Frustrated with unpredictability of schedule

Socialworkgirl

So, DD has always been a catnapper and I really struggle to get her to take the short naps she does take.  She does great at night though.

I am trying really hard to get her on a more predictable schedule.  I have started waking her up at 7am if she is not up and I am working really hard on the naps but right now it is what it is. And really she does ok with the way things are now.  She will have her fussy moments but what baby doesn't? She is sleeping about 11 hours at night, so a lot of her sleep needs are being met at night.  

I think the thing that frustrates me most is not being sure how each day is going to go and not being able to make plans for a certain time and have any level of confidence that it will be a good time for DD.  I stay at home with her and if she hasn't napped a lot of times she will do fine but if we go out she will be fussy.  I feel like my family and friends judge me for not being able to consistently make it to church with her or if she is fussy or tired when we go out to lunch or something.  I know most of this is probably in my head though.  I am also doing some contract work from home for my old employer now and I get nervous about scheduling phone calls and stuff because I am not sure how she will do playing independently for awhile if she hasn't napped. So far those have gone okay though.

Anybody else struggle with this or have you gotten your LO's on more predictable schedules? 

Gnadtkins

Daycare has really been helpful with this. They consistently put DS down at 9 and 1. I match that when I am honme with him. I think all you can do is be consistent with feeds, naps, solids and then go from there.

I know for us, DS started napping better when I started just putting him down and walking away. I used to rock him and he would be up in 30 to 45 min. Now he rolls around for 15 minutes and then naps for 1.5 to 2 hours.

seansgirl2006

Gnadtkins:

Daycare has really been helpful with this. They consistently put DS down at 9 and 1. I match that when I am honme with him. I think all you can do is be consistent with feeds, naps, solids and then go from there. I know for us, DS started napping better when I started just putting him down and walking away. I used to rock him and he would be up in 30 to 45 min. Now he rolls around for 15 minutes and then naps for 1.5 to 2 hours.

 agree with this.  From everything I've read and heard from others, 9 am and sometime between noon-1 for the second nap works well.  My DS gets up about 7 and does 9 and noon/12:30.  His first nap is always 45 min-1 hour and the second one is 1 1/2-2 hours. Some of what you're describing sounds like your baby is overtired throughout the day. If this works for you I bet that will help some when you're out and trying to do things. The thing that sucks is that at this point there still is not much of a window between the morning and afternoon nap to be out. It gets easier when they drop to one nap, but then I at the same time don't want that. Also, my son takes a third little cat nap around 4.    At this age your baby may or may not need that one. I'm guessing mine is getting ready to drop it. Good luck. I totally understand your frustration.

Sigir

As a working mom who sometimes works from home, I have to say that it is impossible to work from home without having a caregiver for yor baby. I would be very frustrated trying to get any work done if I didn't have someone there to help me so I understand how you feel. It's the nature of a baby that you don't know how they will be day to day so if you are working you have to plan to have a caregiver there. I think knowing you will be able to get your work done will go a long way towards helping w your frustration.