00, up until then it’s just intro)

The first time I ever saw this video (pre-Guinevere), I laughed a little and thought it was mildly amusing, but I didn’t really get it.  Fast-forward to now and I have had those exact thoughts more times than I can count.  Granted, we still haven’t hit the point where G requests nighttime drinks and teddy bears, nor can she get out of bed by herself yet, but the sentiment is the same with a baby.  Every time I say to Guinevere, “please go to sleep,” Sam Jackson’s voice creeps into my head!

My darling Guinevere has never been a good napper.  It wasn’t until we put her in daycare and then followed daycare’s nap schedule that we could even get her to nap remotely regularly.  She’s been (mostly) sleeping through the night since she was about 3-4 months, so the lack of naps wasn’t that big a deal.  I’d trade daytime naps for nighttime sleep any day.  But occasionally the lack of sleep rears its ugly head.  Christmas time was bad – she screamed for about an hour every time we tried to put her to bed.

I realized yesterday that naptime is not just important for babies – it’s also important for parents!  Yesterday Guinevere did NOT want to nap.  I’m not quite sure why.  I had some errands to run in the morning, which ran into her normal morning naptime.  I figured she would probably fall asleep in the carrier and get her nap that way.  Nope.  She was wide-awake the whole time!  So then I thought she’d probably fall asleep in the car on the way home.  No.  She babbled the entire way home.  By the time we got home, it was lunchtime.  So I made us some sandwiches (she at an entire ½ sandwich, btw!) and then let her play for a bit.  Then I decided to attempt to put her down for an afternoon nap.  She wanted NOTHING to do with an afternoon nap either!  She screamed for almost 10 minutes, and then she calmed down and babbled to herself for about 10 minutes.  Then she started crying again.  So I just got her up.

Once I had finally given up on all hope of her taking a nap, I put her down on the floor for some tummy time.  We played a bit and then I had to step out of the room to change the laundry.  When I got back, she had finally fallen asleep . . . at 5pm . . . on the floor.  Oh well, the quiet was nice – even if it only lasted half an hour.

Guinevere's one and only nap for the day.

I was so exhausted by the end of the day!  Aaron is shooting all weekend, so I was the only one home with her all day.  I didn’t even get to shower because I was planning on showering during one of her naps.  Seriously, I don’t know how 50’s housewives did it.  How do you take care of a kid, clean the house, cook, and do it all in heels, a dress and pearls?  I bet they didn’t.  I bet they had days where their husband walked in the door, and there were screaming children with snotty noses, a messy house, and a wife who just desperately needs a shower too.