How do you manage daytime naps?

[Njh1986]

Please don’t laugh, this is a genuine question from a FTM....my 16 week old currently doesn’t have a nap routine. I put her in her Mamaroo when she’s getting yawny and grizzly or, more often, we’re out and about so I just pull the Snoozeshade down over the pram and she naps on the go. Her awake time is roughly 1.5 to 2 hours atm and she naps for max 1 hour, mostly 30 mins. She’s a delight, mostly happy and a smiley little angel. We have a solid bedtime routine that works a treat and helps her nod off in her crib at around 6.30 with a full tummy, sucking on her hands and listening to her MyHummy.

People with older babies keep saying to me ‘ooh wait till she’s 6 months, you won’t be able to be out and about like this, you’ll be a slave to cot nap timings.’ My question is, is this the case for everyone? Will she eventually want to only nap in her cot and I’ll have to make sure I’m at home during nap times to accommodate this?

She currently won’t nap in her crib at all in the day - just lays there talking to herself for over an hour sometimes, till she gets overtired or hungry and cries. The Mamaroo lulls her to sleep with the motion, but generally pram and at seat work beautifully too - as soon as I pull the Snoozeshade down and put her portable white noise on she knows it’s sleep time and is out like a light!

I just find it baffling that she could do such a complete 180 in the next couple of months, and sad that we won’t be able to do baby groups etc or have family days out at the weekends because of nap times.

So I guess this is a long winded way of asking those of you with babies 6 months plus, how do you manage nap times? Location/timings/having a life?

I can't answer your question but wanna see replies! My LO has no nap routine at all atm (5mo) nor will he sleep anywhere other than on me so curious about what's expected ahead

I had no routine nap wise till ds was six months old really. He dictated the routine - he had a snooze in the morning for an hour and would then have one in the afternoon at around two ish. He was very much a 2-3-4 kid. Awake 2 hours, nap, then 3, nap, then 4, bedtime.

He didn’t really get predictable till later on! I would have loved it if he just slept like yours 😂 Now he asks for dummy and a blanket which usually means snooze but otherwise I was very much lead by him till he turned 18 months or so. I could then put him in his cot after lunch and he’d nap no problem. Now it’s on the sofa - he misses us if we put him to bed lol.

I've never followed a routine for my baby. She wouldn't have had it and I'm too relaxed (or lazy!). She also napped either in her bouncer or in the car or in the pram.

She's 1 now and naps twice a day. If we are at home I'll breastfeed her then put her down in the cot or pram. If not, she naps in the car or pram on the move. The only notable difference is that she won't fall asleep anymore if there's a lot going on. She'll fight it but taking her for a walk or in to a calm space solves that.

I was worried about nursery because of my lack of routine but the magical sleep ladies have managed to get her to nap better than I can!

My son is 8 months and he naps 3 times a day. One morning one for around half an hour, an afternoon one for an hour and a late afternoon one for half an hour then bed at 7. I try to work around his naps but i refuse to be stuck in the house all day. If we're out, he'll fall asleep in his buggy. If at a baby group, he can nap before or after. I often just put up with him being fussy if it means getting out and about.

Oh he naps in his cot if we're home

Ok this makes me feel better! We have a solid bedtime routine, as I said, and she’s a clockwork baby in terms of feeding (loves the predictability of her 6.30, 9, 12, 3, 6 bottle routine, though barely drinks anything 🙈).

Maybe when she starts having predictable nap times, I should spend a few weeks training her to have them in her cot, then mix it up to make sure she can still nap on the go if needed?

Having said this, DD is wonderfully contrary and loves to be different; she is the only baby I know who flat out refuses to fall asleep on us, or be cuddled to sleep (that would be MUCH more convenient at home, I could then transfer her to crib!)

I tried to nap train but it only lasted a few days before I gave up. I just didn't see the point as she was happy and so was i!

They're awake times just get a bit longer and sleep does become a bit more predictable. At 4 months both mine were napping in the buggy on the move. By 8 months ish it was great to put them in the cot and have some down time at home.

DD has never napped on my either and is a total bed lover. She slept the 3 hours in the afternoon until she was 2 - bliss!

Hi op

My dd whos now 3 was sleeping through from birth she was a biggun but we was out all day everyday because I have horses abs dogs so she kind of had to slot in with me, she eventually would have a nap after a certain bottle during the day and if you watch carefully over time you notice a pattern. As soo. As she was 4 months she was in baby porridge and small blended foods and was sleeping even more - food & fresh air / stimulation is blinding for good long sleeps
She went in her room at 6months and was fully weaned and down to 3 bottles - completely dropped the late feed just refused it. She was naturally having dinner, bath bed then falling asleep or being noticeable tired around 7pm so every night I would put her in her cot asleep or awake and she would self settle amazinly. Self settling is a amazing thing and isn’t what people make it out to be (cruel) if she cried I’d wait a few mins then go in settle her then leave the room again. This only happened twice and after that it was her routine as still is her bedtime at 7pm - dinner bath lights out bed. She even asks to go!

