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

[AnUnoriginalUsername]

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?

The only time I needed to think about nap timings was when they started to grow out of them- so if they napped too late or for too long, they wouldn't go to sleep at bedtime.

But, as young babies, no- they napped as and when, and would sleep anywhere really.

@ElephantOfRisk that made me laugh so much. I clearly remember panicking every time his dummy fell on the floor and he popped it into his mouth until I caught him eating mud. 🙈

I like to be home for naps (7 months) because I get all the house work and cooking done in nap 1 and I go to sleep with him in nap 2.

When a day routine means you get a full night's sleep (as in, they sleep from 7pm to 6am without waking you up at all), but breaking the routine means they wake up 2-3 times in the night, why would any sane person fuck with the routine?

In my experience, you can make a child under the age of 2 fit in with what you want to do in the day time or fit in with what you want to do in the nighttime (ie sleep!), but few parents are lucky enough to get a child that's fully flexible in the day and still sleeps 11+ hours in a stretch every night.

Not when they were 7wo, no, mine were in the sling most of the time and slept whenever. But I have a 15mo who needs a long nap in the middle of the day, or at a push can cope with two shorter naps (eg if we went out in the car in the morning and returned in the afternoon). So does that mean my life revolves around naps or do I get to join the cool casual no-routine club?

Our eldest slept all night from about 10 weeks with no day routine , the second one has never had a full nights sleep and she’s 22 now .

I certainly didn't. Some dc sleep out and about better then others, mine were not so good but it didn't mean I sat home and planned my day round nap time. They'd get used to it eventually or sleep for longer once we did get home

My baby has a set nap time but will only sleep if at home or in the car.

I don’t allow it to get in the way of days out or socialising but given the choice, I would attempt to arrange things around naps. The thing is, my son turns into an absolute maniac when he’s tired, it’s like he’s over hyper. It ends up ruining most outings if we are out past 2pm and he still hasn’t napped.

I also find if I go out a couple of days in a row, I have to give him a recovery day at home and he ends up having a four hour nap.

At 7 weeks old I wouldn't worry, at 7 months itll be a different story when they won't go to sleep later or start having tantrums.

I have 3 children and never had nap routines. They just slept when tired.

It definitely depends on the baby and parent. My ds2, nearly 2, needs a nap, like a good big 2-2.5 hours or he is just cranky. Yes, that's a bit restrictive but it's the best thing for him and his development so I make sure it happens. I also do love that I get a nice big break in the day. He is quite flexible on timing of the nap, but its best at home in his bed. I occasionally take him out for the day now and he won't nap, but that's quite selfish and I don't feel it's actually very good for him so I try not to do it often.

@AnUnoriginalUsername

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?

40+ years ago people would say to me 'Have you got a routine yet?' and my reply was Today it's this, tomorrow it'll be something else! Don't get hung up on letting your baby dictate your life, I have some lovely pictures of, particularly my second, some very odd sleeping places, behind the sofa was a favourite one when she was mobile. Let them decide, you'll find it a lot easier!

We’re at 5 months and have never had a schedule , if he wants to nap he can whenever he wants. We co-slept until recently too but he will nap on his own too and not just contact nap. The thought of trying to get him on a schedule sounds more stressful to me 😂

We had a baby sheepskin, maybe this helped them nap anywhere as if we were visiting someone we would just roll it up and take it with us and they'd nap on it in any corner, when they got mobile they'd crawl over to it and more or less put themselves for a nap. Not sure if sheepskins are still a thing to have?

I’d say it depends massively on you/your baby and your personalities.

Some people need the structure and routine of having set nap times (or trying to!) some babies are very sensitive to sleep and if they have too much/not enough it’s an absolute nightmare.

See how you get on but personally I liked to know roughly when my babies were due a nap.

My problem was that if DD1 didn't sleep at regular times according to her routine, she would scream all evening, no matter what we did - we'd hold her, feed her, sing to her, take her out, put her in a cot, put her in a sling, cosleep... nothing worked. She just cried all evening.

I didn't particularly want her to be in a strict routine, but given that it was what made her happy, I figured it was my job to go along with it.

We all want what's best for our babies, don't we?

My first two slept anywhere anytime they were tired.
My second two were much happier sleeping in their cots at set times. They would sleep elsewhere but it usually meant naggyness later on.

@ElephantOfRisk

We had a baby sheepskin, maybe this helped them nap anywhere as if we were visiting someone we would just roll it up and take it with us and they'd nap on it in any corner, when they got mobile they'd crawl over to it and more or less put themselves for a nap. Not sure if sheepskins are still a thing to have?

No, as they’re not safe. They’re correlated with an increased chance of SIDS when babies sleep on their tummies. So you can use one until they can roll, but then they become unsafe until they’re older (over one).

Only became a scheduling thing for me when DS dropped to one nap at 11 months. At six to 11 months he'd need a morning nap before a baby orientated activity but otherwise it didn't matter when or where he napped.

I was adament DS2 would learn to sleep anywhere due to us having an older DS too.

He is two now but in his time here so far has slept in my arms, cot, pram, sofa, car, football pitch, school plays, meals and days out.

It was never an option that we would have a nap 'schedule' however when due a sleep we would encourage one.

DS refused to nap in his cot (slept well in it at night). Would normally only sleep in his pram during/after walk, did mean I got out of the house a lot! Would also sleep in the car. When he went to nursery I told them he refused to nap in a cot, first day there he napped in a cot straight away and they never had a problem with him napping. Still never napped in his cot at home.

I always have a bit of mum guilt about this because I think both of mine (one of them is still a baby) would probably benefit/have benefited from more solid nap routines but I just don't find it at all practical until they're down to one nap. I absolutely hate spending all day in the house, and it's awful for my mental health, even more so if I'm tired. I don't want to give myself a less than two hour window to actually do something all day, and now with my second I also can't contemplate doing it with my preschooler; we'd both go nuts. So while I got a bit more set about DS1's nap when it was down to one and I guess I will be with DS2 too, until then they're often on the go and fitted around other plans.

@Hardbackwriter

I always have a bit of mum guilt about this because I think both of mine (one of them is still a baby) would probably benefit/have benefited from more solid nap routines but I just don't find it at all practical until they're down to one nap. I absolutely hate spending all day in the house, and it's awful for my mental health, even more so if I'm tired. I don't want to give myself a less than two hour window to actually do something all day, and now with my second I also can't contemplate doing it with my preschooler; we'd both go nuts. So while I got a bit more set about DS1's nap when it was down to one and I guess I will be with DS2 too, until then they're often on the go and fitted around other plans.

I can only speak to having one child, but I found we still have plenty of time to do things with two naps. He‘s up at 7, naps 9-10, and 12-2, bedtime routine at 6pm. So that leaves quite a few chunks! The morning two hours we usually go somewhere local, and the afternoon four hour chunk gives more freedom to go further. The first chunk from 7-9 is just spent having and clearing up from breakfast and relaxing. Two scheduled naps sounds a lot but we found we enjoy our time doing things because he’s well rested and happy, never gets overtired, never nods off randomly it gets overtired, and knows what to expect. Don’t think I’ve seen him yawn since six months old!

There’s no need for any guilt though, we all do what we feel works best for us as a family, and your mental well-being is just as important.

You don't decide what to do about naps. Your baby decides what they want to do and communicates this by being insufferable when they want to be napping and/or not sleeping a sensible amount at night when they don't like the balance you've tried to strike. They're the boss of you now, Godspeed!

@hardbackwriter - both mine would nap in their buggies, so I could be out and about, but would need to keep the buggy moving at the right time.