On Hanging in There

Maya is currently upstairs, tucked neatly into her toddler bed, dreaming about the new kitty she wants to give Anakin (our giant housecat) for his birthday.

This may seem mundane to you, but I’m out of breath from turning cartwheels in my basement.

While pregnant last summer, I began the tradition of napping with Maya daily. I was exhausted from the whole building-a-human-being thing, and we both love to snuggle. It just seemed like a great idea.

Then Elliot was born and the logistics have been all wrong ever since. At least once a week (usually more), they are not synchronized in their napping needs. Maya simply can’t fall asleep with a chattering (or crying) baby in the room with her, and Elliot just isn’t ready for a set schedule.

For a week and a half I have required Maya to nap in her own room. She piles her bed full of books and hangs out in there contentedly for the entire two hours of “nap time.” But she doesn’t sleep.

This means I have an overtired, crazy kid for the rest of the day. Potty training has suffered, table manners have suffered…. Elliot and I have suffered.

I was just about to give up. In fact, I told Joe last night that I’m just going to give in and lay down with her for naps (never-mind the fact that I covet the idea of a two-hour span of time with at least one, likely both girls sleeping!).

He told me to hang in there just a few more days.

And today she was asleep within half an hour. Woo hoo.

The transition away from diapers was the same story. We had one awful, really messy week. Then, just as we both about threw in the towel, she started cooperating. Don’t get me wrong. Potty training is ongoing. From here on out, though, she’s trying really hard and we’re down to one kid in diapers.

I actually don’t remember much about my pre-baby life (probably a self-defense mechanism to keep me from obsessing about weekends away, copious sleep, and happy hours), but I’m almost sure that all of those old clichés (darkest before dawn, battening down the hatches, tomorrow is another day…?) apply to life beyond kids as well.

Hooray for naptime. New York Times here I come!

Maya wanted to hold Elliot. She looks concerned doesn't she?

They play together so much now (well, they've started to interact, anyway)!