Free shipping on all orders over $75🎄
SearchSearch
SearchSearch

Baby, Motherhood, Toddler

I Need You to Nap But I Miss You When You Do

  • 3  Minute Read
Baby napping, color photo
Image via Katelyn Brown

Naptime.

I yearn for it. 

I wait for it. 

I NEED it. 

Don’t get me wrong, being your mommy is my favorite responsibility. I love that your birth ripped me from the corporate world and whirled me into a life full of lullabies and diapers. I enjoy being home with you every day—watching you grow and play.  I thank God every night when my head hits the pillow for the precious time we get to spend together each day. 

But sometimes, sweet child, I just need you to nap. 

There are moments when I need a break. Moments when I want to turn on my music that has too many cuss words to qualify as baby-friendly. Moments when I want to take a shower and actually shave my legs. Moments when I want to have both hands free to do my daily tasks.

RELATED: When I Say I Need a Break, it’s Because I am Breaking

Yes, sweet child, sometimes I just need you to nap. 

There are days that you fight me on this issue. I lay you down in the comfiest of places hoping you slide into a sweet slumber. I rock you. I sing your favorite songs. I rub your fuzzy little head and even grab you a fresh blanky to cuddle with. Yet, sometimes none of this works. You lay there and flash your toothless grin or play with your tiny bare feet while staring into my eyes.

I honestly never knew defiance could look so adorable until you came along. 

But some days we do accomplish what I have coined “mission impossible.” I manage to get you to fall peacefully asleep somewhere other than my arms. 

RELATED: If You Give A Mom A Baby

For a few moments, I cheer silently. Then my mind floods with options and opportunities. 

Do I call that friend I have been neglecting? 

Do I check my 352 unread emails?

Do I take a shower and wash out all of the dry shampoo?

My choice varies from time to time. Sometimes I just sit and do nothing the entire time you rest and feel no shame in doing so. 

But one thing is always the same. I always enjoy the first few minutes of solace. But eventually, every time you are finally down for a nap, I miss you and wonder when you will wake back up.

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Her View Shop

So God Made A Teacher Ornament So God Made A Teacher Ornament

Articles by Katelyn Brown

Katelyn Brown

Katelyn Brown is a new face to the blogging world but has been a lifelong writer. She used writing as a therapeutic outlet to overcome a severe bout with anorexia. She has since mentored many women online that struggle with navigating the choppy waters of this life. Katelyn has been recently promoted to a stay-at-home-mommy that keeps it real. She is willing to display her own flaws in order to help others. Her goal in this life is to use her own victories and struggles to help other women. Katelyn hopes to build a platform for women to feel empowered by their own flawed journey.

Facebook: Katelyn Brown Instagram: Katelyn Brown

My Baby Had Laryngomalacia
In: Baby, Motherhood
Mother holding baby on her shoulder
by Katie McCann

Life’s funny, isn’t it? Just when you think you’ve got the whole motherhood thing figured out, the universe throws a curveball. And, oh boy, did it throw me one with my second baby. There I was, feeling like a seasoned mom with my firstborn—a healthy, vivacious toddler who was 16 months old. Our breastfeeding journey had its hiccups, an early tongue-tie diagnosis that did little to deter our bond. Fourteen months of nurturing, nighttime cuddles, and feeling powerful, like my body was doing exactly what it was meant to do. Enter my second baby. A fresh chapter, a new story....

Keep Reading

A C-Section Mom Simply Needs You to Hear Her Story
In: Baby, Motherhood
Newborn baby crying in doctor's hands
by Whitney Britton

As an expecting mother, I was told all about the sleepless nights. People made sure to give their opinion on whether I should bottle feed, breastfeed, or exclusively pump. I was told which swaddle to buy, which sound machine worked best, and when to introduce a pacifier. They told me about sleep training but that it really didn’t matter because I wouldn’t get any sleep anyway. Whenever I would mention how scared I was to give birth, I’d always get the same response: oh. honey, don’t worry, your body will know what to do. I remember listening to calming meditations...

Keep Reading

Feed Them—and Other Ways To Help NICU Parents
In: Baby, Motherhood
Parents holding hands of premature baby in NICU
by Alyssa Devall

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about our reality as NICU parents to a healthy, brilliant NICU graduate. Our child was born very prematurely and spent weeks in the NICU so he could grow and stabilize. My first experience as a mother of a baby was shattered in so many ways. Trauma still lingers, but I am so grateful for all I have learned from our time beside our little baby in his isolette bed. One thing I learned was that some people who really want to help support NICU parents really don’t know how they can. Here are some...

Keep Reading

From Baby to Boy
In: Baby, Motherhood, Toddler
Toddler boy asleep with legs tucked under his belly
by Ashley Kay Andy

The sweet snuggles and sighs are slowly making way for more crawling climbing and exploring each day. And just when I think my baby is gone, you snuggle into my chest, convincing me I’m wrong. I watch as you excitedly chase after your sis and giggle as you share with me your slobbery kiss. RELATED: They Tell You To Hold the Baby, But No One Warns You How Fast He Grows Daytime hours bring playful adventures as I watch my baby leave, but then a sleeping bum curled in the air makes me believe that these cherished baby moments haven’t...