My ds is 7 months and is a bit more of a fussy baby it took a while to get a routine! But now he’s six months he’s weaned and is napping and going to bed the same times everyday.

His current routine is

7am - wake up
7.30- wheetabix
10am- 6oz milk - he falls asleep at the end so naps
10-11.30 - morning Nap
1pm lunch
2.30-4.30 afternoon nap
5- dinner, bath
7 bed

Every baby is extremely different though and I’m going on mine which have both been big bruisers lol also I found the routine so good with dd I just decided to try and follow it with
Ds. I find that even if I don’t go to put him down he is rubbing his eyes at that time every day!

I curiously read a baby sleep expert article the other day and couldn’t believe it said 3.5 hours of sleep a day for his age, one morning , one afternoon and afternoon one should end no less than 3 hours before bedtime or they get over tired. Apparently better naps - better nights.

I’ve never followed any advice but was really amazed that I seem to be on the right path. I really just watched their routines and let them naturally fall into them with gentle guidance

Although! If we are talking about how If affects your day it shouldn’t!!!
My ds routine luckily slots in well with my routine as he sleeps after the morning Pre school run until not long before I pick dd up again then when dd is home we play for a bit then have lunch or take the dog out then he has a long afternoon nap which is good for me to do house work/ prep dinner and spend 1-1 with dd. I wouldn’t let it rule my plans so so it’s tough if I’m going out with them and have a busy day you’ll find that nap will still fall around the same time and if it’s slightly earlier of later it’s won’t matter. My ds always falls asleep in the car and I carefully move him into the buggy where he will fall asleep. As long as I take his food and milk out it’s no issue if I’m out shopping I just stop somewhere and feed him and he will fall asleep and be placed in the buggy and stay asleep. Trust me if they’re tired they sleep anywhere! There body clocks are good at that

Also sorry for rambling on lol

Just seen a few post of people watching with dcs without routine or wanting a bit of advice. I’m NO expert!

With dd she was a one in a million baby/toddler she never cried. Ever.

With ds however he is a happy content baby but loves a good old winge! At first I though god it’s true what they say about second babies being difficult. But then I started to wonder why he was so wingey when he was changed, fed, not in pain ect and I realised he was over tired! This is when I began to put him down and noticed it was around the same times every day. Also if they’re not tired I completely forgot they do get bored. It’s strange how quickly you forget everything with a second baby! I always assumed he must be crying because of pain but 9 times out of ten he was either a bit bored and needed stimulating or I’d pick him up and give him his dummy or milk and within seconds he was sparko !

My sisters baby is a similar age and she never knows why she is crying she says it’s constant and draining. When she was here my sister was beside herself so I picked up my niece put her dummy in and within a few seconds we couldn’t believe she was snoring lol

Hope someone finds some kind of help out of my rambling

I’ve got seven month old twins who have no nap routine at all.

They sometimes quite like 20 minutes or so twice a day, but it’s not guaranteed. They just nap wherever as they sleep on a floor bed in our room. Their cots are currently making lovely laundry baskets

As long as you and your baby are happy and contented then I really wouldn’t worry about it

Thanks all - in true contrary baby style we seem to have hit a growth spurt/leap/fussy period and it’s all gone out the window again! She’s been unable to nap in the Mamaroo for a few days, as she’s now too interested in watching shadows on the walls, the cats running around etc. This has led to massive overtiredness as we’ve had gale force winds here and I haven’t been able to take her for nap walks in the pram since I’ve had carpal tunnel release operation and I don’t trust my strength holding onto the pram!

In a fit of desperation this morning, I managed to calm her overtired self down by bouncing her on my shoulder in the bedroom with the curtains closed. She then nodded off happily in her crib for half an hour (albeit with a dummy, which she only normally has for awake time when absolutely necessary - I’m not against them but my MIL is and she’s our free childcare when I go back to work!)

Who knows what tomorrow will bring, as we went for a drive this afternoon to drop her daddy off to watch the rugby, and she refused to have anymore naps even in the car and was EXHAUSTED by 4.30.....

One crib nap though, equals a win in my book 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

My DD is 13 months, she has all her naps in the pushchair with a snooze shade (and rain cover this week!!). I park her up down the side of the house and put a baby monitor with her. She naps from 2 to 3 1/2 hours a day (one nap). I have never got her used to napping in the cot. I don't see the point of having a battle over something that she will only be doing for 3 years at most. Also if the dog barks in the house there is a greater risk of her being disturbed.

Up until she dropped her second nap at 10 months (bit earlier than average), all I did for her nap times is worked out roughly how long she could cope with awake between naps and then when she woke in the morning I would check the time and first nap would be (for example) 2 hours from then, then whatever time she woke up next nap would be 2 hours from then etc. It worked well for us, and that is the closest we got to a routine.