Bedtimes and parties clicky poll

knitstrong

So we are going to a party tomorrow and I'm not sure how to handle the baby's bedtime routine.  The party is happening about forty-five minutes from home.
[Poll]

CarrieLiz

My LO usually likes to go to sleep around 7PM so sometimes it's really hard to be home before bedtime since it's so early!  Luckily he's easy enough that as long as he's in his PJs and has his blanket and lovey, he'll pass right out.  So I voted if you can get your LO to sleep in the carseat at the party, go for it! 

gallegosdc

AshC311:

Do you have a PnP you could bring with you instead of trying to get her to sleep in the car seat?  I'm not sure what kind of part it is, but maybe you could ask the host if there's a room in their home you could set it up in.

And I voted for leaving the party and getting her down to sleep for her normal routine because C will NOT fall asleep on her own well at all if we are not home.  She's too nosy and if she knows there are other people around, she will fight sleep no matter how tired she is.  She'll sit in my lap/in her car seat with her eyes rolling into the back of her head and then jump up like she's missing something.  But that's just my baby.  If yours can handle falling asleep in the car seat just fine, then I say it's just one night and it's not going to hurt.

 

This!  We've done this with DD and she was fine.  We did her normal routine, minus bath (massage, change into PJ's and bottle).

p1nklemonade

i voted for keep the routine.  not because i think one night will screw her up, but more for your sanity.  i wouldn't want to deal with a cranky, sleepy baby at someone else's house.  i know when my lo is tired, she's tired and if she can't go to bed in her bed, it's unbearable. 

drpayne

I know that to us it seems like "just one night" but I think LOs sleep/schedule is so important.  If we want to stay out late, we find a sitter.  There's been a time or two when we were out with him and ran a bit late (like 30 minutes) so we skipped the bath.  Aside from that, I don't like to mess up his schedule.   

chelle1980

I think it depends on how your LO reacts at bedtime. When my DS is tired, he wants to go to sleep and screams. When he was 4 months, we went over to a friend's. When it was bedtime, I fed him, and put him in his carseat and he fell asleep. We left a few minutes later. He woke up when we took him out of the carseat and screamed. He was mad he was woken. I had to feed him again and rock him to sleep. A few weeks ago, we had a birthday party for a family member at my house. I tried to get DS to take a late nap so he would stay awake and he would not. He wanted to go to bed at his bedtime. He kept getting woken up by the talking even though I had his sound machine and fan on. I finally got him to sleep and he stayed alseep. We have a party on Sunday and I am leaving at 6. It is 45 minutes away and when he gets overtired, he will just cry. I do not want him upset the whole car ride. I am leaving in enough time to get home so he is ready for bed at 7. If he did not get so upset about missing bedtime, I would stay a bit later. I am choosing to leave based on past experiences.

K&D3

For us it would completely depend on the type of party. If it was a family oriented party I would take S and try to get her down in her carseat or in a PnP at her normal bedtime. If it was an adult party with drinking and a little more rowdy I wouldn't take her at all. I would get a babysitter or not go. I really think this just depends on how your baby sleeps and how easy they go down.

bootsnbananas

We break routine all the time, no big deal but some kids can't handle it.

We always have some kind of gathering with our friends out of state and Julia will rock out and party all night and when she gets cranky she will fall asleep and sleep in the car seat or stroller (or sometimes we have the pnp).

Some people refuse to ever break routine but change is good for kids here and there, it teaches them to be adaptable.