"Quiet Time"

So...it's no secret, as I've mentioned a gazillion times over the past couple of weeks, that we're going through some major transitions in our casa. Mostly of the sleep variety.

More on the nighttime issues at a later date. But for now, I'll share an update on the daytime.

Basically, we've gone cold turkey with Chica's afternoon nap time in an attempt to: a) shorten the agony of her new nighttime falling asleep troubles, and b) shorten the severity of her middle-of-the-night wakeups that can sometimes drag on for hours.

Long and short--the nada naps seems to be helping.

But (and this is a major "but") it's rocked our daytime world a bit, so we've been settling into our new normal this week.

Enter: "Quiet Time."

The gist:

1. My sweet baby Chicklet goes down for her nap.

2. Chica still changes into PJs and drinks some milk (does a body good).

3. Chica comes downstairs with Mama to help with a load of laundry or some quick household chore.

4. Chica closes up the master bedroom shutters, turns on the fan for white noise, and crawls into bed with a blanket to wait on Mama (who usually attempts to sneak in a couple more chores).

5. Mama eventually settles into bed to relieve the ginormous belly a bit, and thus begins Chica's mandatory "quiet time." For one hour.

No iPhone, no TV, no iPad, no electronics of any kind. We're unplugged and old school, peeps. She must read her books, play with her blanket, stare at the ceiling. I don't care. As long as it's decompression time.

Now I'm not gonna lie--sometimes it's hilarious. Like when I try to close my eyes for a few minutes and wake to the sensation of her licking my arm (thanks, new Doc McStuffins pet vet episodes for making her think like a dog). Or when she none-too-subtly crawls over my entire body to get to the baby monitor to check on Chicklet.

That said...for the most part, I've been pretty impressed with her stamina to get through the hour and be relatively quiet and self-contained. 

However, it was a GLORIOUS and beyond BLESSED experience to open my eyes after shutting them for ten minutes during said quiet time today, and find this:

My beautiful, beloved firstborn, peacefully snoozing next to me, under the blanket that was mine as a baby.

Ironically, she got more sleep last night that she has all week, but today was a fantastically overcast, cooler (like less than eighty degrees!) day that seemed to work some calming mojo into both of my beautiful babies.

We had such a lovely and much-needed low-key day, and Chica's unexpected nap was just icing on the cake.

(Just look at her sweet hand gripping the long-torn edge of the blanket). 

I'm no fool. I know every transition--especially one as major as eliminating naps--will evolve naturally over time, complete with good days and bad.

And I'm also no liar. When the pediatrician first suggested we try eliminating the naps, I had my couple days of anger, denial, frustration, mourning. You know, all the good stuff for any ginormously pregnant Mama now facing zero alone time in her twelve hour day shift. (And it still hasn't improved our nighttime issues; just the bedtime one--but that's a convo for another day).

But..,I'm soooo grateful to God for throwing me this bone today to help as we navigate this new normal. And I'm also soooo pleased that Chica's little body took this one day (out of ten so far with no nap) to recharge naturally and with no drama. (And thank you again, Dear Lord, that it didn't set us back too terribly much at bedtime this evening!)

So here's to surviving many other "new normals" that are sure to come with Baby Boy's impending arrival.

And here's to hoping someday Chica's quiet time will happen on her own in her room, as is the long-term plan--though I will miss the "dog" licking ;)

Happy Almost Weekend, peeps!