Baby naptimes and getting out of the house.

[polkadotdelight]

I've posted before about suffering with pnd and anxiety. DS is 14 weeks and pfb. I'm trying to make friends with other mums from baby groups and get out more. When we stay at home all day DS needs a sleep after about 2 hours, I usually have to rock him under the extractor fan of the cooker hood and he will then sleep for 1-2 hours. If we are out he will fall asleep if very tired but not for as long. I'm just having a worry, please remember that I suffer with anxiety - if I am out for a large part of the day with DS taking shorter naps am I going to adversley affect him? What do you other mums do?

To be honest we just went out, I needed to for my sanity. DD would also only have short naps but it always seemed to be enough to tide her over. She's now 13 months and has a short nap in her cot in the morning and a Ionger one after lunch and I don't think it has adversely affected her at all. I think it would have been far worse for both of us if we'd been cooped up at home.

I try to make sure dd gets 1 nap at home. So meet for morning, lunch, or afternoon (or 2/3). Happy if making a long car journey to travel during her nap time as she is likely to sleep as usual.

My baby is 4 months and we just go out. If she sleeps when out then that's fine, if not she'll nap when she's home or sometimes not at all. It doesn't make any difference to whether or how she sleeps at night.

You won't do any harm at all. I found going out was pretty good for DS napping, he usually fall asleep on a walk at down point, and I got to hang out with friends. Baby groups sometimes meant that a nap was delayed by half an hour or so, but if he was busy, then it didn't matter, he'd crash out on the way home. I'm sure you won't be out all day everyday, so there will be ample opportunities for quiet naps.

He might be a bit more tired and fussy if naps are shorter but it won't do him any harm. My dd (3rd child) is ten months and still likes a nap 2 hours after getting up. I make her v.snug in the buggy and she sleeps for the school run/morning coffee with friends time. In the afternoon I usually cuddle her to sleep with her dummy then leave her on the sofa fenced in with cushions (would have been on me or in moses basket or while breastfeeding at 14 weeks). If she wakes before she has had long enough sometimes I can resettle with dummy.

Thank you!