It’s a sad, sad day in our house.
It’s a day that I wasn’t ready for.
Let me back up.
It was nap time for Caroline.
Or so I thought.
After I placed Caroline in her crib she insisted she was not tired.
She disagreed with my plan by pounding on the wall and screaming.
I let her scream for 10 minutes, perfectly secure in my parenting abilities, knowing she needed rest.
And then the crying stopped.
I knew it. She’s exhausted and has finally given into sleep.
For a moment I sat on my bed with a bag of chips continued folding laundry.
But then I heard an unfamiliar “tap, tap, tap” sound coming from the baby monitor.
I walked over to the monitor and pressed the video button.
It took a moment for the image to come up.
While waiting, the “tap, tap, tap” sound continued.
What could that sound be? She had two baby dolls and a blanket with her in bed.
The monitor’s picture finally came up.
Clear as day was her crib.
But…Caroline was not in the crib!
I searched the screen desperately, telling myself the bars of the crib were some how obstructing my view of her body.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening. I need her to take naps still. I need her to be contained in a box with no hope of getting out.
I walked upstairs to her room and tried to peek under her door to no avail.
The carpet was blocking my view.
Surely she must have brought a toy into bed with her which I didn’t notice. Surely she must have the skinniest profile ever and is sitting in that crib tap, tap, tapping away.
I finally gathered enough mental strength and opened her door.
There she sat on the floor trying to put the pieces into a farm puzzle.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
After a moment she noticed me.
An enormous grin spread across her face.
She said, “hello.”
My face didn’t quite say that.
Needless to say we’re off to IKEA tonight to find a little bed for her.
I’m thinking of customizing it with straps for nap time.