Keep Reading

Having Two Under Two Was the Best Decision I Ever Made
In: Baby, Motherhood, Toddler
Toddler and newborn lying next to each other on a bed
by Madison Boling

My baby was 14 months old when I found out I was pregnant with baby number two. He had just learned how to walk, still requiring me to walk behind him holding both of his hands above his head so he wouldn’t topple over. In other words, my baby was still very much a baby, and I couldn’t believe I’d be adding another baby to the mix. Excited, but mostly terrified, I researched and read more articles than I can count on what it’s like to be a parent of two under two. These articles more often than not use...

Keep Reading

I Thought Failure to Thrive Meant I Was Failing
In: Baby, Motherhood
Baby drinking bottle, color photo
by Megan LaPorta

Failure. That’s all I read. It’s all I saw. It was the only thing I could focus on. I’m sure the doctor said it at some point during the appointment, but it wasn’t until it was right there staring at me in black and white that it clicked . . . “failure to thrive.” I was officially failing my daughter. A couple of years down the road, I now realize how irrational and far from the truth that was, but at the time, it was all I could focus on. I wish more than anything that they had a better,...

Keep Reading

You’re Becoming a Big Sister, But You’ll Always Be My Baby
In: Baby, Kids, Motherhood
Pregnant woman with young daughter, color photo
by Kimona Farquharson

The anticipation of welcoming a new baby into the world is an exciting and joyous time for our family. From the moment we found out we were expecting to just about every day since, the love and excitement only continue to grow. However, amidst all the preparations for the new addition, I cannot help but have mixed emotions as I look back at old videos and pictures of my firstborn, my first princess, my Phoebe—for she will always hold a special place in my heart. As the anticipation grows, my heart swells with a mix of emotions knowing we are...

Keep Reading

New Mama, It Might Not Be Okay Now but It Will Be
In: Baby, Motherhood
New baby looking at camera, black and white image
by Victoria Derksen

It was 2:30 in the morning, I was sitting on the bed with tears streaming down my face, my 7-week-old son crying in my arms. Everything hurt—my engorged breasts, my cracked and bleeding nipples, my back where I had taken two epidurals. It hurt to sit, not only from birth but from the stitches, and I was tired. “It’s okay,” my husband said, rubbing my back in small conciliatory circles, but it wasn’t okay. When they placed my son in my arms for the first time I cried tears of joy, made promises for the future, bolstered by the love I...

Keep Reading

“Please Help Mommy to Be Patient, and the Baby to Stay Alive in Her Tummy.”
In: Baby, Loss, Motherhood
Toddler with hand on mother's pregnant belly
by Melinda Dueck

“Please help Mommy to be patient, and the baby to stay alive in her tummy.” It was my little girl’s daily prayer during my pregnancy. That prayer for patience—it stung a bit even though I had told her she could pray that I would be patient. It wasn’t necessarily that she or her sisters were testing my limits, but this pregnancy rage had gotten to be a real thing. If there is one thing motherhood has taught me, it’s that I can’t do it on my own. I need the help of my Heavenly Father, and I need others. I...

Keep Reading

I Know I’m Done, but I’ll Always Want Another Baby
In: Baby, Motherhood
Mother touches nose to baby's smiling face, close up color photo
by April Hayes

I was sorting clothes into tubs to donate, consign, or keep for my 1-year-old, and I came across a newborn outfit amongst a bunch of bigger kid clothes. I had gotten rid of all of my 1-year-old son’s newborn and infant things last year, but he still seems small and baby-like to me, compared to my 5-year-old. But I’m telling you, when I held up that teeny-tiny outfit, my heart broke. It looked too small to be real. To fit anything other than a doll. But, it did. My older son wore it on his first Christmas. I know I’m...

Keep Reading

Kids

We Can't Fix Everything For Our Kids, But We Can Love Them Through Anything

Next Post

I'm Exhausted and I Just Don't Want To

Motherhood

I'm Exhausted and I Just Don't Want To

You May Also Like

He Took His Last Breath in the Only Outfit I Ever Bought Him

Baby, Grief, Loss

He Took His Last Breath in the Only Outfit I Ever Bought Him

Go Easy On the Parents Who Refuse to Skip Naps

Kids, Motherhood

Go Easy On the Parents Who Refuse to Skip Naps

Perinatal and Postpartum Anxiety: The Sneaky Siblings of Postpartum Depression

Motherhood

Perinatal and Postpartum Anxiety: The Sneaky Siblings of Postpartum Depression

Take it From a Therapist, Mama: ‘Good Enough’ is Enough

Living, Motherhood

Take it From a Therapist, Mama: ‘Good Enough’ is Enough

Mamas, Please Quit Mourning Your Children Growing Up

Motherhood

Mamas, Please Quit Mourning Your Children Growing Up

This is Stillbirth

Grief, Loss, Motherhood

This is Stillbirth

My Son Loves His Long Hair and That’s Enough For Me

Kids, Motherhood

My Son Loves His Long Hair and That’s Enough For Me

The Sweet Spot of 11

Kids, Motherhood, Tween

The Sweet Spot of 11