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Original poster

Naps on the go

30 replies

Tryingno1 · 16/02/2018 11:29

My lo is ok at sleeping inside in the dark for his naps and needs them to not be cranky. But his naps interferes with me not being able to go out or do anything. He might do 30-40 Mins when we are out but then wakes up in pram. Any suggestions

What do other people do? Just accept they have less sleep and deal with a crankier baby? Give them more sleep some other time? Any tips on getting them to stay asleep while out? He’s just so nosey he’s always looking around!

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Findingthisdifficult1234 · 16/02/2018 11:59

How many naps a day does he have? My little boy is 17 months and has one nap 10.30am-12ish so I just stay at home for it/go out around it. Otherwise he wakes up after 40 mins in pushchair like your little one.

Original poster
Tryingno1 · 16/02/2018 12:05

3 naps
1 hr am
2 he pm
45 mins pm

So your little one stays awake from 12 to bedtime?! So just naps while ur out u mean?

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Original poster
Tryingno1 · 16/02/2018 12:06

Or just naps after that while ur out?

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Original poster
Tryingno1 · 16/02/2018 12:06

Oh sorry urs is 17 months! Forgot to say
Mine is 4 months old!!

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Rainatnight · 16/02/2018 12:08

That's quite a lot of naps for his age. Could you work on dropping one altogether to give you a bit more flexibility? My DD is around the same age and has one nap of about 1.5 - 2 hours after lunch. Means the morning is free to do stuff.

If she's very tired she'll have an extra little cat nap in the morning in the buggy.

Rodent01 · 16/02/2018 12:11

Don't agree with Rainatnight, at 4 months 3 naps is ok.

My 6 month old does

30 mins 9am
2 hours 11-1
30 mins 4ish

She is getting better at buggy napping, just takes time to learn I think!

RiceButt · 16/02/2018 12:13

@Rainatnight 3 naps at 4 months old is right for his age.

canarypotato · 16/02/2018 12:17

Keep on trying. My ds took a while to get used to long pram sleeps and now he can do 1.5 hours in the pram. However he has yet to have a nap in his bed so maybe it’s one way or another!

And yy to 3 naps a day at 4m.

Jellybabie3 · 16/02/2018 12:22

What time do your babies go to bed if napping 4pm? My ds may have a 4th nap depending how long naps r before bed at 7-8pm hes 4mo

mrkaykay · 16/02/2018 12:44

My 4 month old naps 30minutes at 10 1-2hours at lunch and 30 minutes at about 4. This varies a little day to day. When out and about he sleeps on and off the entire time. I don't worry about it I tend to stick to the about two hours between sleeps rather than amount of naps. So if he only sleeps 40 minute out I just would try and encourage sleep 2 hours later.

Original poster
Tryingno1 · 16/02/2018 12:47

Mine does 4-445 in bed asleep for 7

So your babies just learnt to sleep in pram while you had coffee and shopped about. So I just need to do it more? I just worry he won’t sleep and then I have a baby crying nonstop on me so I’ve taken to staying in for most naps and frankly can’t do it anymore as his 12-2 is rather hard to stay in for!

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Jellybabie3 · 16/02/2018 12:57

Yeah he sleeps walking about. As long as i keep moving that is

Do you put baby upstairs and go back down?

EssentialHummus · 16/02/2018 13:03

5 month old here and she’ll drop off in a moving pram. At four months she wouldn’t. It’ll happen.

Rainatnight · 16/02/2018 13:12

Rice and OP, so sorry, misread your post and thought he was 17 mths

mrkaykay · 16/02/2018 13:17

Yup sleeps on the go sometimes more than of he was at home. But sometime he will wake up fall asleep wake up and fall asleep lots. Also he's now able to be distracted with toys whilst out so we bung a lamaze toy in the pram with him incase he wakes and is bored.

Original poster
Tryingno1 · 16/02/2018 13:18

Yes I put baby in crib and then go back down. He takes some patting white noise and dummy use to fall asleep but it’s getting better
He will fall asleep in a pram but wakes at 45 Mins
Sounds like I just need to do it more and either he will sleep longer in a pram or I’ll give him extra naps?

