to expect other mums not to allow their toddlers to wake my sleeping baby in her pushchair?

[canmummy]

I'm getting really fed up with this now. I take dd3 to school (aged 6 months) and she is usually having her afternoon nap in her pushchair. As soon as I get outside the classroom door I find at least 1 and sometimes up to 3 toddlers coming to prod and poke her and so she generally wakes up, irritable, and I have at least 25 mins before I get back home to sort her out. Today I sarcastically said that she'd only been asleep 20 mins instead of her usual 2 hours and I was just told "well she'll sleep well tonight then". I can't stand any further away from them and these are all friends as well, not strangers. Other option is to turn up late when they've all gone but this is unfair on dd1 who will think I'm not there. Would anyone else be annoyed by this or am I being precious?

First time curiousity I could handle, but not all the time. Surely you can just tell them to leave her alone. Pull the hood down as muchas poss r put the rin cover on even if it's not raining.

Don't be sarcastic, just ask the mothers to keep their toddlers away.

I would be annoyed as well but just tell the toddlers to leave her alone - park the pushchair behind you and don't let them near.

rain cover over pram is a good idea...

if it happens every day I'm not surprised you're annoyed...

ohh but they love seeing the little baby

you just have to be firm and say "NO!"

or take baby in a sling

Also found the shade-a-babe cover to be useful for this...

www.bloomingmarvellous.co.uk/product.aspx?CategoryID=n_pushchair_accessories&ProductID=7756_7 728&language=en-GB

Raincover seems a good option as there's no room to park the pram out of the way of them and using a sling would wake her up as well. Always thought it odd when people used raincovers when it wasn't raining but hadn't thought it through!

Would annoy me too - some babies are miserable if they don't get their quota, and one prod from a toddler can wreck your day until bedtime!

I'd be really p**ed off too actually especially as ds was a pig to get to sleep at that age and if when he actually did get to sleep he was woken up he would be incredibly grumpy for ages and have real difficulty getting back to sleep again.

I'm not sure what you can do about it though other than wait down the road a bit until the last minute and go in then. You could explain to your dd1 in the morning that you will be there but will come in to get her at the last minute when most of the others have left as the noise etc is waking dd3 up.

SB - That's a good option as well, a raincover is ok in this sort of weather but if we ever do get a bit of sun it would be like a greenhouse in there!

i have the problem that my dd runs up to every pram she sees as ahe is so obsessed with babys and i worry about her waking them up...

had a bad experience on the way to the zoo once, we stopped to get some goodies at the shop, and was at the till when dd went to the till next to us to look at a baby (i have trained her to look and not touch) and the babys mum pushed her away with her whole body against my dd age 3, i was horrified - to be honest it ruined our day out as i was so annoyed with this women,

now if i see a pram i try to steer dd to something else

I'd just say, "Please don't wake DD3, she's just gone to sleep and gets so grumpy when she's woken up." Saying it loud enough for the Mums to hear and if it continues to happen, just say to them, "Please don't let them disturb DD3 - she was a nightmare last time she was woken up early and it ruined all of our evening." If they don't respond by restraining their toddlers then they are obviously not friends and you can be as rude as you like in future in telling them & their darling toddlers to BACK OFF!!!!

snowonder, thats awful

i have tried to teach my dds to ask the mummy before they gawp in the pram

Snowwonder - I'd never be that rude but I suppose that's why I'm in this situation every day

god ur not id be the same i was going on holiday and a little girl was only bout two started slapping my baby and her mother thought it was ok but lets just say i put her straight

You don't need to be rude, don't worry. If you ask politely and tell them the reason why (not that they should need telling, as they have their own children) then it's no problem.

Our niece used to constantly try and prod and poke DD when she was tiny. I just asked her not to and said, "She's just gone to sleep/had a bottle/stopped crying. Can you help me stop people from waking her up please?" It was quite entertaining to watch a two year old telling adults off for talking, in case they woke the baby!

snowonder - what did you say to this woman?

well to be honest i was so shocked, and i said there is no need to push my dd like that... and picked dd up and finished packing my shopping....

i was going to then go up to here in the carpark but didnt .....

i hate confrontation especially in a packed shop. and i am not very assertive,

but then i felt so guilty for not standing up for my dd more, - i am supposed to protect them and i didnt do a very good job of it that day

snow, i remember my dd being engrossed in something in a shop once and a woman shoved past my dd who was then upset at being shoved.. i said to woman
"if youd said excuse me she would have understood you!!!!!!" grrrrr

woman apologised

dont let people like that upset you

to right manners cost nothing what do be up with people

anybody talking really bored

If the rain cover thing doesn't work, I'd have a quiet word with the teacher to the effect that from now on, while you're not going to be late for pickup at the end of school, which after all isn't fair on your dd as you've said or on the teacher, you'll be towards the end of the queue to avoid your baby being prodded awake. Just tell dd1 you'll be one of the later mummies, but not late as such.