How to Survive the Week with Nap Time!

God Bless Nap Time! Mamas, am I right!? There are so many days that I feel it’s literally impossible to get anything productive done until my kiddos take a nap! Can you relate? Especially if you’re a new mom, you hear the constant advice to “Sleep when they sleep”. They are absolutely right that sleep is imperative and that advice is sound and makes complete sense. However, a house won’t keep itself. Dogs will still need cleaned up after. Cats will still use their litter boxes (hopefully!). Dishes don’t clean themselves and laundry DEFINITELY doesn’t fold itself. And if you’ve figured out how to make any of that happen, please, PLEASE contact me immediately with tips! HA!

SO, how do we make it happen? We let our highest expectations of a perfect home go a little bit and do our best. That’s my biggest and most important tip! I went from always keeping my home very organized, always dusted and vacuumed (and that’s with huskies and cats) and ready for guests to allowing myself a little disorganization. Yes, sometimes it drives this mama a bit batty. There are a great deal of things I’m working on. I would absolutely love to get my home a bit more organized and not have a pile of mail or kid projects lying around at any given moment. Organizing my pantry is definitely on my To-Do list as well. That will come.

Life can be unpredictable and unforgiving at times. Taking care of our little ones is our highest priority. With that said, being a parent means we have to roll with the punches and think on our feet. I personally thrive on routine. Everyone is different, but most children truly thrive on routine and schedules as well. Schedules of course will change as they get older and develop. Routines will be interrupted with teething, outings, holidays, illnesses, etc. In our home, we do our best to keep those tried and true routines solid. Currently that means my kiddos take a nap sometime between 10:45 and 11:15am. Our one year old has been teething something awful! Really, who gets 6 teeth in 2 days followed by at least 4 more within the week!? Hello,… ouch!? That means his naps have been interrupted with discomfort. However, he usually at least gets in 45 minutes to an hour. My three year old will get in about an hour and a half nap.

During this time, I literally jump to it! I have a running list in my head ready to go before I even approach nap time with priorities at the top. Different days will have different lists as well. I usually start with the litter boxes and yard pickup because I absolutely hate the idea of the kids being exposed to the extra dust. From there, I take care of any straggling dishes. Depending on the day, from here I’ve been often making a cup of coffee and working. That will often look like checking messages, putting together different posts for campaigns, creating content and so on. Believe it or not, lately I’ve been keeping dusting and vacuuming for when the kids are awake because they are now obsessed with “helping mommy”. Yes, this means it often takes twice as long! It also means that they are learning chores and the importance of caring for things. (Boom!)

I’ve had mamas say, “but they never sleep” or “they never take naps at the same time”. Woah there! I TOTALLY get it. Been there, actually a lot! Recently even. And mama, trust me. It is not easy! But there is hope for you yet! If I can get my one year old down for a nap, I feel like I’m unstoppable! My three year old is now getting used to having “Quiet Time” This means that if she chooses not to take a nap, she still needs to give mommy “Quiet Time”. I still need to watch her and check on her. However, it still gives me the time I need to bust some work out. During the Quiet Time, she has a few different options. She will work or play on her kindle. She can color in a coloring book or draw in a notebook. There are times that she will actually fall asleep during this time anyway. This didn’t happen overnight and there are days that she’s still a bit wired, but a gentle reminder that this time is really important so that we can have fun later makes all the difference! I’m also in the process of organizing my Activity Boxes for both of them. *Stay tuned, new blog coming!

I will be completely honest with you. There are days that neither kiddo gets a nap. Those days are rough, to say the least! I stick to always trying to have a Quiet Time, especially for my oldest. As for my youngest, . . . he’s a boy! (Insert laughing face!!!) He seems to be into everything and want to climb everything every moment of the day that he’s not eating or sleeping. Oh, the adventures! So, he comes with me to do the chores! I will distract him with anything I can. While I’m doing the litter boxes, he actually looks at pictures (or the vacuum cleaner – because he LOVES vacuum cleaners!!!) on the other side of the room. He will play with tupperware in a lower drawer or play with magnets on the fridge while I wash dishes. Any time he is nursing, that usually means I’m working from my phone. Mamas, we make it work! And in all of this craziness, keep in mind that each day is a new day. Yesterday may have been a wreck, heck this morning may have been a complete disaster … that doesn’t mean that today or the rest of the day has to be a wreck too. Easier said than done, but go into the day with a plan. In that plan, my kiddos get a nap around the same time and I can piece my home and adult life together a bit! (Remember to celebrate the small wins… they are still accomplishments!)