Piggy-backing on yesterday's post about the difficulty of scheduling a playdate with seven different moms because of our babies' varying nap times: it seems to me that many new moms start to protect their little ones' sleep with the fury of a mother possessed, once they realize how important it is for an older baby to sleep through the night and to take regular, uninterrupted naps. I know that my whole day is built around the morning and afternoon naps: I hardly ever schedule something for those times. And I do get upset when a dog is barking loudly in the street, or someone makes a loud noise, just at that moment when the baby is falling asleep or is passing through a lighter sleep stage. Yes, napping is a big, big deal, for moms and babies. And it's not because it's the one time of the day when I get a significant break. It's because there's such an obvious difference in the mood of a baby who's sleeping well both day and night.
But is it possible to become too militant about the whole thing? Yes...I'm sure that for my family, I've crossed the line a few times, by shushing them too strenuously on occasion, when the baby is napping. Or I've stressed myself out too much by worrying unnecessarily when my baby only slept forty minutes instead of a full hour. But I can't say that I'm freaking out every time my baby's nap is interrupted. I don't think I've crossed the line and become truly militant yet...though I might have to check with my family again on that one.
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