The Quadruple Nap

Let me begin this post by saying that I am tired. I am trying not to dwell on it too much because no one likes a complainer. I tell you that I am tired only so you can understand the lengths I will go to for a nap.

Over the weekend, I executed a "quadruple nap" for the first time. I was able to get all three of my children sleeping at the same time so that I too could take a nap.

This is not an easy maneuver for a mom of my experience level. I can think back on the many times when I have struggled mightily to get one child to sleep. But this past Saturday, the stars aligned for me and my nappers. Here is how it went down.

I began with Brendan, a little man who loves his sleep. Once he was tucked in (which was a piece of cake as it is every day), I focused my attention on the baby. He is a newborn so sleep comes pretty easily to him too. I strapped Colin into my baby sling, bounced him up and down a few times, and eventually he dosed off. Two down.

Then I turned my attention to the one person who stood between me and my nap: Eleanor. As an extremely busy almost-five-year-old, the last thing this girl wants to do is nap. And even worse, she was actually quite tired, which set the scene for a lot of "But I am NOT tired Mom!"

Wail, wail, wail.

I told her that she had to lay in bed with me and rest her body. After about ten minutes of all sorts of silliness (i.e. somersaults, songs, an impromptu ballet performance), she finally laid her body down on the bed -- which was a step in the right direction.

I then began my fake sleeping. I have found that if I ignore her long enough, she usually does close her eyes and fall asleep. Sure enough, after about five minutes, I heard the sound of heavy breathing and she was out.

I was so excited about my napping success at this point that I could barely sleep myself. I wasted several minutes thinking that this was too good to be true and straining to hear the sounds of a small child stirring.

But all three of them slept. And I slept. It was fantastic and I am not sure that I will ever be able to do it again.