Yep I can already see my two are going to be different, my eldest napped in the pram happily, he won't now as it's not comfy tbh. My youngest even now is not good at napping in the pram and likes his cot. Double the reason to plan things around them as they both like napping in bed.
What do you do regarding naps & events/day trips?
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Thanks for the responses everyone. I have one of the kids that almost never naps while out, but he will nap in the car seat if he's tired enough. I used to try to rearrange the schedule and have him sleep earlier etc, but then he kept falling asleep while trying to eat dinner and then that ruins the rest of the night. I've finally got him on a pretty decent nap schedule - one lunchtime/early afternoon nap. So it does make going out hard, but I don't want a meltdown.
We have been invited to a birthday party at 1:00 and he's normally asleep at that time. Even if he wasn't he's pretty much guaranteed to fall asleep on the way there which sounds great, but it's only 15 minutes away so I'm not sure whether to go.
I tried having him take a cat nap on the way to the grocery store once and when I got there and tried to carry him in he wouldn't wake up and was too heavy for me to hold and shop at the same time! Usually every tiny little thing wakes him though so I never know what to expect.
We have been invited to a birthday party at 1:00 and he's normally asleep at that time. Even if he wasn't he's pretty much guaranteed to fall asleep on the way there which sounds great, but it's only 15 minutes away so I'm not sure whether to go.
I tried having him take a cat nap on the way to the grocery store once and when I got there and tried to carry him in he wouldn't wake up and was too heavy for me to hold and shop at the same time! Usually every tiny little thing wakes him though so I never know what to expect.
izzlesnizzle
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Mine wont sleep when we're out. I try to arrange things around her naps so would split the nap but it backfired on me last week when we went on a 1.5 hr car journey to see a friend for lunch. The plan was she'd sleep on the way there for an hour and an hour on the way back. She only slept 30 mins on the way there and was so badly behaved because she was over tired and probably confused because she always naps in her cot. Then on the way back she only did 30 mins so I put her to bed at 6.30pm because I couldn't take any more of her tantrums. This is exactly why I don't do lunch dates any more. Ah well, saves me some money!
SarahBear
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We had an event today. It was at 3:00 and about an hour and a half away. Violet doesn't fall asleep right away in the car and needs more sleep than that anyway. We had a low-key morning so that she'd nap earlier than she did the day before. The day before, I kept her busy and she napped pretty late. She got to sleep around 12 (we tried earlier, but didn't have success until 12), and we got in the car around 1:30. She didn't get a super long nap, but it was longer than it would have been in the car. While we were out, she did great. She fell asleep on the way home and woke up getting out of the car. She took a while getting back to sleep, but overall had a great day!
Snow Owl
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We went to a theme park yesterday and he slept on the way there (45 minutes) and then drifted off on a walk around the park mid afternoon.
We just go out as normal and he can cope without but we tend to do a long walk or car journey if we want him to go
We just go out as normal and he can cope without but we tend to do a long walk or car journey if we want him to go
R
RoseArcana
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We had this problem a few weeks back. BIL and SIL's wedding started at 1pm but DD normally naps at 12-12.30 for 1.5hrs. She wouldn't nap before we went... Cue DD passing out at 5pm lol. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow otherwise we'd never get out! X
MindUtopia
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We're always out doing something during the day and as we live a good 20-30 minutes from anywhere, my daughter always sleeps in the car or in the pushchair. It's actually incredibly rare that we're home for any of her naps (actually, I'm pretty sure I can count the times she's napped in the cot on one hand!). The only time she ever naps in a cot is at nursery. If I tried to plan life around her nap schedule, we'd literally never be able to leave the house. So she sleeps in the car while we drive to swimming or music class or the park to meet friends, or we take a walk around town in the push chair after we spend time at the library so she can sleep while I grab a few things I need for dinner that night. If I need to, I leave a bit earlier to let her sleep longer either while I drive around or parked in the car when we get there. I've never turned down going anywhere because she needs to nap. I think getting out and doing things and seeing our friends is more important than naptime. And whether she naps well during the day tends to have absolutely no bearing on whether she sleeps well at night. Sometimes she sleeps 7-6, sometimes she's up 5 times a night, but how much she napped or how much she ate or anything we did that day doesn't seem to determine it.
TryinFor1
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I usually try to go after naps but lo will be going to the zoo with us Wednesday and we will probably just have to skip the nap that day. He will be tired and might sleep the twenty five minute ride home but I am not overly worried. I don't particularly like skipping naps because he takes them for a reason, he needs to sleep. But he will be ok
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I will usually go and then try to get her to nap after the event as she usually won't nap while we are out, except in the car. Yesterday we went to a BBQ which was when she usually should nap, and she didn't end up napping until 4pm, which then meant she was awake until 10pm. It's a pain but I didn't mind as it doesn't happen very often. I'm one who can't wait until she stops napping in the day as it's such a pain trying to do things around them and it's just easier when she doesn't nap.
MrsHedgehog
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We're lucky as LO has always (apart from the odd phase) slept while out either in the car or pushchair. I could also usually transfer her from the car to the pushchair without her waking up which was good if we only had a short car journey. In fact she mostly slept better when out then she would in her cot at home! Now we have the opposite problem of trying to keep her awake when we're out! We've had to cut out her nap as she was staying awake until past midnight. She always tries to doze off in the car and if she does, even for 5mins she's a nightmare at bedtime.
SarahBear
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We went to an event the last two days that was during nap time. She had room to wander while awake and I put her in the carrier for sleep. The first day I walked around the block a bunch of times until she fell asleep. She then had a pretty good nap during the event while strapped to me. Then the next day, I just tied her into the carrier, nursed her, and rocked her and she was out real fast. She did so well!
hattiehippo
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I think it depends on what your child will cope with and how they will nap.
Mine wouldn't fall asleep in his cot from about 12 months old but he would always sleep in the car or buggy. I timed trips so he would sleep for at least an hour on the way there - if we arrived and he hadn't had enough sleep we'd sit in the car for 30 mins or so to make sure he had enough. Then he'd be ok through the trip out and sleep again on the way home.
Worked great for us but obviously much harder if your child only likes to sleep at home. And lots of times I wished mine would go to sleep in his cot cos it was a pain always having to go out to get him to sleep even though it meant day trips worked well.
Mine wouldn't fall asleep in his cot from about 12 months old but he would always sleep in the car or buggy. I timed trips so he would sleep for at least an hour on the way there - if we arrived and he hadn't had enough sleep we'd sit in the car for 30 mins or so to make sure he had enough. Then he'd be ok through the trip out and sleep again on the way home.
Worked great for us but obviously much harder if your child only likes to sleep at home. And lots of times I wished mine would go to sleep in his cot cos it was a pain always having to go out to get him to sleep even though it meant day trips worked well.
It would depend on the event. If I thought it was for my benefit, I wouldn't go unless it was important. He would have to miss his nap (cot sleeper), and would be extra grouchy at something boring. It would ruin it for me.
I think you said it was a party at 1? If it was for his fun, I would go and skip the nap. One day off wouldn't cause too much of an issue, and I'd hate for him to miss out.
On the whole I do plan things around the nap, but then I love nap time. Peace!!!
I think you said it was a party at 1? If it was for his fun, I would go and skip the nap. One day off wouldn't cause too much of an issue, and I'd hate for him to miss out.
On the whole I do plan things around the nap, but then I love nap time. Peace!!!
