Naps

Naps in our house are a funny thing lately. Libby needs 'em. Izak could use them, but does okay without them, and I don't get one unless Libby and Izak and baby #3 are having one. It can add a certain amount of desperation to a day. Take today, for instance. I heard Izak awaken at 5:45a, crying. My guess is it was a bad dream. But once my little morning bird is up... he's UP. Yesterday his nap fell from 1-4p. Since I was out of the house for a meeting I wasn't able to roll him out earlier, thus creating at least a 10 o'clock bedtime (he was froggin' around from 8p on). And you can almost put money on the fact that when he's up late, he will also be up unusually early. Oy vay.

Liberty sometimes has a hard time with nap placement. Occasionally she absolutely wipes out mid-morning, and goes down for the count (her typical 3-hour tour). Which brings her up about the same time her brother goes into his room for quiet time - that tactic is called "tag team." The lovely part is it allows me one-on-one time with each kid, the horrendous part is I get zippo downtime, and by the time Matt gets home I'm not looking so good... .

Several people have offered to help, but I never quite know how the day is going to roll out. And unless baby #3 is in the mood to sleep, laying down to rest becomes futile. Another funny thought I had the other day was that I project my fatigue on all other adults. People ask, "Can I help?" and I think, "Why in the world would you offer help when you're so tired?" I see everyone as feeling as exhausted as me. They look pretty good, but they must be dying of fatigue! I had to laugh when I put those pieces together. The tricks of the pregnant brain! It's hard to fight the feeling when it arises from a cellular level.

Only a few more weeks. And then the dynamics shift dramatically. My encouragement is that since it's my third I know that eventually... eventually... things even out. Thank God!