What’s in a Nap? (3 months 1 week old)
I love that my husband currently works from home. It fills the house with some adultness. During my hours upon hours of just Quinn and I, having him here cuts down on that isolation that so easily settles when it’s just you and a new baby. A typical day for him… wakes up, gets coffee and charges up the stairs to tackle what CTO’s of start-up web companies do… code. coffee. code. coffee. phone call. code. coca-cola. fix bugs. coca-cola. code. curse. another phone call. fix more bugs. shower. coca-cola. curse. fix more bugs.
As busy as he is, I love that he’s busy here and not across town. I love that when he refills his coffee cup, he can’t help but kiss his daughter before he runs back upstairs. I know that working at home is a temporary situation, so I really do appreciate that this is our life right now.
On the other hand…
I’m downstairs trying to make heads or tails of this 3-month old being. The top of my list — NAPS. This girl is proving to be quite fickle when it comes to when and where she naps. Now, there of course would be no issue if I’d just let her nap in my arms whenever the moment suits her. I know those beautifuls eyes staring up at me are saying: “What else do you need your arms for? Why can’t you sit here on the couch and hold me while I nap away?” I know, right? It’s crazy to think I should have to put this little girl down and do something very selfish, like PEE.
Anyway, so I’m working on naps. Once I get the “tired” cue right, we walk to her room where I will cradle her in my arms, just so… rock, back and forth, back and forth… AVOID eye contact. Those droopy eyes will come to life if they land on mine. The minutes roll by. I know she’s tired, but does she? 5 minutes go by… then 10 minutes… Those eyes are putting up a fight. They open, then close… ahhh, there she goes — then WAIT, they’re WIDE open again! Dammit. 15 minutes later… That’s it, asleep you go sweet angel…
Mom has won round 1, but round 2 is all the more challenging. Lying her down in her crib. Even with all the tricks… She still takes this round 3 out of 5 times.
Here it goes… While I lay her down, I keep my arms wrapped snuggly around her – staying in this awkward, back-breaking position until she settles. Yes, I lay her her on a warm fuzzy blanket, rather than a cold sheet. Once I do remove my arms from under her, I keep a hand on her back and sllllooooowwwly pull my hand away. I then stand there in complete silence waiting to see if she’s just messing with me. A couple of minutes pass and her eyes are still shut and she hasn’t moved. I walk out backwards, not making a peep… I shut the door, but of COURSE not all the way. I’m not stupid. I’ve got to crack that door and neurotically check on her every few minutes. Ok, not so bad… 20 minutes to get her to sleep. She should at least sleep an hour right? She’s only 3 months old after all. They still need like 15 – 18 hours of sleep at this stage.
In nearly complete silence, I proceed with some household chores… putting dishes away, folding clothes.
Then, all of a sudden, an iphone rings in the not-so-distance (this house is too small). A husband answers and… why is he shouting?!?!? Ok, so he’s just talking in a normal volume, but WHY? Didn’t he hear me put her down?! 5 minutes later… Ok, good, he’s off the phone… Thank god. I try to IM him to say “Quinn is sleeping, be quiet”… but he’s not on-line?!?! What gives? He’s always on-line! Before I can get to him, I hear him heading down the stairs. I make eye contact and say in a too-loud whisper… SHE’S SLEEPING! He looks at me slightly annoyed… “what did I do?” Then as soon as he appeared, he heads back upstairs to continue being a CTO for a start-up web company.
She wakes up. She’s been asleep 12 minutes.
I’m fuming, he’s oblivous. Good thing she’s sweet enough to melt my heart in about 3 seconds.
Quinn is so Beautiful. Good job you two.
Just wait…..