Nap Time Benefits Baby & Mama
Nap time is so important for babies, especially when they get mobile. My daughter is 11 months as of yesterday and man is she active. I walked a lot when I was pregnant with her and that’s all she wants to do now. She can’t walk on her own yet, but she holds on to things and surfs around the house. Her pediatrician says that babies starting from 6 months require their nap time to be two hours. Anymore than a two-hour nap time and it might be difficult trying to get them to go to sleep.
As a busy mama, nap time is beneficial for you too. I try and plan out my day, not every day goes exactly as scheduled. Flexibility and a little spontaneity are required, as a novice mama I am learning with each passing day. My daughter naps between 12-2 pm every day, in which case I do my best to get any research in, answer e-mails, check out what’s trending on Twitter, and crank out a post. As a creative type, I’m one that needs more time to focus on long form writing or projects that require uninterrupted periods of time. So, I find myself limited to what I can get accomplished during nap time.
Naps can help your child develop a better sleep schedule. Consistency helps when you put your little angel down for their nap and the time you put them down for bed at night. But, my daughter doesn’t always go down at night when she should. Sometimes, she suddenly gets extra bouts of energy and wants to giggle and crawl around everywhere. We have those nights where she just refuses to fall asleep. When she takes good naps, we find that she sleeps better throughout the night. We develop a routine where daddy reads her several books and rocks her to sleep.
Whatever works, but a cranky restless baby means cranky sleep deprived parents. What I’m trying to do now is get myself on a schedule too. When she goes down for her nap, I try to prioritize what project requires my attention. When she goes down at night around 7:30 pm, it’s mommy time. Unfortunately, mommy is usually too wiped out to get anything more accomplished by then.
I heard it gets easier once they are fully walking. I’m not sure if anything is easy when it comes to raising humans. But, when you look at their sweet little faces and visibly see the unconditional love and total trust they have for you…nothing else matters.
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