Friday, February 1, 2008

Cheering for Nap time!

Yes, ALL mothers cheer for nap time, if they're honest with themselves. Some may not admit it to the world, but I don't shy away from such honesty....

Ruthie usually (Praise the Lord that I can write this sentence...if you're wondering what I'm talking about check out this post) takes a 2 to 2-1/2 hour nap each afternoon (and a 1 to 1-1/2 hour nap each morning...!) but this is ONLY accomplished if she is in her bed.

Funny, I was so worried when she was a couple of months old and would NEVER nap in her bed that I was creating some headache for myself in the future... funny how with a little bit of hindsight everything is so much clearer...trust in the Lord Ladies...it will save you from a lot of worry. But, I'm off on a Rabbit trail...

Anyway, On Thursdays I teach with a homeschool group that meets at my church and it works out perfectly because I can bring Ruthie with me and usually our Pastor's wife (and close friend), Mama D, watches Ruthie in the office while she works, I mean as she tries to work. My classes are done at 2pm and I usually hightail it out of there to get Ruthie home BEFORE she falls asleep in her car seat. Which is a death blow to the whole napping thing.

Yesterday, I had an unexpected Parent conference. Don't get me wrong, I care about my students and want to communicate well with their parents, but I have a one track mind when it's regarding Ruthie's nap. Being a little delayed, it was touch and go there for a while. I though she would bite the bullet and crash in her carseat. I don't mean crash as in a car accident, I mean crash as in..well you know what I mean!

So... in order to keep her awake I came up with this little cheer... Chant it with me...

RUTHIE ROO, I LOVE YOU. RUTHIE ROO, WOO WOO WOO!!!

To my great surprise and wonderment it WORKED!!! Her little lids would close as I said her name, but then during the WOO WOO WOO part they would spring back open so she didn't miss what I was WOO-ING about!! AND, YES we did make it home, she in her little crib (with dry diapers... another important part of the napping experience!) and slept for 2 and 1/2 hours. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

2 comments:

Alana said...

Oh T! This is cracking me up because I remember these days SO well! I used to yell at the top of my lungs (RICHIE/WILLIAM IT'S NOT SLEEPY TIME YET!!!!!) and then as their eyes started to droop again I would say it again. Because as you said falling asleep before nap time was the death of nap and nap time is crucial to the sanity of a Mommy!

Love your cheer. And love our Roo's. Richie Roo and Ruthie Roo ;-)

Miss you so much!

Janelle said...

I know what you mean. I used to sing:

Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake, wake, wake.

Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake, wake, wake.

Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake, wake, Waaakkkkkeeee.

Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake, wake, wake.

It usually worked, but I got a lot of weird looks!