My mom and dad say that when I was a little girl, I never wanted to nap. Ever. I never wanted to miss anything. And, knowing I was a bit of a terror (well, some people would say terror, I would say exuberant and awesome), I was fully prepared to get a kid exactly like me – but a little worse. You know, that “payback” our parents were always threatening we’d get when we had our own kids.

Madeline hated to sleep. She HAD TO be involved in everything going on around her. If I was awake, Maddie wanted to be awake. And since I am a night owl, so was Maddie. She’d sometimes be WIDE AWAKE until ten o’clock at night. And then, suddenly, she would just crash. I tried to fight it but it wasn’t worth it. She’d go to bed at ten pm, but she’d sleep until ten am. Slightly unconventional hours, but she got twelve straight-ish hours of sleep (and since I love to sleep in, her late morning schedule was great for me). Of course, on the weekends she kept her daddy’s hours. She’d go to bed when I did, but she’d wake up with her daddy. She didn’t want to miss a minute of fun.

Nap time was always a battle, though. If I put her in her crib, she’d cry until she barfed or gave herself an asthma attack. If I laid with her in my bed, I would often fall asleep and wake up to her pulling my hair (or worse). So I’d get creative. I’d wear her out, then go for a walk around the neighborhood until she fell asleep in her stroller. Or I’d tickle her to the point of near collapse, then pull her onto the couch and give her a bottle. She’d still fight the sleep with all her might, but it was often a losing battle.


if you can’t see the video above, click here.

I miss our daily nap battles. I wish we were fighting sleep monsters together. I yearn to slumber cuddled in bed surrounded by toys, damp from her sweaty curls. I miss her more than I can ever express.