The gift of the morning nap

Cohen's sleep changed drastically somewhere between 3 and 6 months. I have written about it before. Not only did his nighttime sleep change, but his naps become so much shorter. Cohen slowly went from sleeping an hour at a time a few times during the day when he was around 4 months, to only napping 5 minutes every hour at 6 months. These 5 minute naps were not too fun. He was not rested at all.

So now that he is sleep trained, he naps for at least an hour straight every morning. This is what our mornings look like lately when I don't have to go to work:

Wake up at 7 am. Jon gets Cohen up, changes him, hangs out with him while he gets breakfast on the go. I usually get an extra 5 precious minutes in our bed. Then I nurse Cohen (usually while still in bed). Then the three of us sit together at the kitchen table. J and I have breakfast, and Cohen plays with his applesauce. My favourite part of the morning, for sure.


Then Cohen spends some time on his little mat while J and I get ready, make coffee, etc. J heads to work  at 8:15 while I do laundry, tidy up, listen to music with Cohen in the Ergo. When Cohen starts to seem sleepy (between 9 and 9:30), I take him in to his room, read him a few stories, turn on the white noise, and lay him in his crib. And he falls to sleep within minutes. He doesn't cry even a little bit. It is amazing, and I can hardly believe it every time.

I usually throw on my workout clothes, do one of those high intensity 20 minute workouts, then shower. That alone is such a gift. For the last many months, my showers were rushed, with Cohen in his chair in front of the bathroom door. And working out was something that happened a few times a week after J got home from work. Anyway, after my shower I sometimes just sit for half an hour reading blogs, or a do dishes, or make cookies. That hour to myself refreshes me so much. I am always so excited to go get Cohen from his crib after that. He is always smiling, and in such a good mood. I can tell that his morning nap is not only good for me, but also for him.