Do car seat naps count as a baby nap?

[Eggplant19]

I get so worked up about my baby naps. Does a baby having a nap in the car seat count?! He only contact naps (on my chest lying down) which is tricky if we are staying at parents or vice versa but I take him to a dark room when he’s showing cues wherever possible.

Sometimes it’s not possible to do that for all 4 naps everyday… he doesn’t sleep in a cot or pram but will fall asleep in the car if I’m going to the shops or driving back so at least one nap a day sometimes is in the car! Is this OK? I’m constantly worried about ruining his development because life happens and sometimes I just can’t excuse myself and lie down topless with him all the time! I feel guilty about it and worried about his overstimulation

The idea that a nap needs to be in a cot to be a 'proper'/restorative sleep has no basis in fact as far as I know. It is completely normal for babies to have varied nap locations - life happens! There is no reason to believe this is in any way damaging to your child so don't worry about it!

I wouldn't worry about it. I didn't have nap times for any of my 4. They are in their 20s now. Sorry but why do you have to be topless.

Mine slept where they wanted when they wanted. I never gave a thought to naps... (they're 21 and 26 and developed just fine!!)

Of course? Sorry but that’s mad you think otherwise: my toddler has always napped in a pram / car / contact. Shes fine.

Yes, of course! Mine, neither of them, ever once napped in a cot until they dropped naps around 3. They napped on me, in a sling, in the pushchair, in the car. I’d drive around just so they could sleep (once they were old enough to be in the car seat that long). They slept in the car seat outside in the drive many, many times. We live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, so not like on a public road, no one was going to steal them. 😂 It’s totally fine. In fact, Dh used to take us for drives on the weekend and both baby and I would have a nap in the car!

My eldest barely napped so I took whatever I could get - car seat, bouncy chair, beanbag, playpen - anything!!

Youngest was slightly better, but still loves a car seat nap occasionally (at 8!).

Both are well adjusted and developing age appropriate and happy to sleep in bed now

My baby naps in the pram, carrier, car, contact naps and the odd cot nap thrown in if I fancy it. She’s developing beautifully.

If the baby is asleep during the day then they are having a nap, don’t over complicate it

Sleep is sleep whether it’s in the cot, the pram, the carseat or your arms. Unless you have no life and never go anywhere then it’s inevitable and normal that sometimes naps happen on the go! The only thing to be careful about is how long a young baby is spending in a carseat but if it’s an older baby and/or the nap is only the length of your drive then carry on!

Is this your only child? Just think about what it's like for the second baby existing in a family with a boisterous toddler. The second child rarely gets any time "to themselves" because the parent is often dealing with the toddler's needs and demands, so often the baby just ends up being carted from place to place and just has to deal with it!

I'm sure you would agree that it isn't generally thought that second children are incredibly disadvantaged or developmentally delayed because of this - in fact often the opposite is true and it benefits the baby.

So please don't feel guilty, as there are many babies being brought up in all sorts of different ways. And they will all turn out absolutely fine as long as the parents give them a basic level of love and care.

Definitely counts as a nap. I remember if my baby fell asleep in the car on the way home I would go get a drive through coffee and sit in the car on the drive til he woke up.

Or if I was on the way somewhere I would sit in the car in the carpark til he woke up if I wasn't in a rush.

Mine are now adults and never had set nap times , they slept when they slept and it was mainly in the car , they’ve both survived just fine .

If they are still little enough to be having 4 naps a day then yeah, of course.

Jesus Christ (not you) WTF are you reading to make you think you can ruin his development from something as minor as the location of a nap?? Put it down immediately and go and talk to some grandmothers. I had a neighbour (elderly, now passed away) when I had my first baby, she had had 12 children, she used to tell me fondly about the time one of them was napping in the pram in the garden and her neighbour at the time knocked on her door to let her know that there was about three inches of snow covering the baby in the pram. The baby was fine, apparently, snoozing away not a care in the world.

There is far too much fear stoked by a lot of modern baby advice. My youngest child is 4, so I am not some out of touch crone looking through rose tinted glasses. Of course safety advice changes for a reason etc. But seriously, it has become much, much worse since my eldest was born.

There is VERY little you can do that would actually harm your child's development. Short of neglect or abuse, parenting fads come and go. Whatever nonsense suggests that naps need to meet some spurious criteria in order to "count" is probably one of them, but massive side eye at it if it is indeed suggesting that development could be harmed because of this.

Of course they count
My son is 16 months old now but for nearly the first year of his life all his naps were contact naps only. I thought it was never going to change but eventually he started being able to be rolled over onto the bed with me next to him to now being able to be left for the whole of his nap. I never thought it would happen at the time

My kid is 3.5 and never once napped in his cot, still naps in all sort of random places mainly the car.

Mine naps on the bicycle which is very frustrating because I have to peddle round pointlessly for 45 minutes one handed trying to stop him flopping over sideways. Car naps definitely count! Throw away all your apps and maybe your phone though, you're going mental

You sound very anxious @Eggplant19 have you talked to your health visitor or midwife about this?

Do you go to drop in centres to chat with the professionals there?

Your baby napping in the car is absolutely fine and will do nothing to delay their development.

You’re doing a great job, give yourself a break.