Naps and days out

[angstyaunty]

I feel a bit silly asking this, but how do people manage full days out with a toddler? DS 14 months has a 2 hour plus nap in the middle of the day. We tend to go out for short excursions both morning and afternoon, but he always naps at home in his cot. What do you all do on a day trip? Will I just hope he has a long sleep in his pram at some point?

[clairedunphy]

I tend not to do all day excursions unless it's an exceptional event or we're on holiday but with DD 16mths we try to time car journeys for sleeping, or yes hope she sleeps in the pushchair. Although we really need to be on the move for a while for the pushchair sleep to work, as she won't tend to do it if we're just wandering and stopping regularly.

Sometimes it's all in the car - she'll sleep on the way, and can then manage to stay awake beyond her normal post lunch nap time (1pm), then sleep again on the way home.

[slightlyconfused85]

I would say try and be driving or take a little drive around nap time- they'll be okay they just learn to manage on the go. I started to try and be flexible from18mo roughly and just thought that dd would have to sleep wherever if tired- otherwise you can never go anywhere

[AnitaManeater]

It's never occurred to me to rush home for naps or cut days out short, plus with 2 older children it's not practical. They learn to sleep in the car or pushchair pretty quickly.

[confusedandemployed]

DD has just dropped her nap but we tended to either (a) time travel for mid-morning and mid afternoon, or (b) push on through and let her nod off on the way home. She rarely slept longer than 40mins and we didn't go anywhere further than an hour or so's drive away. She would never, ever sleep in the pushchair.

[Betsyblue]

Yes- just accept they'll sleep in the pushchair or the car eventually. My son usually has 2 naps instead of one on days out- one in the car on he way there, then one on the way back. It works fine. It seems a shame to miss out on whole days out just because of naps!

[angstyaunty]

Thanks so much! DH and I are feeling a bit desperate for a 'more than 30 mins from home' adventure with DS, hearing your experiences really helps.

[LibrariesGaveUsPower]

We just accepted that a busy day needed to be followed by a quiet one as they wouldn't have napped much.

If I had confined myself to home whilst I had a napping child I'd only have had 6 months available for days out since 2009!

[slippermaiden]

Mine used to sleep in the buggy or the car. Don't get hung up on sleeps being in the cot. I work night shifts and it's great being able to sleep anywhere,I'm sure these ha it's are formed in childhood!

[WorldsBiggestGrotbag]

We just don't do them. 19 month old only naps in her cot. She 100% won't just 'get used to' napping in her pram, I've been trying for 11 months! We have tried day trips a couple of times and the result is no nap all day, falling asleep in the car on the way home and then because she's slept too late not going to bed til midnight and still waking up at 6am the next morning. Not worth it! We go out in the morning and afternoon.

[Artandco]

Mine slept wherever convenient. If we had pram they would sleep in that, or in sling. Once older they just slept on us somewhere ie we were out all day Saturday and youngest who's now 4 was tired so he napped for an hour on picnic rug after we ate. Was a nice hours break for us also as older Ds coloured in quietly resting in shade, and dh and I chatted.
They will nap in cars, on trains, buses and planes. Often on dh or my lap in restaurants.

On summer holidays they nap every afternoon on a sunbed in the shade

[Kelly1814]

mine is almost 2. has never napped ANYWHERE other than the cot (didn't nap at all for first 6 months.)

we've taken her on 2+ hour journeys, at nap time, and she stays wide awake. she certainly hasn't 'learned to do it eventually."

i hear you loud and clear, it's a real pain.

[Sootgremlin]

at time travel for mid morning - timetravel is one way around it!

I must admit I've never realised this was a problem as mine have always napped in buggy or cot, in fact the reverse - they have never gone down in the cot for a nap for any length of time, only on me or on the move,

We usually time a journey for nap time and see if they'll go, like others have said, if they don't sleep in the day, which sometimes dd won't now if there is too much going on she's interested in, then just accept its an early nigh and a quiet one the next day.

I think you just have to give it a go and see what happens, a lot is trial and error and finding what works for your particular child. With my first I would just stay in if they settled on me, but now I have 2 I have to take the older one for longer excursions so the little one just has to go along, no two days are the same with regard to naps.

[Sootgremlin]

*buggy or car! that should say

[NickyEds]

I have to say we do try an arrange things around naps so ds can sleep in his cot but if not he will sleep in the buggy just not as well. If he's at home in his cot he'll sleep for 2 hours and be a happy boy until 7.30 bedtime. If he naps in his buggy he'll sleep for maybe 1 hour and be a cranky little so and so by 7. I just wouldn't go somewhere that he would be totally unable to sleep all day-it just wouldn't be fair on him.

