Once your DC is in a nice nap routine, how often do you 'flex' it...?

[BotBotticelli]

And what happens when you do?? Are you rewarded with a screaming miserable banshee baby for the rest of the day?

DS1 has recently at 7.5 months settled into a lovely nap routine (40 mins in the morning at around 8.30am, and then almost 2 hours after lunch.....bliss!).

I am loving his new routine, especially the post-lunch nap where I get to sit down, eat my lunch and watch a bit of telly (he is a full-on baby, see other posts in the behaviour_development thread, so i need a sit down!!).

BUT keeping DS in this routine means I need to be at home for his lunch every day, so I can put him down in his cot afterwards, where he sleeps like a little dream for up to 2 hours. He does not sleep so well in his buggy so would only have 30-40 mins out and about, and then we would be back to the bad old days!!

It means I am turning down social invitations which require us to be out over lunch/early afternoon. i do make sure we go out in the mornings to baby groups, swimming, singsong at the library etc, and then out for a little errand in the afternoon. But not over lunch. Is this madness?? Does anyone else do this? I don't really mind cos I like having a break and some quiet time to myself, but I have noticed a few friends raising their eyebrows recently when I have declined a 1pm playdate invitation for example, cos thats when DS will be going down for his nap at home....

WWYD?

DS is down to 1 nap a day here, and I dont give a flying f*ck what's happening we are at home his nap. No way do I mess with it. DH thinks I'm nuts but sod it.....maybe someone less sleep phobic and go with the flow with be along shortly :)

I wouldn't mess with his nap. I think you are doing great if you have got him into such a good routine.
Babies in nurseries get to sleep when they need to, and for many that is straight after lunch for an hour or two. I don't see why you can't do the same and knock back the invites for things during his naptime.
Naptime is crucial in a baby's development- important for growing and brain development.
As he gets older, his routine may change but that's something to worry about in the future.
The raised eyebrows are just jealousy.

Thanks ladies, that's reassuring to hear! It's nice to have my decision to forego lunch dates so I can rest my weary legs and get busy on mumsnet vindicated!

Alas it means I might need to stop meeting up with my NCT group and their babies as they meet at 12 noon every week oh well no great loss there

I occasionally flex DS's routine, but he sleeps best in his cot in the dark for naps and at bedtime. Therefore I try and be at home at those times. Most people I know are the same tbh and I don't care what other people say, I'm the one who has to put up with him if he hasn't slept!

Sorry - slightly off topic here but can I ask you OP - did you have to shorten his morning nap to get a (lovely) long afternoon nap? The reason I ask is that my dd has two 60-90 min naps at 10ish and 2ish probably what your nct friends' babies are doing I've toyed with tweaking things a bit so that her lunchtime nap is the main nap. Haven't been brave enough yet though!

Never!

Hi dreams, no, i've never really tinkered with his naps, I generally let him have as much sleep as he wants. He generally seems to have about 40 mins in the morning, but he has it quite early (wakes up at 6am, goes down for nap at 0830). Though sometimes it's longer, maybe an hour. But if that's the case I keep him awake a bit longer before the afternoon nap and that seems to mean he still has a nice long one after lunch. Or if it's shorter, ie 1 hour, it doesn't matter cos it's the hour from 2-3, which means the afternoon is then nice and short, ie 3pm - bedtime at 7.

Although having said that, on the few mornings when I have had to wake DS up from his morning nap (to go to swimming lesson for example) so he's only had 35 mins ish, he has definitely been desperate for bed by around 12.40pm and has slept for almost 2 hours then. Might be worth a try for one day?? You can always go back to just leaving her the next day if it all goes pete tong?

I flex it all the time - I prioritise social invitations over routine though. It's entirely up to you!

Nap routine totally rules here. I don't flex it unless i really have to. DD gets overtired very very easily and then we get 5am starts and crap napping.

Having said that, most of the people I meet up with also have a long post lunch nap to fit in probably cos they are doing Gina Ford. So meet up times tend to be 10am or 3pm and nobody would really suggest a 1pm meet up.