How much do you work around your babies naps?

[sharond101]

DS is 8mo. He isn't sleeping so great of late so we have just started sleep training. He has two naps each day, one around 2hours after waking, the other 3 hours after waking from his first nap. He will go to sleep in his pram or if rocked to sleep but not in a busy or fun environment. I obsess about him getting his naps as he gets really grumpy otherwise and I think it worsens his night time sleep. I have avoided some baby groups as they fall at naptime but would like to start taking him to one in particular. Do you work around your babies nap times or do you just go with the flow?

We'd with the flow to an extent. But I found it really helpful to understand that nap time sleep cycles are usually around 40mins-45mins long, so if DS was napping at a time inconvenient for a god group (or paid-for swimming lessons) I'd feel relatively comfortable waking him gently after 45mins of the early nap (I'd get to his room a few mins early and would usually notice him stir) to go out and then make sure he was free to nap as long as he needed to later. Or vice versa. Think I got this from Pantley in the No-cry Nap Solution (not a strictly accurate title I found but helpful on the physiology of infant sleep).

I found he was often impossible of he missed the nap completely, and if he'd had a dodgy night or been up particularly early (5-6am is still normal in our house and he's now 21mo), I'd prioritise sleep over group.

We still use the cycle theory now he's down to one longer nap if we need to, although I think it's tailing off now.

We'd go with the flow, and to good groups, not god. Although some are now in church halls :).

I tend to just work around them - got my DCs used to sleeping in the pram so they can sleep on the way to a group if it clashes with nap times.

I go with the flow wrt groups but with dd1 if she has a bad night etc I would keep her in the next day (only went to two activities with her) and make sure she had a good nap in the cot and this usually got her back on track.
Dd2 has no routine whatsoever, is sling carried everywhere and sleeps 10 hours a night regardless of naps etc. which is a good example of how very different babies are!

Play it by was and go to the groups you want to - you will know soon enough if this really messes up sleep

half and half really
dd2 only naps in her cot, which is a right PITA (dd1 would sleep for hours in her buggy), and can get grumpy if she doesn't nap. so at least half the time I make sure we're home. the rest of the time her nap is sacrificed in favour of my sanity, and we'll go out..

I know your dilema. I can get a good sleep out dd ( 9 months) about half the mornings. She goes down bang on 10am so no groups for us. I couldn't find any afternoon groups. Tbh it's more during that sleep I can get stuff done as she could catch up in pram. We are going to start one group now and I've found one in the afternoon so that I hope is a compromise.

I'm a slave to naps. My kids sleep brilliantly at night but I my if they nap well and get to bed on time.

To be a good nights sleep is worth more than a group (but I am lazy!)

I my!?! Clearly I mean only...

I'm with DoNotDisturb. My whole day is run by ds's (6 months) naps. Yesterday DH was complaining about how much power ds had in dictating our day. But he gets so grumpy and clingy if he has less sleep I would rather just work around himthen deal with that.

As for baby groups I have the same dilemma as he sleeps when they start. Normally I get him dressed before his morning nap so he is almost ready to go out. If he falls asleep easily I let him rest for at least 20-30 minutes and then put his coat on. If he sleeps through that I putt him in the buggy and he carries on the nap. If he wakes up I make sure to give him an opportunity to make it up later either on the walk back or the later naps. If you can't get it to work for you though I would prioritise the naps. The baby groups are not as beneficial for him imho as a good days sleep. You will have time to take him later.

In the week I mainly work around his naps. However at weekends we are more flexible. My 7 month ds's first nap is normally around 9:15 so if we want to go out and we have half an hour or more journey we travel during his nap time so he sleeps in the car or we get him changed dressed etc and put him down in his cot to sleep. While he is sleeping we get ourselves completely ready to go out (our coats on etc) then when he wakes quick nappy change and coat on and off we go. In the week I am strict not just for him but my sanity. When I have him on my own all day I need the break to relax and also get stuff done. Whereas at the weekend dh is around to help so the breaks are no where near as important.
One thing we are very inflexible about is bedtime. Our ds sleeps really well and has done from 13 weeks old. He sleeps 6pm-7am so we tend to run our life around getting him to bed on time. If he doesn't go to bed at 6 he is miserable.

I've always worked around naps, as much as anything else because baby/toddler groups are often in the mornings so as to be self-selecting - ie if your child has dropped their morning nap then they're old enough to go. It has the benefit that both DCs, now 3.9 and 2.4, still have an afternoon nap every day even though lots of their more go-with-the-flow peers don't. There's nothing else that I'm routine-y about but I find the nap so important for getting a bit of peace and quiet that long may it continue!

We are ruled by DS's naps and bedtime (9 1/2 mo) ! He usually has a shortish nap about 2 1/2 hours after waking up, then another one after lunch. Now I've bought a snooze shade he'll sleep in the car again (thank god!) and so he can sleep on the way to and from places. If we're out and about we can keep him awake longer by entertaining him, but it's fragile! He also goes to bed at 6pm so we make sure that we fit that into our routine. It can be a pain, but it means he sleeps better overall. It's worth it IMHO as he's much more cheerful when he's awake if he's had enough sleep.

Work around naps. Well routine is such that it's easy to do.

With dc2, we forced her naps so they were at the same times as ds. She's ok with that and also makes groups easier. Wouldn't regularly skip naps - no way!