Quiet time for mom

11/11/10 quiet time for mom
As a result of seeing spots and having blurry vision at work this morning, my doctor wanted to me to come in immediately to check me for pre-eclampsia (I don’t have it). I ended up going home after the doctor’s appointment and finally, was able to take a long-desired afternoon nap.

Even when I’ve had the chance lately, such as on weekends, I haven’t tried to nap, both because of the things I want to get done, and because I think it’s unlikely I’ll fall asleep and don’t want to take medication during the day.

However, after many afternoons longing for River’s schedule, with rest in the 2-5 p.m. range, I decided to give myself quiet time, the same way I would give it to River. If he doesn’t sleep, I still leave him in his crib for two hours or so in the afternoon. At the very least, he is quiet, restful and has time to decompress. I figured I could use the same thing and determined that 2-4 would be my quiet time.. If I slept, great. If not, I was going to remain in bed, either just lying there or reading.

I did sleep for just over an hour. Upon waking, I was tempted to get up and get back to work. But I made myself stay there until 4, lying in a state of restful half sleep for 30 minutes, then reading for a half hour. I got up feeling so much better than I’ve felt in a long time.

I’m recognizing that I can now use a nap time, or at a minimum, a quiet time, along the same schedule as River, at least through the end of the pregnancy. It’s not possible on most weekdays, but I’ll try to be better about it on weekends. And as soon as I start my maternity leave, mommy nap time is going into effect.