I’ll admit to being a mother who\u00a0once\u00a0rolled her eyes when other moms couldn’t have playdates because it was “nap time.”<\/h3>\n

Not that I’m unaware of the extreme importance of keeping regularity within a child’s scheduled day—my daughter’s school breaks have always been one-part wonderful time off and one-part complete upset from lack of typical structure.<\/p>\n

Still, it always seemed so annoying—and, I’ll admit, selfish—that other moms frequently wanted to get together at their houses because of so-and-so’s nap time—only now, I completely get it.<\/p>\n

Because the thing is, in relation to most subjects both including naps as well as those completely separate from parenthood, one of the worst things to encounter is someone who thinks<\/em> they understand a situation fully, but really don’t understand it at all—like me…with naps…before my second child was born.<\/p>\n

Yes, my first daughter napped, but, looking back, not really; not much at all and almost never in her crib (it’s a long story). My second daughter, however—now five months old—naps three times a day, at the same time—well, until daylight savings time recently hit.<\/p>\n

Our entire day is pretty much spent getting her to sleep, letting her sleep and then nursing her when she wakes up. (You know—it’s like I have a baby or something.)<\/em><\/p>\n

More than this, though,\u00a0I’m glad that she’s learning to self-soothe herself to sleep and has a time for her growing brain to rest and flourish (all the reasons babies and children nap in the first place). And now I get it—a mother’s job is to figure out how to go about daily life, including the needs of an older four-year-old child who obviously still<\/em> does not nap, while giving these napping youngsters what they need.<\/p>\n

There’s one afternoon of the week where we have activities and are largely not around. My baby is young enough, thankfully, that even though she’s angry to not be home cozy in her crib, she’ll sleep a little in the sling that I’ll wear, as her portable little mommy-bed. This allows her to doze and my other child to get out of the house a bit. (I’m sure when the weather warms up here in the Midwest, the stroller will be another welcome, occasional change.)<\/p>\n

But back to having other friends who are also nap keepers: how are two nap keepers to play? My current answer: they don’t.<\/em><\/p>\n

This leads to what many mothers I know, myself being one, experience: more solitude\u00a0away from other adults\u00a0than one human being should endure.<\/p>\n