Nap Time Heroes

Right around 10-12 months (K's age), I was feeling like a superstar.  I was feeling almost completely back to normal and had so much energy and K was napping like a superstar so I was getting so much done during the day.  I exercised and read and cleaned and cooked etc, etc while she napped for 2-3 hours in the afternoon.  Then September hit and I couldn't seem to keep awake and was napping again in the afternoon.  That's when I took a pregnancy test and saw the double lines.  Now I am EXHAUSTED! All the time.  Even while I'm sleeping, I'm exhausted because of those vivid pregnancy dreams. 

I'm not someone who gains all kinds of new, bouncy energy when I grow a baby.  I'm the tired blob on the couch.  The first time it didn't even matter, there was no one else in the house to watch- I could sleep all I wanted (especially after my sick leave).  This time, I have a 1 year old.  She still naps but now I HAVE to nap when she naps or I can't make it through the day.  I no longer feel like a superstar.  I don't exercise or read or cook while she naps anymore.  Now I sleep. 

Lately, I haven't been falling asleep when she does, I've been falling asleep closer to when she wakes up.  This is a big problem.  She's still essentially a baby- a baby who can climb and run and get into everything so I can't leave her unattended.  But I found the real superstar in the house- my PVR and PBS.  I'm so not above turning on the tv and letting it do some semi-babysitting for me...especially these days.  If any of you have seen my child, she's always moving, never still.  When I put on Sesame Street or Super Why, she is still and contained and quiet and not getting into trouble.  So lately, when she's woken up from a nap, I've blocked the living room off so she can't get to the rest of the house, put on Sesame Street or Super Why (sometimes both back to back!!!) and napped on the couch (in the same room as her).  It's a mom nap- every 5 to 10 minutes I wake up and make sure she's not doing anything bad and then go back to sleep.  It has been a lifesaver.

I still don't feel like a superstar: I'm still not exercising, I'm still a blob...but I'm not as tired.  And that feels like a miracle!