"Nap" Time

Olivia’s cough from last week worsened over the weekend. She never had a fever or any other complaints but the cough always got worse when she was active.

Sunday morning, Tom insisted she sit with him and rest. After lunch, he suggested I take her upstairs and try to get her to nap.

Olivia hasn’t napped in at least two years, probably more like three. But I was game for trying. Trying to get Olivia to nap meant I could nap, right? Right!

So right after lunch, after giving O her mid-day dose of antibiotic, off we went to try and sleep. She was happy to climb the stairs on front of me, grinning as if we were on a big adventure.

While we were in the bathroom for a pre-nap potty break, Olivia found a baggie with a button in it. It was from a pair of pants I’d bought the week before. She asked me if it was an imaginary button. I told her it looked pretty real to me.

She asked if she could have the button. She was fascinated by the idea of a button in a baggie. I said she could absolutely have the button. She carried that button into the bedroom and climbed into bed with me.

We snuggled beneath the covers and I quietly told her to close her eyes just for a few minutes and try to sleep just a little.

She said okay. Then, she played with her new treasure.

I set the alarm for about an hour and a half later, figuring even if she didn’t sleep, at least she was resting.

And…she didn’t sleep. We snuggled beneath the covers and Olivia whispered, “Are we taking a nap?”

“We’re trying,” I whispered back. “But we can’t be sleeping if we’re talking.”

She giggled. Then she got her button stuck in a plastic toy brush she’d been holding too. I had to get the flashlight that resides on the bedside table to get it out.

She tossed and turned and an hour in, she declared she had to pee again.

We managed to stick it out for about an hour and a half before she finally asked, “Is our nap done yet?”

I managed to not laugh and told her it could be done it she was ready for it to be done.

She jumped out of bed and started to run toward the stairs. I reminded her that running makes her cough worse and she slowed to a fast walk.

Tom asked how our nap was. I informed him that one of us might have snoozed a bit here and there but it wasn’t the one he’d hoped would do so.

H agreed with me that the hour and a half that she rested in bed with a half-sleeping mommy was good enough.

We put in The Simpson’s Movie and Olivia sat, entranced, on the floor for another couple of hours.

What won’t we do to limit our kids’ physical activity?