[MangoBiscuit]

Buggy, sun-shade, and lots of walking till she nods off. Works more often than not for DD2, for which I am grateful. DD1 did not believe me that buggies could be napped me. Cars were acceptable, but other than that it had to be her cot. Very glad they arrived in the order they did, or I don't know how I'd have managed.

[BentleyBelly]

I normally wing it and hope for the best! Dd will nap in the buggy if totally shattered, she much prefers her cot. If she resists all day then she sleeps in the car on the way home and we are very lucky that this doesn't seem to disrupt her bedtime. She is getting more flexible as she gets older thankfully.

[mughandle]

I have three and youngest is still napping (14 months). 99.9% of time she naps in her cot whilst older two are at school and I fit my day around this.

However on school holidays it's not so easy as it wouldn't be fair to curtail older one's fun around nap time.

We will go out for day and she will nap for short times in car or buggy but can then be a nightmare at tea times. But then I will maybe just have a quieter day the next day and she can nap in her cot.

It's all about compromise I suppose. Must admit part of me is looking forward to being done with nap times.

[LibrariesGaveUsPower]

However on school holidays it's not so easy as it wouldn't be fair to curtail older one's fun around nap time.

That's the thing isn't it? When you have 2+ children, the baby just has to fit around. You can't tell the 5 year old no day trips until she's at least 7.5 because she's just gained a little brother .

It's a bit different with a first because you can choose to put their naps above the adults in the family. OTOH, if you plan on having more children one way of looking at it is practice

[Scotinoz]

If we're doing a day out somewhere, we just get there early (toddler is up at 6am on the dot so we're the people queuing outside waiting for places to open ), she just pushes through her usual midday nap time, then we usually leave early afternoon and she zonks out in car. Then it's a slow drive home while toddler and baby both sleep. If she doesn't go to bed until a bit later then it's no big deal since it's only every couple of weeks.

[blushingmare]

Yes as others have said. Just in the car or buggy. They probably have a shorter sleep, but that's no big deal for us. DS has no routine though and just naps whenever he has the opportunity whilst ferrying elder sister around. He's fine!

[UngratefulMoo]

DD is 22 months and has always napped in the buggy when out. We try and vaguely plan the day so there will be an opportunity to nap in buggy or car (she always falls asleep in the car) while we're out and about but tbh she just sleeps when she's tired. Which often means she doesn't go to sleep until 9pm in the evenings, but you can't have it all!

[WorldsBiggestGrotbag]

I could cope with 9pm (she doesn't go to sleep until 8 anyway) but midnight I struggle with, especially when she's still up at 6 with a wake up in the night!

[grabaspoon]

I am a nanny and look after an almost 2 year old. Baby has had regular naps in the pram from 6 months - either for the full 2 hours if we're out and about - we love the zoo, beach, lake etc and just day trips out, or will fall asleep in the pram on the way home and will either stay in the pram or will be transferred to the bed.Most of her friends will also nap in their prams.

[ChocolateWombat]

If you are on a strict routine which involves naps in cots in the dark and you have followed this since an early age, babies/toddlers often will never sleep in a pushchair.
Mine were on the strict routine and slept in cots. Fantastic sleepers, both in the daytime and at night too, but we did live quite restricted lives until the naps stopped as they turned 3.
If I was going to a friends I would take travel cot and they woulD sleep there just as well as at home,if in a dark, quiet room.

The thing to remember is that the naps reduce as they get older. By the age of 2 ish the nap needed to be down to less than an hour to ensure they where tired by bedtime. So yes, you might be restricted for a while longer, but the morning and or afternoon should get a bit longer. Some children drop the after lunch nap by 2 although often the great sleepers keep going with it until almost 3.

I found that once mine got to about 27 months, they could cope with an odd day or no nap at all, as long as it was very occasional.

Can see it is tricky if you have 2, but suspect you don't, because few people with 2 manage the strict in their bed for all naps routine as rigidly and the children do learn to sleep in the buggy from necessity early on.

IMO, the bit of inflexibility is worth it for the great night time and day time sleep. The majority of the time you don't need to be out the whole time.

[WorldsBiggestGrotbag]

Just because DD will only nap in her cot doesn't mean we're stuck at home all the time. We just tend to do trips in the morning (she's up at 6 so out and about early) then home for lunch and bed, then out again in the afternoon. We're not hermits