Counting Blessings

One of the things that I am finding more challenging since Maggie's birth is coordinating nap times. Don't get me wrong -- both my babies have mellow dispositions, and both are relatively easy nappers, and I am not unaware of or ungrateful for this gift. Nap time has always been a special time for Max and I, though -- we read a book, cuddle and chat for a little while, and then he drifts off to sleep in my arms. As much as possible, I am trying to preserve this ritual, since Max doesn't get a whole lot of private Mama time right now. Surprisingly often, Maggie will cooperate, eating a big milky meal and then sleeping in her bassinet while I nap Max down. There have been times, however (and today was one of them), where the delicate timing goes askew, and either Maggie gets hungry again too soon or Max takes too long to succumb to slumber, and a big yell-fest ensues. I have experimented with letting Maggie cry for a bit, but in addition to making me leak milk and feel terrible, this makes it harder for Max to go to sleep, thus creating a sort of a catch-22. I have also tried temporarily abandoning the nap idea and letting Max up while I pacify Maggie, but this throws off the schedule, and gives Max the idea that when I say nap, I don't always mean it. Mostly, I go get Maggie and bring her into bed with Max and I. Maggie has to nurse in a weird sideways position while I snuggle Max one-armed, which sort of works, although Maggie has made it clear that she prefers other nursing positions, and Max has made it equally clear that he prefers a Maggie-free nap time. Today, when everyone had yelled at me for a while, calmed down, and gone to sleep, I slithered out of the pile of Tillman babies and went to the bathroom. When I got back, I found them all snuggled together in their sleep. In all the cuteness, I completely forgot that having two babies is often hard, and remembered that it is an amazing blessing that they are both happy, and healthy, and mine.