To the nap trapped mama

So you’re in that nap trap stage, huh? Same. It can be tricky to navigate and even trickier to continue to take care of you while sitting in a dark nursery.

Here’s what I’ve learned entering into my third nap trap stage-

1. Bluetooth headphones will keep you sane (and awake). Perfect for listening to an audiobook, your favorite tunes or, if your baby is none the wiser, catching up on your shows or scrolling your phone.

2. Meal prep EVERYTHING. It’s a lot of work but I’ve found the only way I actually get the nutrition I need is to meal prep. I make breakfasts and lunches for myself over the weekend when there’s another parent around so that I can easily grab, reheat and eat when I get the chance. If it’s an especially tricky nap day, I will reheat and use plastic cutlery (my meal prep dishes are glass and we ain’t trying to clank a baby awake) to munch on while in the nursery. Plan ahead though. If you’re making yourself something like chicken, cut it ahead of time so that it’s one less thing to do when you’re being faced with a screaming, tired baby. And make sure you’re drinking water as often as you can without wetting yourself while you’re stuck. It’s easiest to drink with a straw or out of one of those sports bottles so you don’t spill on your sleeping baby while you’re rocking in the chair.

3. Consider having a snack basket in the nursery with high protein, low noise snacks. My favorite grab and eat are the chomps beef sticks. You can get a pack of them at Costco. I also do a lot of grab and drink plant based protein drinks- some of my favorites of those are the Orgain (also a Costco grab) and the Koia ones

4. If your baby will sleep while baby wearing then rock that for as long as you can. My girls all reached a point where they wouldn’t sleep out and about any longer and did better napping in a dark room with their sound machine.

5. Know it won’t last forever. Eventually they WILL sleep on their own. They’re still learning and sometimes they need a little extra help and comfort. It will get better. It will get easier. You’re doing a good job.

(Written while nap trapped with my own little bean. We’ve got this mama!)

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