It had been a very long day. A very long snow day. A very long snow day with a 4-year-old and an infant. An infant who does not nap in her crib, I should add. OK, that is an exaggeration; she has napped in her crib. Once in her life.
Whenever I tell people that my baby does not nap in her crib at home, I am told I need to start nap training her. I am given advice about what kind of schedule to put her on and which sleep consultants to call, and I’m usually then told what good nappers their kids are and how much they enjoy the freedom during nap time.
I once had this freedom, when it was just me and my firstborn. True, she was never a scheduled napper, and we liked it that way. But, at least she would nap in her crib sometimes.
The baby, on the other hand, does not want to. She prefers to nap only in the car or stroller, and she’ll often wake up during a transfer. I am told she naps at daycare. But not for me. When she was really little, I would sometimes — very rarely — win the battle of wills and get her to sleep with a lovey in the bouncy seat, with nature sounds, vibration, and me giving added bouncing. If there ever was a high-maintenance baby, it’s her.
A handful of times, I have put her in her crib during the day, and after 10 or 15 minutes of frantic wailing, I can’t do it anymore. I don’t want to nap train her. My baby is not a dog.
My baby is my baby.
When I’m home with her and she’s tired, her favorite nap time is when she falls asleep nursing. Yes, it can be horribly inconvenient, especially when I am trying to get out the door to the gym or want to cook dinner. But, nursing naps are the best. Let’s face it — she’s not going to stay this little forever. And I won’t be able to solve her problems as easily as I can now. Plus, there’s something so nice about those sweet little snuggles, and being forced to just sit there, looking at her eyelashes and hearing her sweet little snores.
Am I creating bad habits? Likely. Am I making it harder on myself? Definitely. Will she go to college needing to ride in a car or be nursed to sleep during the day? Probably not.
And does this work well for our family at this moment? Yes.
