Napping Really is the Bees Knees…and Here’s the Infographic to Prove It!

As the self-proclaimed King of Naps, I feel it is my duty to kick some napping knowledge when I have the opportunity. And today just happens to be a nap knowledge kicking day!

Check out this awesome infographic proving once and for all that napping truly is the bees knees.

A couple points before the pretty pictures…

  • I miss working from home when I could siesta everyday. Sad face.
  • How about pilots Nasa’ing while the plane is in flight?! You know I love a nap, but that one even freaks me out a bit. Hey co-pilot, wake up and take the wheel for a couple minutes, huh?
  • A swinging bed makes us sleep faster. Yeah, Little Dude can attest to that after the first 6 months of his sleeping life were spent in a swing.

I need a nap.

Napping Infographic

Napping Infographic

Napping is the Bees Knees

King of Naps

King of Naps

As the self-proclaimed King of Naps, I feel that it’s my duty to pass on this great napping info to my napping subjects.

Thanks to EdGalaxy.com for sharing the siesta stats.

Nap on.

Napping may save your life
A multi-year Greek study found napping at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes resulted in a 37% lower death rate due to heart problems.

Can’t sleep? Don’t stress
Even if you can’t fall asleep for a nap, just laying down and resting has benefits. Studies have found resting results in lowered blood pressure, which even some college kids have to worry about if they are genetically predisposed to high blood pressure.

Pick the right time
After lunch in the early afternoon
your body naturally gets tired. This is the best time to take a brief nap, as it’s early enough to not mess with your nighttime sleep.

It makes you smarter
According to Dr. Matthew Walker of the University of California, napping for as little as one hour resets your short-term memory and helps you learn facts more easily after you wake up.

Abandon all-nighters
Foregoing sleep by cramming all night reduces your ability to retain information by up to 40%. If you can, mix in a nap somewhere to refresh your hippocampus.

Drink coffee first
The way this works is you drink a cup of coffee right before taking your 20-minute or half-hour nap, which is precisely how long caffeine takes to kick in. That way when you wake up, you’re not only refreshed, but ready to go.

The ultimate nap
According to Dr. Sara Mednick, the best nap occurs when REM sleep is in proportion to slow-wave sleep. Use her patented Take A Nap Nap Wheel to calculate what time of day you can nap to the max.

Week 17: Occupational Hazards

Occupational Hazards

Occupational Hazards

“Does he smell?” As she holds his ass in the air.

And the Dude’s first reaction is to lean over for  a sniff!?  “Nope.”

Later the same day, as I dozed off on the couch for an afternoon siesta, Mrs. Dude asked if a sleeping Little Dude could lay with me.  Of course the answer was yes.  As she laid him on my chest, we realized the turd had definitely escaped.

But he’s sleeping.  We knew we were safer if we let him sleep.  So The Boy and his dirty diaper dozed with me for a half hour.

Occupational hazards I guess.

Make no mistake about it, parenting is an occupation.  But an occupation unlike any other.  I’m still new at this game; I’m sure Mr. Huxtable could drop some parenting knowledge on me, but from what I gather, there is a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice.

Can you think of any other job you would volunteer to be on call 24/7 for zero pay (actually pay them to work…I think the average kid costs like a bazillion dollars these days.)?  And sniff butts and nap with a dirty diaper?  I think not.

Some jobs run the risk of carpal tunnel.  Parenting runs the risk of no sleep and stank butts.

On the flip side, the obvious response is that the rewards of watching your kids grow up are priceless.  No argument there.

But the effort involved is somewhat priceless too.  It’s tough to find the same dedication a parent is willing offer.

Week 17 brought on a battle with the Hands, Foot, and Mouth virus.  7+ days of cranking.

Since Little Dude is already fighting through reflux, we didn’t realize the cranking could be HFM until some hives arrived.  We confirmed it at the doctor the next day.

