Why I'm a Bad Mother
Babygirl did not nap yesterday. You may recall that we had a Nap Drought last year at about this time. Babygirl skipped her nap approximately 120 days in a row, leading me to teeter perilously close to the edge of a nervous breakdown. I adore Babygirl. Really, I do. I just don't want to adore her for twelve straight hours.
So I'm not getting the Mother of the Year award.
Today, with great hopes, I put her down at the usual time with her dollies (Dolly and Boy). I tried not to let her see my fear, because it's well-known that babies can smell fear and will then take advantage of that weakness. She snuggled under her blankets and then ten minutes later, began calling out, "MOM!" Pause. "MOM!" Pause. "MOM!"
I've been ignoring her for twenty minutes now. She's probably untaped her diaper and peed in her crib by now. She's obsessed with taking off and putting on her diaper--mostly taking it off. And she's newly in love with toenail polish. Just before her nap, I had to paint the toes of two of her dollies. (We painted Boy's toenails the other night. He's an old cabbage patch doll that's been hanging around in the stuffed animal basket for many years now. Babygirl found him and christened him "Boy.")
I just don't want her to be awake now, mostly because I don't want to share my Diet Vanilla Pepsi. And because I need a moment to be a solitary, isolated, individual person. I seriously had no idea how taxing it would be for me to be with people--even my own children--twenty-four hours a day.
I haven't even read the newspaper yet today. But I think I will. Babygirl can wait.
So I'm not getting the Mother of the Year award.
Today, with great hopes, I put her down at the usual time with her dollies (Dolly and Boy). I tried not to let her see my fear, because it's well-known that babies can smell fear and will then take advantage of that weakness. She snuggled under her blankets and then ten minutes later, began calling out, "MOM!" Pause. "MOM!" Pause. "MOM!"
I've been ignoring her for twenty minutes now. She's probably untaped her diaper and peed in her crib by now. She's obsessed with taking off and putting on her diaper--mostly taking it off. And she's newly in love with toenail polish. Just before her nap, I had to paint the toes of two of her dollies. (We painted Boy's toenails the other night. He's an old cabbage patch doll that's been hanging around in the stuffed animal basket for many years now. Babygirl found him and christened him "Boy.")
I just don't want her to be awake now, mostly because I don't want to share my Diet Vanilla Pepsi. And because I need a moment to be a solitary, isolated, individual person. I seriously had no idea how taxing it would be for me to be with people--even my own children--twenty-four hours a day.
I haven't even read the newspaper yet today. But I think I will. Babygirl can wait.
posted by Melodee at Tuesday, September 07, 2004
2 Comments:
When my two boys were 8 and 11, I had tried EVERYTHING I had ever heard of to encourage them to be upstanding obedient manly little boys. HA! I still remember the day I sat them down in two chairs facing me and announced that I had tried everything, and that my only recourse was to kill them. They laughed hysterically, until they fell off of their chairs.
I survived the really bad stuff by reminding myself that it would make a great 'Christmas' letter.
Yes, I remember my daughter leaning over my prone body - with a mangled leg from having fallen off a small stool in my junky closet. Clearly I heard her say...well, now you have something for the Christmas letter!
Babygirl sounds like a lot of fun!
Maybe you should rename it "Quiet Time" instead of nap time. If BabyGirl doesn't want to sleep, tell her to play but play quietly until you come for her :)
Maybe that will work. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with needing your own time to un-wind. Geesh, I freak out after having guests for one day -- I usually need a week to recoup LOL...sometimes longer. I couldn't survive with out Fred time...
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