Awake times, routine and being stuck indoors

[mistressploppy]

Anyone else finding themselves a bit stuck as to the best time to get out and about without cocking up the Routine?

My DS is 5 months and does a 3hr eat/play/sleep routine pretty well most days - I'm flexible with times and watch him for cues but he can only stay awake for 90mins before getting grumpy. He naps in his cot (4 times a day) and though he USED to sleep a bit in the pram while out, he's too nosey now...

Which means there's only a brief window after feeding him when he's awake and we can go out! Should I be getting him used to sleeping anywhere? Have I routined him into a corner? I'm starting to avoid going out as I'm fretting about him not sleeping....

Any advice? If I'm going to mess with the holy Routine, when do people reckon the best time is to be going out?

get a blanket to throw over the buggy hood so he can sleep on the move

the more he goes out and about in his pushchair the more he will get used to sleeping in it

you will go crazy stuck indoors for days on end

I would say go out if you need/want to. If he's really tired he will sleep in the buggy, if not he'll probably crash out for longer when you get home.

He's going to start dropping sleeps soon so you'll need to be a bit flexible anyway. My DS is 5 1/2 months and sometimes doesn't do his morning sleep now, which is fine with me.

Remember you need to have some sanity too, there's no point having a perfectly contented baby and a discontented mum!

Keep to your babies routine and he'll fall asleep in a pram more than likely. Just time it right so he sleeps on the way to wherever you want to be.

Brilliant advice all round, thanks. Will definitely try the blanket thing.

He did the annoying 40min nap thing for ages so was just so pleased when the routine started working that I didn't want to mess with it - just when you think you have it sussed, eh....

Yzzil, how many sleeps does your DS do then, is it just 2 now?

It varies, he has been asleep now for an hour and a half (bliss!) but that is rare in the morning. Sometimes just one big lunchtime sleep, sometimes 3 shorter naps. Because he is my second he has to fit in around nursery pick-ups so quite often will cat nap in the car.

I was trying to remember when my DD dropped down to one big lunchtime sleep...I think it was somewhere between 6 and 8 months.

I suggest you go for the last nap of the day as the most flexible one because this will probably go first. Also, I have entered this competition for a snoozeshade which is a buggy blackout blind and you might like to enter too!