Amelie and I have spent countless days cuddling. The sofa is the hostess with the mostest when it comes to napping, but I've napped with her outside in the shade on a blanket, in bed, in a cafe whilst catching up with mummy friends and even standing up and going for a walk. Most recently, in the sea life centre while waiting for the daily talk and show. Of course she naps on her own too, but my baby is not a lover of being alone. Since day one, she's been a baby who can sleep hours on me or her dad, but struggles for a half an hour when in a bouncer, buggy or a bed! Guess she just likes closeness and I'm ok with baby cuddles! But these cuddles have always been spontaneous and not ever in a routine. I would forever wonder what I did 'right' or different on a day I classed as a good one - because God knows I've had some extremely difficult days which left even midwives and health visitors gawping when they witnessed my screaming child... We changed her milk to comfort milk which helped with her gas and outbursts but I was still having crazy hard days (and I continue to have them now too just much less often) so I was baffled. It hadn't even occurred to me that she might have been sleep deprived, it was only during a chat with fellow mummy friend Georgie that she mentioned how day time sleep can impact night time sleep!
Luckily Amelie has been a good sleeper at night since about 3/4 weeks, but the day times were a roller coaster. So I started paying attention to nap times. I always assumed that a baby will let you know when they're tired and looked for ear fiddling or eye rubbing but my baby didn't seem to be doing this. That's when I realised that she was indeed tired every 2 hours or so, she just wasn't aware of it. How could she be? She was weeks old! So I knew she loved rocking and mtv so every couple of hours id whack on channel 350 and bust a move with baby in hand! I did not want to confine myself to hours of dancing around the house to mtv (it's just not the same with a baby) so I made sure she had a dummy each time I rocked her - so that she'd associate sleeping with the dummy NOT MTV ! Before long, she was used to this and very much came to rely on them to recharge her (and mine) batteries. I love the idea of being able to provide my baby girl with such a routine every day, but the reality is that it's just not possible all day everyday. For one, I don't stay in everyday and sometimes a nap is just not possible. Socialising is equally as important, and if a baby class happens to be at a particular nap time, the routine is out of the window! Also. She's not a robot. Sometimes she wakes up at 9, sometimes 10 and sometimes 6. Nap times are therefore skewed and tailored to each day. I do try and make sure she has a nice long nap before any significant activity because it makes the world of difference, but sometimes it's just not possible. These are the days that are noticeably more difficult than others. So as well as providing the necessary hour or so to ensure a happy baby, naps are essential to allow me to remember that I'm actually a person too and not just 'mum' - and gives me a chance to catch up on me time.
It's insane how much these little beings can teach you and I'm thankful for everyday.
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