So. I gave myself a mommy time-out two weeks ago.
It went down like this, “oh, George, you don’t want to attempt to nap in your crib?”, “oh, George, you are perfectly happily sleeping in my arms but like to wake up as soon as I place you in the crib?”, “oh, George, you are now overtired + super pissed at me and definitely won’t nap in your crib?”, “oh, okay. well, George, take a few seconds here to play with your toys in your crib and mommy will be right back, okay?”.
Cue mommy sitting on the couch, taking deep breaths, and hoping that GBB will magically just fall asleep. I was laughing but crying on the inside. I took a mommy time-out to get my shit together + help this poor boy sleep after this FOUR hour nap in the crib attempt.
F-O-U-R hours is a really long time in babyhood to not be napping. And it’s a long time for mommy to not get frustrated trying to get him to sleep. I don’t want to be frustrated with my baby because I am having a hard time getting him to successfully nap not in my arms. It’s not his fault.
So, I took a mommy time-out for 5 minutes while George was giggling + playing in his crib (he is always so full of sunshine!).
Truthfully, after that awful day of crib attempts + my lack of necessary consistency with the crib, I started to question why I was so fixated on the idea of naps in the crib. Sure, moments of being hands-free during the day would be sweet.
I mean, I could do all the things! Like, dishes, tidying up, laundry…boo!
I could blog! I could bake! I could read! Yeah!
Oh, wait a second here. I already do all these things with baby in my arms/in our Ergo or when GBB is awake. And it works. I blog during jolly jumper time/after bedtime and I bake/cook while George hangs out in his swing in the kitchen. And that laundry, yeah, as a duo we get it done (thank you Ergo!).
I decided to stop being so obsessed with the idea that I had to have him nap in his crib during the day. He likes his crib. He will play in there. He has slept in there before. And daytime cuddles on the couch watching Christmas movies while George nurses and falls asleep are so precious. Those are the moments that I know a year from now, I will miss. Next year, I will probably be laughing at myself about how stressed I was about getting him to be sleeping independently…and why I felt pressured to have him be independent. He is only five months old after all; he has time to be independent. So silly.
George is a brilliant dude. He sleeps alone at night in our bed (until we join him!). He is happy. He is healthy. That’s all that matters. And sometimes it really takes those mommy time-outs to realize it.
I feel like GBB is growing up right before my eyes. I wake up and he is just a little bit older and a little bit wiser than yesterday. I’m scared to blink.
So for now, it is cuddles and naps on mommy. And mommy time-outs when necessary. Oh, and cookies + wine, of course.
XO