Everyone knows that the one thing my super amazing 21 month old doesn’t do well, is sleep.
We’ve had nannies quit, give up, and cry because they couldn’t get him to nap. I’ve had the “I’m a terrible mom” guilt countless times, because I can’t get him to nap. We’ve sleep trained for months on end. It’s been a process.
The person who seems to get him to sleep the best, is my father in law, and well, he lives 300 miles away in Nevada, sooooo….
I nap with him.
I’ve always justified this because I only have a few days a week with him, when we’re both home at nap time, sometimes, only 1. Who doesn’t love a forced nap on the weekends?
Well, he has been napping at daycare for almost 6 months and I’ve doubted them every time they say “he napped great!” Of course they’re lying…. Or talking about someone else’s kid. Cuz on the weekends, when we do get to cuddle/nap, it’s rarely a “good” nap, but it’s our thing and hey, I’m down with naps.
Cut to this week.
I’ve been taking a class on Sunday afternoons that prohibits me from napping. As much as I’m learning in the class, I stress out about “someone’s” sleep the whole first half of it. I can’t be the one to put him down or he cries for “boobboobs” and “mamas shroom” or “hug you”, so I’ve finally figured out that if daddy does it, eventually it works out. For the first 5 weeks, Grant was able to stay home from school long enough to put him down, then leave, then a babysitter/friend/sister would show up to watch him, and I’d leave.
Last Sunday, Grant had to leave early because of finals/studying. After 30 minutes, I was finally able to get him down for a nap, then I left the house.
Yesterday I had a half -day at work, so because last Sunday was a fluke (had to have been, right?), I planned on cooking all of my items for Thanksgiving dinner while he was “napping great” at school, on Wednesday.
Tuesday night was a mess. I’m sure I can thank teething for our lack of sleep this week, because every once in a while, night time sleeping is bad, but this week, it was several nights in a row. When I dropped him off in the morning, a newer teacher received him from me. I told her that he’d been up all night (from 11:45pm-4:00am… I’m not exaggerating!! Terrible sleeper!!), and she said “well, he’s our best napper, so I’m sure he’ll make up for it then!”
What?!
She knows that REMY is my kid, right? Not one of the other kids? She’s talking about the boy I just handed to her, right?
According to her, “I just lay him down, put a blanket on him and he’s out like a light!”
Dear all the nannies and baby sitters of Remy naps past. THANK YOU!!! Your sweat and tears have paid off and my kid’s the best napper at school!!
Well, I continued on my way of making all my Thanksgiving Day fixings yesterday (just in case I had to join him on the nap wagon).
Somehow, I managed to get my son to sleep in as little as 10 minutes today. I’m still in shock.
It’s Thanksgiving Day and my work is done, my kitchen is clean, my food is made, I’ve showered (hooray!) and put makeup on (double hooray!) and will actually be ready to leave my house on time for my sister’s, provided that he wakes up on time.
Clearly, I’ve also had time to blog… How is this even real life?! This nap thing is genius!!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! It’s a miracle!!!
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Tags: bad napper #workingmom, funny, growing up, mom guilt, sleep training, thanksgiving
Hi! My name is Stephanie. I'm married to a great guy named Grant and am mom to two beautiful little boys, Remington and Desmond, and two pugs, Stella and Cioppino. We live in Los Angeles, and my husband has recently transitioned from full-time touring musician, to law student. I work full-time to support us, while also taking care of our sons as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered, because really, it is.
Being Mrs. Arnow 