I Learnt a New Term - Contact Napping - What it Looks Like and Why We Do It

Over a decade, and three children into my motherhood journey, I learnt then official term for what I’ve been doing all along: contact napping.

“It's a term coined by Sarah Ockwell-Smith, author of The Gentle Sleep Book, “contact napping” describes how many mothers spend nap time with their babies and toddlers: with all or part of their child's body in contact with their own.”

When I put this term into google to get a definition, it honestly made me sad to see my search results flooded with articles oh how to stop contact napping, as though it was bad. Had my new mama self have seen all of those 10 years ago, I might have believed that I should stop, what has come to be, the absolute highlight, and much need part, of my day, with each baby! As with any aspect of motherhood, it’s so important to know ourselves, our babies, and trust our mama intuition! Whew! Had to get that our because I simply cannot believe that we’re still telling mothers how to mother! Ok, let’s get back to the point of my post… ;)

Why We Contact Nap

I’d love to give some elaborate reason as to why I do this but, the truth is, I just sort started doing it when Sophie was a baby, and here I am, a decade later, still doing it with Em. Honestly, I just love this time… I love the time to snuggle, but also, it just builds in a nice quiet time for me. With three kiddos now, I don’t get a ton of time to just be still, enjoy a cup of coffee, read a book, watch a show, blog, order groceries, reply to emails, work on homeschool planning, make a call I need to, or just have a nap myself!

What it Looks Like

I have this glorious leather chair, that I got for a steal of a deal off of Facebook marketplace in the last few months of my pregnancy, and I’ve affectionately dubbed it the mama chair! It’s gigantic, it reclines, and it’s the absolute best cuddle spot for nursing. I have a side table on one side, a wicker trunk on the other, so that, no matter which side I’m nursing on, I have a spot for my “things.”

I have a blanket for me, and one for Em, I grab a coffee in my yeti mug, make sure I have a snack (maybe a Greek yogurt and an apple or protein bar), I have a pair of headphones (much easier if I need to make a call), and I also typically have my laptop, so I can either watch a show, work on a blog post, or work on my real estate course (more in that later lol).

Ok, I’d love to know…. do you contact nap with your babies??

Until I blog again,

Alex