Go out and Naps... How do you do it??

[BePlumQuail]

My DC is currently in a routine of short nap around 9:30am, lunch at 11:30am, nap for about three hours at 12:30 and then tea at 3:30 which will be finished by about 4:30.
Today we've been out and he feel asleep in the car on the way home about 1pm for 20mins, woke up when we got home and refused to go back to sleep. Which now means he'll nap after his tea at 3:30 and then basically be waking up at bedtime!
How on earth do people go out with a nap /feeding schedule like this?? I feel like we're either stuck in the house or have an unhappy tired baby! He's seven months...

For today, if it was me, I'd probably either keep him awake till bedtime (unhappy tired baby option, but hopefully you had fun when you went out this morning) or let him nap after his tea but wake him up after half an hour.

He'll probably be ready to drop the short morning nap soon, then you have more time to go out in the morning. If you don't want him to fall asleep in the car, and both parents are there, one of you sit next to him and keep him awake. Alternatively, let him fall asleep in the car, but then leave him in there and one of you sit in or near the car and have your lunch or read the paper or something till he's had a reasonable amount of nap, or if he won't stay asleep, drive him around for an extra half hour so he's had enough nap to tide him over till bedtime.

Or if he's able to nap in a buggy (mine mostly doesn't), go out for a nice walk during nap time.

I'm sure some posters will be along soon to tell you they just went with the flow and didn't have a nap routine, but honestly I think it depends on the baby.

You just need to avoid being in the car at that time.

Either put him to sleep in the buggy at 12:30pm and stay out longer. Or get home for 12:30pm and put him to bed. Or stay in the car longer so he can have his sleep there.

You do get better at transferring them from car to house without waking them after a bit of practise. The morning nap doesn't last much after one either is then you have a bit more flexibility.

I could never transfer from car to crib , so if I knew mine was really tired I stayed in the car driving round or just chilling in car with them asleep! And woke after an hour or so . Mine has never napped three hours though so I’m used to a more cat nap schedule.

At that age, we just used to let them nap whenever but not beyond 3/4pm and just adjusted meal times to whenever they were awake. I’m not saying this is a perfect approach but my DB had a very rigid nap schedule for their first which made him and his wife pretty miserable so we tried to be a bit more relaxed about it all. Once you have your second all nap schedules go out the window anyway 😅

Pram naps! Best thing ever. Time in a cafe reading, browsing in the shops. There is nothing better than putting them in the pram after a trip to feed the ducks or similar and seeing those little eyes start glazing over, then plink: the eyelids shut and the world is your oyster for an hour or so - provided the pram can come!

Just keep him awake and do an early bed time. Or avoid the car near nap time. Whatever fits!

Varied:

Morning nap always out and about in pram/ car / sling.

Your example of 20mins car nap at 1pm. I would either sit in car another 30mins on arrival home if they were happily asleep in car so at least semi ok nap

Or if woke and needed another at 7months would just give him milk at 3pm, take for walk in hope of another nap. But cap nap. So wake by 4.30pm latest. Then there’s time for later dinner still and just a bit later bed. I wouldn’t let them nap at 3pm for 3hrs ( although I don’t think mine ever took a 3hr nap anyway)

I used to morning nap at home then go out soon as he woke. Then either pram or car nap for second nap. He didn't nap consistently in his cot until he went to one nap at about 15 months.

3 hour nap at lunchtime?!

Loads of options - transfer to cot (not always successful I know), sit in the car while they’re asleep doom scrolling on your phone, wake them up and just have a tired baby (they’ll survive being a bit more tired than usual), let them have a short afternoon nap later, early bedtime. And feed them when they’re hungry rather than a strict tea time. What do you think people with multiple children do?

Naps in the car or pushchair. If asleep in the car, I’d just sit in the drive til the end of the nap (obviously not in the height of summer) or drive around a bit longer. Neither of mine ever, like literally never once in their lives 😂, napped in the cot at home. Always in the pushchair or car, because I wanted to be able to leave the house whenever I wanted. I’ve literally had friends get up in the middle of lunch at ours and drive 30 minutes home in a panic about missing a nap window because their babies only napped at home with blackout blinds. That wasn’t the life for me! If you get them used to sleeping anywhere, then you can just get on with it.

I would probably have stayed in the car for a bit, but then and again mine never had a 3 hour nap. In your situation today I would have let them have a 3rd nap late in the day but cap it at 45 mins just to get them through to bedtime.