I'm curious how many other moms feel like they are ruled by their LO's nap time. I feel like I don't want to be in the car anytime near the nap time because if LO falls asleep even for a little while it'll be nearly impossible to make him nap later on--so I pretty much have an hour or so in the morning to run an errand (which we are rural so it takes forever to get anywhere)--and then very little time after LO awakes since then we have to prep dinner and pick my other son up from school.
I want to run an errand tomorrow but it'll take about 45 min to get to--maybe a tad more---but considering he won't fall asleep in the car right away--maybe he'll sleep for 25-30 min of that trip. Then he'll be a bear while there---and then only sleep maybe 30 min on the way home. He generally gets a 2 hour nap--otherwise dinner time on is horrrrrrrible....especially since my 4 yr old can't nap any longer due to his school schedule---2 LO's that are acting up at the same time for the same reason (tired). UGH.
Re: Is your life ruled by LO's nap time?
Pretty much. however, I keep a book in the car. That way if LO is asleep I can just read!
We have a DVD player in our van, so anytime we're out (usually on our way home) and it's near nap time, I turn on a show and he doesn't fall asleep.
When planning something (playdate, errand, doc appt), I plan it for the morning when I know I can get home before nap time. I never schedule something from 12:30 pm till 4 pm, since it's too close to nap time.
Somewhat. If we have something important to do, we do it. But I do try to at least allow her to get her morning nap from 10-12 or so. If we have things to do in the morning, I'll ensure she goes down later in the day.
I would never let naps get in the way of living our lives completely. LO will sleep in the car or stroller a bit.
No and it never has been. We live in a rural area too. (30 minutes to Wal-Mart and 45 to get to the better grocery store that we like). I do like to be in the car if at all possible when she will be sleepy so that she will sleep in the car. LO gets carsick and has thrown up all over herself a few times. Sleeping prevents that awful mess and her discomfort.
I guess I'm lucky that my LO is pretty easygoing. We've never had a rigid schedule for naps or anything else. She's not one of those kids who needs to sleep in their own bed or follow a bedtime routine. When she was smaller, if she needed to sleep, she'd lay her head down on me and take a nap. Now, she may get a little cranky in the evening if she misses her nap, but she'll just go to be early and is pretty easy to distract in the meantime. I've never avoided doing anything because of naptime (although we don't like to do much anyway. . . )
Absolutely. I insist DS be home approx. 11:30 a.m. for lunch, so he can go down 12-2. I go to the gym, run errands, storytime, or do a playdate in the morning. In the afternoon, we visit the park, visit my grandmother, or finish up the errands.
It's a little bit annoying, but the structure is good for me too!
As far as your errand tomorrow, sometimes a little nap is better than nothing at all. You may be pleasantly surprised, especially if you mentally prepare yourself for the worst.
I wouldn't say my life is RULED by the girls' nap time, but I do try to be careful about scheduling things that may come in conflict with nap time.
I'm pretty lucky in that the girls don't HAVE to nap at a specific time. DD2 still takes 2 naps a day - a short one and a long one. So if we have something planned for lunch, for instance, I can have her take her shorter nap in the morning and then she will be fine until we get back home, at which point she and her sister will both go down for a nap.
Yes, but now it's difficult to schedule anything, because DS sometimes takes 2 and sometimes takes 1 nap. If he sleeps past 7:30, he only needs 1 nap, but if he is up by 7 (like the days I work), he needs 2 naps.
So, now, if I schedule something on my days off, and know he needs to be somewhere mid-day, then I'll just wake him up early so he can have an AM nap before and a PM nap after. Otherwise, I just let him sleep and he'll usually just have one nap. I'll be glad when he's solidly at one nap, but even then, yes, we'll definitely be home during that time b/c he'll nap 2+ hours. A 30 minute car nap would be awful, since that'll be his only nap that day.
First of all, consider yourself lucky! 2 hour nap?? My LO sleeps anywhere from 45 minutes to 75 minutes. Never longer than that and only once a day.
I am ruled by his naps only because I use that time to work out, 6 days a week. So if he falls asleep in the car then I am screwed unless DH can watch him later (but I don't like working out in the evenings).
I make sure we run errands super early. I go grocery shopping at 9:00 and that always works out. It sounds like you have a bit more on your plate though, with another child. I know it's challenging- just do the best you can!
It definitely used to be. I'm slowly getting a little more flexible about DDs naps because I'm anxious for her to go down to 1 nap! Right now she still naps at 9:30 and 2:30, but I've gotten to the point that if we have something in the AM like a playdate or church, she misses the AM nap and just goes down earlier in the PM. We usually still have an early bedtime those days, but I'm trying to be more flexible about it in general.
this is me too. i'd rather postpone an activity and have a good day overall, than try and push her limits.
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Yep, this. Also, DD won't sleep in the car or the stroller or basically anywhere besides her crib and the PNP at my parents' house. So our options are quite limited, and she is a bear without her nap.
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Afternoon nap, yes. I still have two who need that nap to function so we plan t be home no later than 1pm and never make afternoon plans before 4pm.
DD still takes a morning nap as well, but that one depends on our schedule. If we have plans, she does without.
If it's something like a change in DS1's game or practice time that I know in advance, I'll arrange DS2 and DS3's naps accordingly.
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