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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I won't need to plan our lives around naps?

214 replies

AnUnoriginalUsername · 01/07/2021 21:05

We have a 7 week old baby. Just saw another thread and though "shit, nap schedules!"
Does everybody have set times and places for naps? Is it really important?
DS currently sleeps mostly on me but also in his rocking chair and sometimes in his cot. We cosleep.

Am I being insane to think he can just nap when he's tired wherever we are?

OP posts:
RandomCatGenerator · 01/07/2021 21:06

Watching as also interested…

LapinR0se · 01/07/2021 21:07

You might get a baby that sleep anywhere. You might also get one that will only sleep with motion, or in a dark room with white noise.
Wait and see!

ChikiTIKI · 01/07/2021 21:07

I've never planned my life around nap times. If we are out for the day and they are tired, they fall asleep in their pram. Or sleep in the car on the way to/from something. I actually don't use the cot for nap times in the day anyway, I put the child in their pram and they sleep there anyway.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 01/07/2021 21:08

Mine napped best in a moving pram.

Plus side... we could go anywhere.
Downside... I had to go for walks every afternoon, even if pouring with rain!

luciles · 01/07/2021 21:08

I found it easy as a newborn because they don't sleep through anyway. My boy is nearly 8 months and I'd be in deep shit without a routine lol. The danger naps are the worst.

Somethingsnappy · 01/07/2021 21:09

4 babies to my name and have never ever ever planned or scheduled naps! They sleep in slings/cars/pushchairs. Sometimes they don't sleep, but we survive it Smile

Danoodle · 01/07/2021 21:10

I think it depends on the baby, mine will sleep anywhere and everywhere at home or on the go (now 4 months).

Smarshian · 01/07/2021 21:10

It’s very much dependent on your baby. Some will nap anywhere. My first wouldn’t nap unless moving in a pram (would wake as soon as you stopped), or in a cot. If she was tired and not in these places she would scream. So I did plan around her naps otherwise we were both miserable. My second napped wherever and was generally a much easier going baby.

Crowtooyo · 01/07/2021 21:10

As a nanny, I find the majority of babies / toddlers are happiest when they sleep roughly the same times in the day BUT I try to do a mixture of cot/ buggy / car naps so they become flexible.

TolkiensFallow · 01/07/2021 21:11

Mine needed naps. Everyone was miserable if they didn’t nap. Life planned around naps.

addictedtotheflats · 01/07/2021 21:11

My DS slept in his pram up until about 10 months so I wasn't restricted up until then, id say from 13 months he dropped his second nap and hs continued to sleep from 12-2.30 up until now (26 months) so Ive always arranged my day based on this as he naps on the sofa (supervised). It seems like it will be restrictive but all my other mum friends have kids the same age that do the same and tbh i love the quiet time to myself.

Shmithecat2 · 01/07/2021 21:11

I never did. But my life didn't have routine as such, so never needed one if that makes sense? Ds would fall asleep on me, in the pushchair, in the car, anywhere really - he didn't need perfect darkness or quiet. Just a feed.

Twelvetimestwo · 01/07/2021 21:11

@TolkiensFallow

Mine needed naps. Everyone was miserable if they didn’t nap. Life planned around naps.
Same. I loved having 2 hours off everyday two
Longestfewdaysupcoming · 01/07/2021 21:11

It really depends on the baby

cabingirl · 01/07/2021 21:12

It depends on your baby - some are more flexible that others. My DD was super flexible which was lucky as we were always flying to different timezones and there was no way we could have had a specific schedule. Naps being at different times or different lengths never affected her mood or her night times.

On the other hand she also gave up ALL naps at 18 months which was tough on me! I was very jealous of those parents whose kids were still napping at 3-years old once a day.

Overthebow · 01/07/2021 21:13

I have a 12 month old, I’ve never planned my day around naps. I’d never go out or see other mums and babies if I had rigid nap routines. You need flexibility if you want a social life whilst having a baby.

Iggly · 01/07/2021 21:13

On the odd occasion yes. But unless you provide the means for baby to nap - be it in a sling or pushchair, then be prepared for an over tired mess.

With my second I was more relaxed, but I always had a sling/pushchair option so she could nap when she got tired. Sometimes that meant walking about for a bit.

mynameiscalypso · 01/07/2021 21:13

I think when they're newborn, it's generally okay because they will generally sleep in a variety of situations and it doesn't matter so much if they're not in a regular routine. I find it much harder with a toddler who needs 2 hours+ in the middle of the day and who will only get that in his cot. He will sleep in the pram/car but never gets more than half an hour which isn't enough and he's a grumpy mess for the rest of the day. Can't bloody wait until we no longer have to schedule our lives around his nap.

SuperMonkeys · 01/07/2021 21:13

At 7 wks, no schedule needed unless your baby needs one... you'll know.

At 7 months, 17 months...more likely.

Micemakingclothes · 01/07/2021 21:14

It depends on the child. You can plan all you want for the kind of style of parent you want to be and the kind of sleep schedule you want to keep, but in the end you don’t always have a choice.

rosesandsalvias · 01/07/2021 21:14

Well I didn't need to at the start, but from 6months or so if they didn't have their lunchtime nap at home in the cot they would be a crying mess from 5pm onwards and would wake up a lot at night. Obviously I could go without or have a buggy nap on the odd day out and accept a poor night but most of the time I chose to plan my day around being home at lunchtime. I would wait and see how things pan out.

Bagelsandbrie · 01/07/2021 21:14

Life would cease to exist if we didn’t plan everything around Ds naps. He would only sleep in a completely pitch black room with no noise whatsoever. None. If we tried to go somewhere at nap time he’d just scream relentlessly until we gave up and came home and then he’d nap. So we just planned life around his naps.

Dd was completely different - slept everywhere and anywhere. Confused

mynameiscalypso · 01/07/2021 21:15

I should add that I also prefer DS to have a long nap in his cot because it gives me a chance to exercise/work/read/sleep that I don't otherwise get!

Merryoldgoat · 01/07/2021 21:15

They’re all different. The only thing I’d say is IF you can encourage your baby to nap in bright and loud rooms as well as dark quiet ones it’s easier.

Mine weren’t the best sleepers at nighttime but for naps, and once down you could talk, watch TV, hoover etc without waking them. My childminder said that it’s fantastic how they sleep like that as she’s had several kids who can’t deal with any noise at all.

GalaxyGirl24 · 01/07/2021 21:15

I never wanted to plan my life around naps either, used to take DD out to nap in the pram and it was going fantastically until around 4 months when she really started getting interested in the world and wanting to properly interact. She wouldn't breastfeed while outside AT ALL and wouldn't nap. It resulted in me having to follow nap schedules which worked a treat for her getting to sleep and having a good sleep overnight, but also meant I struggled to meet with friends until around 9 months when she could go longer gaps between sleep.

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