With two weeks left until baby is due and three weeks until my oldest goes to Pre-K, my energy and patience is surely being tested. Although the baby has dropped and I feel a little better in terms of being able to breath and move around a little more, I still have two busy boys to attend to and nesting syndrome that is taking over me so nap time is extremely important to me.
I have been so busy trying to do whatever I can in these last few weeks to recap whatever we went over during the summer and prepare my five year old for preschool. So everyday that I don’t have prenatal visits (which is every week at this point), I have been taking the boys somewhere. So today we went to the library to stock up on some more books to read.
I was nervous from the beginning because it is always an adventure to keep my one year old quiet. He loves to bang toys loudly and you never quite know when he’s ready to play catch until it’s a little too late and, “oops, sorry he just hit you in the face with that ball? Oh no”!
Luckily, there was another mom there with her three children and the youngest was the same age so I figured if he acted up it wouldn’t just be him so I wouldn’t feel as embarrassed. So all the kids are playing nicely until the mom’s one year old smacks another little girl in the face repeatedly with the toy he’s playing with while the mom is talking to someone else. When her older daughter hollers to tell her about it, the mom apologizes to the little girl and grabs her son telling him it is not OK to hit.
Of course, he doesn’t handle that too well so he begins to have a tantrum. She takes him outside to cool down and put him in his stroller but that’s when my little one thinks, “OK, now it’s my turn to act out”. So he starts throwing a ball that he’s found. Not to a particular person; just anyone he lays his eyes on. Then, my five year old thinks it’s OK to join in and toss the ball high in the air and all over the place, running with his little brother in the library. Nobody really notices because all the kids are pretty much doing something in there so the people in there have kind of tuned them out.
After I finally got that situation together, I let them sit down for a minute to eat some snacks (which were raisins that I had brought from home) while I checked out the books I had picked out for my five year old.
Now I don’t know if I ever mentioned this before but I don’t drive because I am still trying to get my license (I’ll save that issue for another time) so going to the library was about an 11 block walk from our house. Not a big deal when I am by myself or uh, not pregnant, but today I would have killed for a ride home.
My five year old was getting antsy and whiny so I knew he was tired as well. My one year old had already dozed off in his stroller. So at that point, I am happily waiting to get home so I can put them down for naps and take one myself. Little did I know, it wouldn’t go that way…
When my five year old is told to take a nap it is not unusual for me to have to repeat that and threaten to remove some toys or something in order for it to stick to his head and actually see him follow through but today no matter what I did, he would not take his nap.
I was so freaking tired at this point and was ready to just get a way and drink something, ANYTHING to just relax. (What’s worse is I don’t even drink!)
In the past, he would get a quick spanking and told to go to sleep but since I don’t believe in spankings anymore, I had to be a little more creative. So I decided to make him straighten up the living room and dining room. I figured it was something I needed to get off my to-do list so why not kill two birds with one stone and tire him out, too.
Afterward, he was still ready to go so I upped the ante and decided to have him do exercises like he does with his dad but until he was tired. After he did jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups for about 15 minutes straight, he seemed really tired so I told him to go back in his room and take that nap.
It worked!
I was so relieved and even my one year old went back to sleep. So I was able to take my nap after all. Dinner will be pushed back a little late and probably bed time too but hey, desperate times calls for desperate measures right? At least a pregnant and tired mama can now enjoy her rest! 😉
livinginajungle 
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I know exactly what you mean! I’m usually exhausted by around 10 or 11, too but I find that if I keep myself busy cleaning or turn on some music and dance, I’ll gain a little more energy to last a few more hours (at least until their naptimes).
That’s one creative way to tire him out! Wow, I so wish I can take a nap right now. I’m not as far as long as you, but by 10am comes, I’m exhausted!