April 2011 Moms
Attending Events vs Naptime
I have been looking for awhile and finally found a playgroup, and it happens to be only a couple blocks from us so we can take the stroller 
The sucky thing is- it is Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30am. Which is pretty much exactly when Quinn has his morning nap.
If we just have a doctors appointment or something I just make it work cuz its only one day, but I'm not sure what to do when the event is weekly. And having him skip his nap is just not an option- it ruins his naptimes for the rest of the day, and he is one cranky panda all day long.
How do you ladies work going to scheduled things and naptime?
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Re: Attending Events vs Naptime
This is a tough one... If it were me, I would still try to go, but maybe not for the full 2 hours. I would not sacrifice a nap to go to a playgroup. But I also would not want to sacrifice the playgroup for a nap. Is there any way that nap can be a little shorter or start a little later?
We attend an Early Childhood/Family Education group on Thursdays that would be during DS's morning nap. He usually naps when we get back home and it doesn't make that much of a difference. Our class is from 9-11, so a similar situation to you. If he's really tired, he'll just fall asleep in my arms while I'm taking with other moms.
I would give it a shot. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but at least you tried it out.
I would figure that lots of babies fall asleep at playgroup, and it's no big deal. It would be a good chance for you to socialize and get to know other moms, and when he's an age when he's more engaged with other kids, it will be more for him and less for you.
I took Liam to Baby Sign Language camp over the summer (when he was really too young for it), but I figured that since I have summers off, it would still be something we could do together. Some days he was awake for it, and some days he slept through the whole thing. Now, we go on Saturdays as a family, and he engages with the other babies and has fun exploring all of the toys.
There are things that I really should go to for work, and if I need to bring him, I bring him. Tonight, the state poet laureate is giving a reading at our college's other campus a half hour away. It will be a little late for him, but it's more realistic for me to sit in a classroom for a poetry reading holding a baby than it is for Jared to teach guitar with him :-)
I'm a big believer in just taking LOs along with you. It's not like when we were hunter-gatherers, we changed our entire lives around babies' schedules.
Mac and cheese lover!
I think it depends how his morning is going as to whether or not we can let his nap wait a little while. He has been getting up so early lately!
One day we all (my mom and I, MIL and SIL) went into the city for a great big kids & baby consignment sale and we had to leave at 5:30 am, so Quinn got woken up 5 hours early. (at that point he was sleeping until 10 am *sigh*) He wouldnt nap at all that day. He catnapped in the car, at lunch and in the stroller for about 10 minutes each and thats it, ALL DAY. He had 2 huge meltdowns and we had a rough ride home. He then wouldnt go to bed until normal bedtime.
This and many other occasions taught us the hard way that he will not sleep if there is any kind of distraction going on at all, which makes me sad because I would love to bring him everywhere and not schedule around his naps
I'm sorry...I wasn't trying to imply that you're doing anything wrong, and I hope you didn't take it that way. I know all babies are different, and *everyone* lets me know I have an easy baby. (My friend who is the LLL person for our area and home-school mom of four brilliant kids watched Liam while I was at a dentist appointment Friday, and she said, "I must have done something wrong with my babies. They weren't like this.)
We have a recording studio at home, and he'll occasionally just sit quietly and even let you record tracks while he plays by himself on the floor. He's an "easy baby," so we've always taken him everywhere...
Keep us updated on if it does work out. Good luck!
Mac and cheese lover!
Nope Shaindel, not offended at all! He is a super easy baby too, just VERY curious. He used to sleep wherever we were, (I wanted so much for that to continue!) but now that he is so mobile he just wont let himself fall asleep. He wants to see everything, and wont sleep if he feels like hes missing things
One of things I have learned the hard way through raising three babies is you don't mess with nap time. Only for occasional special cases will I schedule an activity that falls during normal nap times. The trade-off is never worth it. Good sleep begets good sleep, and even though my kids are ridiculously easy-going, messing with naps just ruins the day (and our nights).
With my first, I resisted a routine (notice I didn't say schedule) and just did whatever I wanted, but then was frustrated by my son's inconsistent napping and nighttime wakefulness. Once I finally put a routine as my priority, everyone's sleep improved. Lesson learned! I will also tell you that most of my BTDT mom friends agree with me on this - you just don't mess with the naps! I would personally find a different activity to attend at a time that works better for you. Playgroup at this point is more for you than for your child, so just find another activity that gets you out and about. Eventually nap times will shift and then at point the playgroup will be possible.
ditto this
It won't be long until our babies will shift their naps to afternoon and morning will be a great time to get out and play. For now, I personally make naps a priority. It's tough, I know. With the two of them napping at different times right now sometimes I feel like we never get to go anywhere (she sleeps from 9-11, then he goes down from 12-3:30, she's taking her evening catnap by 4:30). I know that this too shall pass!