By: Angie Cleland
I love naptime… Really love naptime. Not because I nap, but because it seems to be the only time during the day when I get “me time.” Me time can mean many things. It could mean eating a late lunch in the kitchen by myself, it might mean folding laundry while catching up on DVR (always a multi-tasker.) I might need to clean house, make some phone calls and appointments, catch up on emails, write some articles, and more often than not, play on Facebook. Yes, I said it, play on Facebook.
I’ve always been a firm believer in naptime. I feel that children need their naps in order to stay balanced, at least it’s been that way with my girls. They have never been the type to fall asleep in their dinner plate or sitting on a toilet (as cute as it may be) and I think it’s because I’ve always seen napping as something they needed, so I fought for it, regardless of how much they fought me. The witching hour is hard enough without adding in a cranky non-napped child.
The twinlets are now over 3 years old and the day I have been fearing is drawing near. They don’t want to nap anymore, and on most days they don’t. I’ve realized now that it’s become less about what they need to stay balanced and more about what I need to stay sane. Somewhere down the line, the “who needs naptime more” has shifted, leaving me scrambling for a new routine.
In some ways I like the new flexibility. We get to do things in the afternoons, and we no longer have to rush home midday to make our scheduled naps. We’ve been exercising this new found freedom some this week and it’s kind of nice. I can get in a work out at the gym, hit the grocery store, have a playdate and even catch an early dinner with friends when the husband is out or working late. (Not all in the same afternoon, mind you.) It feels weird to be out of the house at 3:30 in the afternoon, but I think I like it, well, mostly like it. The whole “cleaning house while kids are awake thing” is my newest challenge.
Cleaning while my kids are up is about as productive as giving them a soda and a candy bar and putting them to sleep… It just isn’t going to happen. So this is my struggle. How to maintain the household with non napping kids, and not have to be dusting and vacuuming at midnight.. Is it possible? My current goal is to wear them completely out at least one morning each week in hopes that I can bleed this napping turnip just a little bit more and maybe, just maybe I can get through the summer months with just one little measly nap a week.
How old were your kids when they stopped napping and what do you do with your kids when it’s time to clean house?
About Angie:
Angie Cleland is the Co-Founder of BirmighamMommy.com, A Wife, Mom, & Referee. Proud owner of 3 tiny humans, navigating the complicated waters of Motherhood one day at a time.
Love the line “I’ve realized now that it’s become less about what they need to stay balanced and more about what I need to stay sane”. As a mom of three, including 8 month old twins, I can totally relate!