Since having Peanut I have been thinking a lot about my babysitting days. I babysat for my aunt every Saturday night for about six years, while she and her husband were at work. During this time the family grew from having two children to four. While taking care of her young children I developed awesome ninja like reflexes.
I could leap over a love-sac in order to break up a fight in one bound. Picking up blankets and toys with my toes was a regular occurrence, while bouncing a screaming baby. A refined sense of hearing helped me detect the small pitter-patter of feet, sneaking in the kitchen for a treat. Even with these highly useful skills the most valuable was my ability to drop to the floor and crawl out of the nursery without making a sound. The fear that surges through your body when a sleeping baby opens their eyes is strong enough to stop a heart! That surge of adrenaline would bring out the ninja in any exhausted parent or caregiver. Personally, I would drop to the floor and lay completely still for about five minutes while keeping my breathing relaxed. Then I would proceed to crawl out of the room making sure to always remain below the baby's line of sight. I am sure I looked goofy but it is what was required of me.
This reflex to drop to the floor and freeze has comeback ten fold since peanuts birth. Although this is partly because Peanut still shares our room so I have to go in and out more frequently during nap time/ bed time. The main reason for this increase is because the stakes are so much higher. Comparable to the difference between putting some extra change in a slot machine and high stakes poker. Whether peanut gets enough of a nap or not could affect the mood for the rest of the day. My husband could come home to dinner on the table or me rocking in the corner mumbling "buh buh buh buh buh" with a half crazed look in my eye. Whereas with babysitting I could give the children back after a few hours.
I guess I am trying to say that I love nap time! In fact I love it so much that I am willing to crawl across the barren waste land of the bedroom floor in order to ensure it happens! Because when peanut gets a good nap she is like this for the rest of the day!
The naps must go on!
-Dooney
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