Reflux and HFM lead to a worn out Little Guy.  He handled it all pretty well, but the true champion is Mrs. Dude.  A worn out kid leads to a worn out parent…someone needs to pick up the slack.

Parenting in general is an occupation full of hazards, but an at-home mom is like pulling double-shifts every day…for years.  No time off, no personal space, 100% attention on someone else’s well-being.

Thanks for all of the hard work Mrs. Dude.  You’re an amazing Mom.

Week Six – Firsts

Snoozing

Snoozing

Life is full of firsts.  Firsts continue from day 1 to the end.  I’m sure my Grandfather never realized we’d all be experiencing “Tweets” on regular basis.  Not that he knows what a Tweet is, or email, but you get the point; we all have the potential to experience firsts until our last day.

Like every aspect of an infant’s life, firsts are intensified.  Infants experience firsts at a breakneck pace.  Everything is new to them.  And new parents love to point out the firsts; first giggle, first hang nail, first poop on a Tuesday when it’s raining, etc.

The Dude and the Mrs. fall into the exuberant category when it comes to Little Dude’s firsts.  We often comment to each other about silly firsts, but this week held some significant firsts…from the Dude’s perspective anyway.

  1. First shower with Daddy.  A short but sweet shower to close out the day and put a smile on Little Dude’s face…he digs the water.
  2. First nap on Daddy’s chest.  Up to this point, Little Dude had a hard time getting comfortable and staying still long enough to nap with the Dude, but the bonding is getting stronger and Little Dude’s calm periods are extending…hopefully.
  3. Mower

    Mower

    First time mowing the lawn with Daddy.  I have a rad new (old, but new to me) “reel” mower (think 1950’s-style push mower) that’s lightweight and makes no noise, so Little Dude was able to nap in the front pack while the Dude mowed away.

  4. First trip to the beach.  Saturday offered a relatively cool and overcast day, so we took the opportunity to get Little Dude acclimated to the beach.  His first experience consisted mainly of nursing.  Mrs. Dude wouldn’t let me take him body surfing.
  5. The start of his first Shark Week on Discovery.  The beach and Shark Week are not related in any way.  The Dude likes to think of sharks like unicorns, imaginary…don’t tell the Princess unicorns aren’t real.
  6. First evident quality inherited from the Dude.  Mrs. Dude has some strong genes.  Little Dude is an identical replica of the Mrs. when she was an infant; people have actually mistaken her baby pictures as Little Dude.  It’s been a struggle to find the Dude in The Boy, but not anymore.  Mrs. Dude declared this week that Little Dude has the Dude’s toes!  That’s right, he’s my boy!  Yeah, it’s just toes, and I’m kind of thinking the Mrs. was just being nice, but I’ll take it.

Crankiness Update:

Acid reflux was confirmed this week, and we got an increased dose of medicine.  Mrs. Dude also cut out any food with taste from her diet to be safe.  Thankfully, these adjustments seem to be working…for now.  The acid reflux symptoms have decreased quite a bit.  Notice, I did not say the crankiness has decreased.

In the ever-changing landscape of an infant, another crankiness source arrived on the scene.  Could The Boy be hungry?  He’s eating almost every two hours, but this week, the “I need food now” cry has increased in frequency and intensity.

We decided to do a little experiment.  Mrs. Dude pumped while I fed Little Dude a 4 oz. bottle.  He downed the bottle in about 20 minutes, and passed out for four hours.  Mrs. Dude was only able to pump 2 oz.  This isn’t a definitive answer.  He may get more when he nurses, and it’s only one test, but it does show interesting results.  Could it be that he’s not eating enough?

He’s gaining weight faster than expected, so clearly he’s eating.  Perhaps a growth spurt this week?  We are going to try to work in some additional pumping in an attempt to increase the milk supply and build some more reserves (and by “we” I mean Mrs. Dude…thanks Mommy), and keep an eye out for the hungry symptoms.

We’ll see what excitement week seven brings.