Gratitude leads to happiness - Day 23
Today I am thankful for my decision to let my daughter nap on me. She's been taking naps on me from day 1 (apart from the few days where the nurses in the ICU made me put her back in the awful plastic bassinet). Since we've been home with her she's napped on me and to a lesser extent her dad.
I have had a few comments from well meaning people who have tried to convince me that she should really be able to have a nap by herself. I did try initially to get her to nap in a cot but it never worked well. The longest nap she has ever had in her cot was 40 minutes. I rushed around in those 40 minutes trying to get chores done. I was frantic. Yes, I felt a bit of accomplishment that I was able to prepare tea without holding her, but I was not relaxed once she woke up. I was more stressed from running around like my pants were on fire trying to get a long list of stuff done in a very short window! Other times, I would finally get her asleep only to put her in her cot and as soon as I stopped holding her or touching her, her eyes would pop wide open and I'd have to start the process all over again!
I soon gave up on it a few weeks into her life and decided to go with the flow and follow her lead. In the early days she would nap on me for 2 hours or more. She still naps on me now, but the average time is about an hour. A good amount of time to browse steemit!
It's a lovely time for me to relax with her. She gets to sleep and I get some time to browse online. Yes there are days where I would like to get some house work done, or maybe get tea prepped, but I wouldn't change our situation for anything.
Image SourceMumma cat with her kitten taking a nap together
I know it won't be too much longer before she won't be having a nap during the day. She's already showing signs that she is getting ready to stop having a day time nap. I'm enjoying this time I get with her now. I love that she feels safe and secure enough to fall asleep on me. I love having her cuddle in to me. I cherish it and it makes me so happy.