When you have one child, nap time is as exciting as a five star adult only vacation. It is usually at least one solid hour of uninterrupted me-time in which you can do whatever it is that you chose. Provided you don’t leave the premises.
Of course, this time is best spent eating, showering or sleeping, since god knows you can’t do any of those things while you are taking care of a baby.
You must use that time very, very wisely.
With two children, things get a bit more complicated because rarely will two children nap at once. Nap time becomes the time you are trapped indoors with your three-year-old while your baby holds you all hostage.
Not Chutes and Ladders again! HELLLLLLP!!!!!
On Saturday mornings, Mike takes Mazzy to soccer. The timing lines up perfectly with Harlow’s nap and I am afforded at least one whole hour of childfree time.
I can’t leave the house to get my nails done or catch a movie, but no matter, because as a working mom, there are TONS of neglected things I need to get done around the house.
I can do the laundry, clean out my closets, store my summer clothes and take out my winter stuff, go through the toys to see if we can get rid of anything, back up my computer, organize my hard drive, finally print out a photo album of the girls, send out invitations for Mazzy’s birthday party, make Harlow’s first year video, catch up on email, write blog posts for the week, reorganize the fridge, clean our bedroom, finish Mazzy’s school applications, create a media kit, take a shower, take that online parenting course I’ve been meaning to take, buy my family Chanukah presents online, or at the very least, take a much needed nap for myself.
What did I do this Saturday morning?
I watched Scandal on my iPad.
So worth it.
Lack of productivity during nap time is one of the things I feel the most guilty about. It’s so hard though when no one is around to judge me! If there were another adult in the house I’m sure I would being doing all sorts of cleaning/laundry/etc…:)
This totally describes naptime at my house. If I am feeling really productive, I will take a shower and try getting ready while watching one of the many tv shows I have backed up on my DVR.
Oh I am hooked on Scandal too. Just wish they’d had Netflix (and iPads and iPhones) when my bunch were babies. (I’m not old, just missed the window by a titch!) Love the pie chart, lol.
I am currently reading your blog during my 8mo’s nap…. The only one she takes because she is too busy during the day to stop. Based on your current blog, you should feel very honoured…. And it was totally worth it:) Thanks for devoting your free time to making me smile!
Scandal is my fav – I agree, definitely worth it!
My 20 months old goes down on nap from 11:30 – 2:00. And I go down with her too! My husband asked what am I going to do if she starts to cut off her nap down? My answer… big pot of coffee… twice.
AH! Just tried to play chutes & ladders w/ my 3 year old while the 15 month old napped…neither of us had the patience for it so we had to move on to candyland. Once or twice a week I have a very productive naptime, but typically it is just my time to catch up on blogs/facebook/tv.
Couldn’t agree more! I have a six weeker girl and I feel soo guilty about my productivity when she’s down :/ I second scandal 🙂
My biggest gripe about naptime was I never knew how long it would last. And since it was always up in the air, and I was always afraid to start a project that was too grandiose to finish if baby woke up early, I usually did… nothing.
I just blogged about what I call “The sleep conundrum” or what to do while baby sleeps. Not as funny as you of course, but I’m glad I’m not by myself when I say I’d rather watch T.V. then dust.
I was a foster parent for about 6 yrs. I only had babies and most of the time I had 3 under 2 yrs old. Nap time was a blessing but no matter how many times I gave the nap schedule out somebody had to call or knock on the door. I sat for the first 15 minutes and then tried to quietly get things done.
i use naptime to read this blog!
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