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lashestans · 16/02/2018 13:28

Just remember baby fits around you not you fitting around baby. If you had a hospital appointment etc you would just have to take him regardless of whether it was nap time etc. Just carry on with your normal routine and baby will fit their naps into it

RiceButt · 16/02/2018 14:29

Here's what I did around that age: at least 1 or 2 decent naps at home, preferably the first and second of the day. If I went out I aimed for afternoon so that if we were still out he would have his short late afternoon nap in the car on the way home.

I also alternated one day in, one day out. That meant DS would recover from the day before by having a day at home to chill and all naps in cot/moses. I still tend to follow the alternate days out, buy I appreciate it's not for everyone as staying in can be depressing at times, but for me it's about balance. Also, it's only a short phase of his life, his routine will often change. We are now on 2 naps per day, following 2-3-4 routine, which gives us more opportunity to go out and about.

EssentialHummus · 16/02/2018 15:01

THe 45 minutes thing is just their natural sleeping cycle, I’m told it improves!

MrsBriteSide · 16/02/2018 15:49

Something to bear in mind is sleep changes so much even from week to week at this age. It’s worrh going and out just trying the naps in the pram more often. By 5 months old he may well be a champion pram napper! My DD sleeps relatively well in the pram but sometimes I have to keep it moving to get her to drop off and the dummy works wonders! Keep at it.

FortheloveofJames · 16/02/2018 16:25

My DS is almost 9 months and naps like a dream in his cot, has done for ages, however in the pram it’s a different story. It’s so strange since most babies I know will sleep for ages in the pram. From birth he’s only ever managed 30 mins, he wakes and just cannot get to the next cycle because he has serious FOMO when we are out.

Recently though he has started to sometimes go an hour, it really depends- but I have to be moving constantly. Most of the time I just work my days round being at home for naps, which is much easier now he’s only down to 2. When he was younger his afternoon nap would be 12.30-2.30 and I’d just go out after and he had his last catnap in the pram. I won’t lie it’s annoying but he can’t change the way he is. I know a PP has said baby should fit round you, but if I went out for both naps on a regular basis he wouldn’t sleep enough, would get over tired and then bedtime would be a nightmare and he wouldn’t sleep aswell at night. I’m a believer if they sleep well in the day they sleep better at night so I do what I need to to make sure he’s not over tired. Although I do go out about once a week during the afternoon nap, I just let him sleep as long as possible in the morning. As long as I don’t do it on a regular basis he is okay.

I’m hoping it will improve as he gets older as he is starting to do some longer ones, but at the moment it works for us. Really in the grand scheme of things it’s only a short time and before you know it they will be taking one nap a day, or not napping at all [😂

Original poster
Tryingno1 · 16/02/2018 17:09

Thanks guys! Totally agree with last post :) mine gets so upset if I don’t give him his sleep it just upsets me too! I think I’ll start giving him longer in the am accept short car naps in the pram and try be home for a nap before bedtime. I’m glad I’ve cracked the day time sleep at home at least, means I can actually eat some cake in peace! 😂

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Original poster
Tryingno1 · 16/02/2018 17:10

Cat naps not car!

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FortheloveofJames · 16/02/2018 19:43

That sounds like a good plan. I’ve always found one day out from routine wont affect, I just always follow up with an earlier bed time.

I moaned about it for ages but then i realised there are lots of people who would love for their wee one to sleep in their cot as well as mine does during the day. This is not me being smug in any way- but it’s great having 2 hours in the afternoon to myself to get stuff done or to just have me time, or a nap if I really need it. He used to only nap on me and then at about 5 months he just didn’t want to anymore, and even now he won’t cuddle in for a sleep with me, he needs his own space. I get loads of comments from family/friends about how they don’t understand how I can put up with such a routine but as with everything in parenting, do what works for you!

wintertravel1980 · 16/02/2018 19:58

I was in the same boat - at 3 months DD decided she did not want to take long naps in the pram and started waking up after 30-45 minutes of sleep. She could nap for 2-2.5 hours in her cot.

I ended up getting DD to nap in the pram for her morning and afternoon naps (we went to baby groups in the morning and did shopping in the afternoon). I tried to be home between noon and 2.30pm to give DD one proper cot nap. Of course, there were exceptions but DD was much happier when she managed to have a good lunch time nap.

The routine worked well for us. I knew I could usually count on 2-2.5 hours of "me time" in the middle of the day and made good use of it.