my accomplishment for the week: a Hansigurumi seahorse, with a tube of beads inside to make a rattle
Thursday morning I found myself sitting in the bathroom with the door cracked open, trying to simultaneously listen for baby sounds and muffle my own sounds because She Who Will Not Nap was taking a nap, and while I love the open floor plan of our tiny house, every sound in the house can be heard from every other part of the house. I was on hold in customer-service hell, waiting to talk to someone at the IRS about the hideous letter they sent me.
As the cat came in to join me and, what they hey, stop into his litterbox while he's in the neighborhood, I realized that crouching in the bathroom with the phone was no way to spend the precious few moments of naptime that I have been granted. After hearing the polite-yet-threatening recorded message one more time, I hung up. Take that, IRS! (I will call you later).
Instead I got up, fixed myself lunch, listened to the news, visited a couple of friends' blogs, and started to write this blog pos-- uh-oh. She's up again.
[many hours later]
Naptime is sanity time, time to eat, perform personal hygeine related tasks and maybe, just maybe, get something done. As my to-do list stretches into the horizon, the naptimes seem to be dwindling to ever-tinier proportions. Why won't this baby take her nap?? Lately daytime naps are just a fantasy, and the ones that do happen don't last much longer than it takes me to fix my lunch (but not eat it).
[uh... two days later]
Ugh! I'm not getting anything done, productive or otherwise. Two rows of knitting. Five minutes of listening to the news. A few more minutes on hold with the IRS. Nothing is getting completed anymore. Help!! I've tried every trick in the book. How do you bribe a 3-month-old baby into taking a nap?
seahorse rattles do not work as bribes
Love the seahorse! I made one too, and a few of her other creations and hung them over my son's crib as a mobile. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel regarding nap time...it's the most peaceful time of day - when they actually do nap!
Fabulous seahorse!
ReplyDeleteI've been there, my little girl also refused to nap when that age. I ended up doing what every parenting book tells you not to - I got an electric swing (second hand and sold it on, so didn't cost the world) and, magic: 3 x 1hr naps every.single.day. Bliss! Weaned her off it at 6 months or so without any hassle at all, when she was happy to nap in the buggy with a bit of movement to drift off to the land of nod.
Best baby gear investment ever. For us, only sideways swinging worked. Good luck!
Tell me about it: I knit absolutely nothing in my first three months with my child. His average nap was about 20 minutes, and maybe I'd get one or two a day. It's exhausting. Steal what time for yourself that you can.
ReplyDeleteOh, good luck. Samantha would not nap without being held for the first three months of her life - I learned to knit while holding sleeping baby. I also watched a lot of reruns, and read a lot. It will get better - we have a great book - Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It's good because it has different options for what you as a parent are willing to do.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you!
have you tried wearing your baby in a sling? i am currently wearing my 4 week old on my chest and she's snoozing happily while I type.... I also found this useful with baby no. 1 - who regularly spent most of his day in a sling and was either happily awake, watching what I was doing, or lulled to sleep by the noises of the hoover/house! babywearing has a lot of proponents, and is said to have various benefits... good luck!!
ReplyDeleteI heard the same thing about the electric swing and I put ours together last night. My parents gave it to us at a shower on Sun. Wanna give it a try, obviously we won't need it for another month at least. Srsly, i'll bring it over, and it doesn't even hurt the eyes to look at.
ReplyDeleteIt is so frustrating, isn't it? I went through the same thing with my baby, who is now 7 months old. She would only nap when being held or being worn in a sling. My opinion is to screw all of the books, unless they're telling you to attend to your baby's needs. I recommend Dr. Sears if anyone. Just do whatever works, even if you have to hold her. She'll grow out of it soon enough, when you think you can take no more. Also - swaddling works wonders. We did it until about 6 months.
ReplyDeleteMy now 9 mo won't nap unless I carry her. I bought a mei tai and carried her for naps (twice a day for 1.5-2 hours). It gives me knitting time w/o breaking my back.
ReplyDeletei hear you, mama. there seems to be times when those precious little bundles just will not go down for the naps they should. my suggestion? if she will not nap at home, grab the stroller and walk her about....it gets you out of the house and once she falls asleep you can stop at a bench and get a few rows in. I know, i know, it is not ideal but it may save your sanity. believe me, naps get easier and longer as they get bigger. i remember that time (3-4 months) being a bit hellish on the sleeping front. hang in there. :)
ReplyDeleteyikes!
ReplyDeleteshe doesn't nap?!?
what about
a manhattan
before
breastfeeding?
uh oh
that was
a bad auntie
suggestion.
but it
does make
one sleepy...
;)
love your
seahorsey!
xoxox