Daft question alert: how do you work your days around your LO's long post-lunch nap?

[BotBotticelli]

So DS is now 7mo and seems this week to have decided to all-of-a-sudden start having a 90min-2hour nap in his cot after his lunch :)

On the one hand, I am absolutely overjoyed by this development, because prior to this he was happy surviving on 3 or 4 half hour naps per day, and I was absolutely exhausted!

On the other hand, I am now completely clueless what on earth to do with such textbook baby behaviour! At least with his catnaps, I could work our day around them, giving him little naps in his buggy/my arms when we were out and about.

But now he obviously needs such a long sleep, I am worried about going out over lunchtime, and him missing it. Should I try to plan our days so we can be home over lunchtime wherever possible? Or is that just silly?? If he is in the buggy I am pretty sure he would only sleep for 30-40 mins like in the old days....so would I then have to reinstate the 4pm nap to help him through till bedtime?

gah! as soon as i get used to him doing something, it all changes!

I think you might be about to become a morning person! Up and out early, home for lunch, nap, then maybe a quick errand before dinner.

The joy of a routine!

We do an activity in the morning, lunch then nap. I sometimes have to wake them to go and pick up dd1 from school but usually they're up by then. I was never as strict with dd1 but I need the twins to sleep for my own sanity ;)

Have a day of two halves; I do things in the morning and things in the afternoon but usually make sure I'm home for lunch and nap - and I make the absolute most of having two hours to myself - heaven!

Thanks ladies! My gut feeling was that I would prefer to come home in between the morning and afternoon 'activities' so that he can have a nice long sleep in his cot and I can get some housework done or sit on mumsnet and facebook for a couple of hours.

Just to repeat - THIS IS AMAZING!! long may it continue eh?

The thing is, he seems to be wanting this nap at around 1245 and sleeping until 1445....which doesnt leave much of an afternoon. And typically I have always met my NCT group etc at 2pm....should I start ditching these social engagements? or start turning up at 1530??

Try putting him down at 12.30. If he sleeps till 2.30 you then still have from around 3pm until
5-5.30pm depending on when you give DS supper. My friends with babies and I always meet at 3 as everyone seems to have lunchtime naps at the same time.

I do groups/activities in the morning, home for lunch then bed tho my toddler is trying to drop her nap :( then school run etc.

I use the time to do housework have a nap may self, mnet etc

I do go out some afternoons but not more than a few in a row, if I did it for three/four days I would struggle to then get her into the nap routine agfaint.

It is nice now she is older and I can go out all day and knwk she is OK without a nap, some babies will have a big nap she out but mine never did.

Have you seen those buggy shades that make it all dark in the buggy? That may help?

My DS is 2.5 and is still having his 2hr afternoon nap . We do morning activities, lunch then home for nap. He really needs to be in his cot for napping and won't sleep in car or buggy. Its fine for us and means I changed my part time days to the middle of the day so he was napping whilst I was at work. Now I'm 14 weeks with no 2 so also napping if I can.

Same as moreboober my dd 23 months, has a 2 hour nap, normally in an afternoon but it can vary from her getting tired at 10.30am if she's woke too early or going down at 2pm because she's got a play date round.

We go with the flow!

So, some days twe'll do an activity in the morning and then come home, lunch and nap; other days I'll stop out most of the day (visiting family, friends, play dates etc) and dd will have to sleep when she's tired - in buggy, car or on me.

I have never been bothered what times she goes to sleep as there has been no link with her day time sleep and if she slept well or not (other parents will disagree and have found a massive difference in dc's sleep at night depending on naps; this is just my dd).

I've done this (as in I've been flexible and left dd to it, her slotting in to my activities rather than the other way around) and she can sleep anywhere! And I can transfer her once asleep too.

I'm a big believer in reading their patterns and not slotting them in to other people's 'routine' like Gina F.

As adults we go to bed late some nights, early on others, we might nap on a Saturday afternoon etc, babies too might be tired one day over another if we've had a big day the day before.

If I was you, I'd continue to go to the nct group and if he's still asleep wake him up. You could try lunch a bit earlier on that particular day (say 11.30) and then get him down by noon. Remember, slot him in to your day!

Thanks fad and boober - that;s both good advice. Esp the bit about making him fit into my day a bit. That's what I've struggled with since he was born....he was such a demanding baby, the opposite of chilled out, and turns into a devil-child if overtired, that I sometimes feel like I am held hostage to his naps....which is now obviously gonna be more of an issue if he has decided he needs a nice long one in the middle of the day!

I guess its a case of striking a balance between letting him have a nice stable 'routine' of lunch then a nap at home most days (following his cues), but on days when I wanna go out, or have something to do which clashes with this 'routine' then he will just have to be flexible! I guess if he's tired enough and we're round someone's house he might sleep in my arms, or I could put him down in someone else's cot, go for a quick walk round the block in his buggy etc.

Will give it a try for a couple of weeks and report back!

Thanks fad and boober - that;s both good advice. Esp the bit about making him fit into my day a bit. That's what I've struggled with since he was born....he was such a demanding baby, the opposite of chilled out, and turns into a devil-child if overtired, that I sometimes feel like I am held hostage to his naps....which is now obviously gonna be more of an issue if he has decided he needs a nice long one in the middle of the day!

I guess its a case of striking a balance between letting him have a nice stable 'routine' of lunch then a nap at home most days (following his cues), but on days when I wanna go out, or have something to do which clashes with this 'routine' then he will just have to be flexible! I guess if he's tired enough and we're round someone's house he might sleep in my arms, or I could put him down in someone else's cot, go for a quick walk round the block in his buggy etc.

Will give it a try for a couple of weeks and report back!

If your NCT group etc have similar age babies, they may also start to find a 2pm meet up doesn't work for the same reason. why not suggest a changed start time for the meet ups?

In theory it would be great to make DC naps fit my day rather than the other way round, however it depends on the kind of baby you have... I have a reluctant napping/easily overtired/crap day and night sleeper if overtired kind of baby, so I fit my day around her naps!

Personally once we found the balance of the 2hr nap (DD still has this at 2.5) our day has always been in 2 halves and will nap always at home in her bed. If we are out all day I struggle to get DD to nap in the car or pushchair (amazes me when I see children DDs age asleep in pushchairs at 10.30am!) or car. Some would say its a bit limiting, but I love the routine and the almost guaranteed break in the day when I can get things done. Currently pg and I napped when DD did in the beginning, godsend!

I also plan my day around naps.

I have tried going with the flow but it fails miserable and we all end up stressed and tired. DS is not very amenable sleep wise though.

NothingLeft - Going with the flow doesn't work for us either, dd has never napped in car/pram/out and about and doesn't cope well with no proper sleep during the day so its either a nap in the cot (after a feed) or a very unhappy baby. Routines are for those with these kind of non-sleeping babies ie for those with no choice.

Recently we have started at the weekends trying to instil a long morning nap instead so we have the afternoons free to go out and about. (We want to see our friends for lunch, not at 10am.) Dd just about copes though by 4pm she's getting ratty and by 6pm she's falling asleep in the bath.

It is a bit of a pain, but you soon find activity/playdate times become 10am and 3pm My DS is almost 3 and still has a 2 hour afternoon nap - I am more flexible since his 2nd birthday on waking him early/skipping a nap/napping in the buggy though, as lots of our friends were dropping naps entirely from then.

I am just grateful to still have a lovely long break in the afternoon!

Why can't the nct lot come to you sometimes?

You can also get a snooze shade for the pushchair and he might sleep for longer when you're out.

We plan around naps - they're only little for a short time plus it's nice to have a break!