Naps. A Love Story.

Kids are not robots. You unfortunately can’t program to do what you want, when you want. But part of being a Baby-To-Go is that sometimes you have to make a plan, and go with it. Sometimes you draw aces, sometimes, not so much.

So as you loyal readers know, naps have not been going so great for us. And I really stopped stressing about them too much, because we are busy and everyday our schedule is different (which, I’m sure, is why my son has never been on a nap schedule).  But when planning out our day, I have to think about where and when he might nap, and try to plan around that. Sometimes it works out, and big smiles from momma. Sometimes, it’s a disaster. This is a tale of each.

Last week, my former colleagues were getting together for lunch on the Upper West Side at 12:30pm. Getting to the UWS on the subway is a bit of a pain from Queens. Basically it involves going all the way down to Times Square on the local train, and then walking quite a ways underground to the 1 line. Add in the stairs and the stroller... and I decided to drive. I also knew that street parking regulations (aka alternate side) was over at 12:30, so I figure if I got there by 12:15, I could find a spot. (NYC Side Note: if you pull up at 12:30, best bet is that all the spots are gone. People move their cars and sit in them for an hour and half during the NO PARKING time. If a parking spot cost you over $300 a month, you would too).

So on our way, he fell asleep. We hit some traffic, but I arrived at Columbus Avenue around 12:15 and found a spot.  With five minutes left to wait, C started to wake up. I was panicking a little because I knew we had to wait until 12:30 to get out of the car, and I figured he would fuss. But next thing I knew, I looked back at him and he was asleep again! So I waited…. figuring he would wake up soon. And I waited. And waited. At 1:30, he finally woke up! He had slept for two hours and I was sitting outside my friend’s apartment for an hour, while the ladies lunched without me! Oh well, you never wake a sleeping baby, right?

The next day, C and I were heading out to Long Island for some pool time and a trip to the Cheesecake Factory with my sister. We left Queens around 10am, me banking that he would nap on the way out, and on the car ride home. Well, he never fell asleep during the drive to my parent’s pool. So we swam, played in the kiddie pool, went to the playground and then left around 12:30 for lunch. And of course, on the two-minute drive to the Cheesecake Factory he passed out. My sister went in, and surprisingly, there was no wait for a table. At this point, I decided to chance it by moving him to the stroller. I laid the seat of the Bugaboo Frog down flat, and carefully unsnapped him from his car seat and moved him to the stroller. He miraculously stayed asleep! I wheeled him into the restaurant, parked him next to the table, and was able to enjoy a meal in peace. Seriously! It was divine!

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