Like Mother, Like Daughter- The Art of Napping

For nine months we dream about what our babies will look like. What traits will we share. For me? I scoffed when my husband stated with absolute certainty during my first pregnancy that our daughter would have blonde hair and blue eyes. Sure, my husband was a toe-head growing up, but I came from a family of strong, dark, dominant features. Well, here we are, 7 years later with three blonde-haired blue-eyed girls. So, naturally I began to wonder what other traits we might share since obviously they didn’t get my physical features. Would they take after my love for art, cooking, and photography? What subjects would they be strong at in school? Would we share the same humor or style? Or would they have more in common with their dad?

1

Our oldest daughter (7) shares her father’s taste in music and love for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Our middle daughter (4) loves to create beautiful food with me and even insists I photograph her plates just as I do mine. So, as our youngest daughter started to grow and develop a personality of her own, I was anxious to see what traits we’d share. Sure enough, there were strong similarities. During those 9 months she spent in my growing belly I must have instilled in her a love and appreciation for napping. If you think I’m joking, let me assure you I am not. I love to nap. Frankly, I’m quite good at it. I can sleep anywhere at any time. It’s not always a good thing, especially when you’re in kindergarten and can’t manage to stay awake on the bus ride after school. The bus driver would find me still asleep at the end of his route and have to figure out where I was supposed to be. But this isn’t about me, this is about my daughter, Quinn. When she was around 1 year old she began wandering into the kitchen during the day to take a short catnap on my kitchen mat. Soon it was a daily occurrence as she would grab her blanket and I would follow behind watching as she found the perfect spot on the mat and curled up for a nap. I would try to hold back my laughter as I watched her fall asleep.

10433143_10102843093275229_3726156195565384512_n 10676225_10102636123763789_7512529188472091763_n

10436153_10102623485266439_7345131240714880753_n 10606460_10102783282895709_8473875996109828418_n
For the first month she took a catnap in the same spot on the kitchen mat. However, if I was busy cooking she would get angry and go sleep in front of the refrigerator door. Funny… adorable… and downright annoying when you’re trying to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily, these only lasted 10-20 minutes usually.

However, she soon discovered other spots to nap – chairs, highchairs, on top of the coffee table, on boxes, and in the middle of the living room floor were among her favorite spots. I began collecting videos and images of all of her naps. She would even climb into her high chair when it wasn’t meal time because she liked to nap in it.

11149563_10102968475114019_4183239796319048858_n 11140765_10103024209975909_4177326411966335917_o (2)

IMG_7430 (2) 11889569_10103233150073279_3919226140899680423_n

10408919_10102960537595869_8411922569648147141_n 11067511_10102879934046029_1352797074868109747_n

Before you ask, “Why didn’t that mom put that poor girl in her crib for a real nap?” know that I did. Every day she took at least 1-2 lengthy naps in her crib. She went down for bed at a reasonable time and almost always slept through the night. But, her little body needed to rest, and she was wise enough to listen. Can you imagine how great would it be to have the freedom to gather up your favorite blanket and toy and crash whenever you needed to? No responsibilities, no to-do list…. ahhh… I’m getting sleepy just thinking about it.

 

 10377260_10102585184152179_5535702109332116936_n 1554612_10103092175138179_8269153807560682929_n 10850049_10102651146418269_3046636977668931395_n

 

For almost a year the highlight of my day was to see where she would take her daily catnap. But now she’s growing and her body is adjusting to her typical one nap a day. I’m a little sad to close this sweet little chapter of her life but I have a feeling that her and I will always share a special love for the art of napping. What phases have your children gone through that you were sad to see end?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sgT10psigs&feature=youtu.be

 

Michele Langseth
Michele is a wife and a mother of three girls (7, 4, &1). She is originally from Sioux City, IA but has lived with her husband in North Liberty for almost 9 years. She works from home as an in-home childcare provider as well as a mompreneur making specialty desserts as well as children’s accessories and apparel. She spends her days creating all types of artwork and food while constantly learning new skills. She began her blog vanillabeansanddaydreams.blogspot.com this year as a way to document her journey to rediscover her passion for art.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.