This is for the new mom, the tired mom, the mom who’s reading this on their phone because if they move one single muscle the baby asleep on them will wake up. I want to tell you something important: Close your eyes, exhale slowly and . . .
. . . take the nap.
Turn off the guilty and the worry about all the things you should be doing, all the things you could be doing. Melt into this moment and cuddle that baby. You won’t spoil them. My three-year-old is happily sleeping alone as I type this. She won’t let me cuddle in her bed anymore unless she is sick. Take this moment and . . .
. . . take the nap.
You’ve heard it from every little old lady you pass in the mall, “These day go so fast, savor them.” They do go by fast, and while it’s hard to savor every terribly hard, screaming baby, whiny toddler, utterly exhausted minute, you can savor some of them. I recommend you savor the sleeping ones. Savor that moment where they look like an angel, while their breath is slow and sweet. Let the world fall away and . . .
. . . take the nap.
It really doesn’t last long. One year, 52 posts and my last baby has transformed from a bump to a boy. A boy who instead of cuddling up and napping, would rather wrestle hug until I let him just get up and walk around. A boy who keeps coming to give me hug but quickly runs away so I won’t make him take a nap. A boy who in the blink of the eye will be three, and like his sister, not want me to cuddle in his bed. So just do it . . .
. . . take the nap.
You won’t remember that there were always dishes piled and floors to sweep. There will always, always, be laundry to do and emails to answers.. There will not always be babies willing to cuddle. So take the nap. If anyone complains, tell them I gave you permission. Because babies don’t keep; they turn into boys and girls, and the time to nap will be lost.
